Ishmaeal Beah quite frequently uses rhetorical questions. His intention with the use of these rhetorical questions is to coax or subtly induce the audience. It is a question asked not for the answer, but for the effect. Oftentimes, he uses a rhetorical question to accentuate a point or just to get the audience thinking. For the most part these questions are not asked for a direct answer; instead they are questions roaming his mind and are then written onto paper. For example he says, “Why have I survived the war? Why was I the last person in my immediate family to be alive.” (179). And then he goes on to saying, “How was I going to explain my sadness which I am unable to hide as it takes over my face, to my new family, especially children?