Character List and Analysis
The Lieutenant
The Lieutenant is a father figure in the Sierra Leone Armed Services. He trains the boy soldiers and leads them into battles against the RUF. He and Ishmael bond over their mutual love of Shakespeare, and Ishmael looks up to the Lieutenant. When UNICEF comes to rescue the boy soldiers, it is the Lieutenant who hands them over, and Ishmael feels betrayed and angry. The Lieutenant is an important part of the family that Ishmael declares loyalty to during the war.