Is Beah still his origonal self?

Ismael goes through many different changes in his life that forces him adapt to his surroundings. He goes from a normal childhood to hiding and surviving in the jungle in small groups or at times even being alone for extended periods of time. He gets recruited into a military force just to become a drugged up child soldier that later must get rehabilitated and get off drugs. It's a whirl wind life that has a constant change of pace but through all of it is Ishmael still the same kid he was before? No, not many adults can endure these kinds of situations without a little deviation from their typical way of thinking so Beah has had to make some changes from childhood to his teens. 

When Beah had his family before the war he was a very carefree spirit that practiced rap songs. After the war broke out music was the last thing on his mind and stress was the predominate force in his mind stripping him of child-like thinking from this point on. Ishmael lost his spiritual side to drugs and a mild form of brain washing later on making him much more prone to violence. The drugs also stopped him from thinking and dreaming about the lives he took and the people around him dying. At this point he took on a completely different persona, wanting to attack or kill anything that he didnt agree with just as the other boys he was put with at benin house. After the drug effects wore off he couldn't return to his normal self as he was used to concealing his emotions. This is evident when Esther talks to him on a daily basis and every time she walked away he would watch her leave thinking about hugging her after their talks but he never does. In conclusion Beah had to make mental changes in order to insure a future in his life. A few core traits that make him unique as a person are always going to be there but the ways of life he has lived has transformed him into someone who has seen life at many different angles. No one can stay the same after enduring life through a civil war and Beah is a prime example of just that.