After FINALLY finishing A Long Way Gone I'd have to say that it one of the most heart wrenching stories I have ever read. Coming into the book I knew what the general idea of what I'd be reading would be and like in my predictions I was right, there definitely was very graphic details and things you'd never even expect to hear. Things like when Ishmael first went into battle he saw a part of a mans skull missing, and the brain still pulsating inside his head as he died. It makes me really sad knowing that this was Ishmael's childhood and this is what he has grown up knowing. I can't imagine what it would be like not having any family left and to experience everything he has done and seen. I personally think that everyone should read this book because after words you have a new outlook on how grateful you are for everything you have compared to the tragic lift he has lived. I was not at all disappointed with this book, it was everything I thought it would be and more. I now have a new found love for non fiction novels, I've realized it makes the story even more personal to you if you know it actually happened.
A Soldier is Born... Friday, June 10th
When I first started reading A Long Way Gone I thought it was all going to be about Ishmael as a child soldier and the different things he experienced. I now come to realize that it isn't till half way through the book that he actually gets drafted as a soldier. I liked that the book should how hard it was to be on the run though, it definitely helps show why he felt there was no other choice but to fight in the war. A certain part in the book that really touched something inside of me is at the point when Ishmael and his new found friends travel into a village and hear word that some of their families have been spotted in the next village over. I can't even begin to describe how excited these boys must of felt, evening reading it off paper and can automatically feel the happiness growing inside of them. Unfortunately on their way to this village they run into a man Ishmael once knew and decided to help him carry bananas to the village. This slowed them from getting to the village where their families were. Now comes the part that hurt the most to read. While they were walking to the village they climbed over a hill and could clearly see all the houses below. They then heard gunshots and the screams of men, woman and children, smoke began to rise from houses that have been set fire too. By the time Ishmael and his friends reached it everyone who once lived there was dead, including their families. The rage Ishmael must of felt is unbelievable, I mean imagine having something so close in your reach and then suddenly its taken away from you right before your eyes. I never really knew how bad it was for Ishmael to be away from his family until I saw how much he wanted them back. It hurts to know that this not only happened to him but to hundreds of other children too. It didn't surprise me that Ishmael would join the army to fight back at the rebels after experiencing his families death. The men in the army though really know how to hit the right nerves of all these boys in order for them to have to power to kill. They would continuously say to them that whenever you see a rebel think of how they killed your family and tortured them. I think this is the only reason Ishmael was even able to kill anyone while on the battle field because from reading the book he has always been such a peaceful kid and someone who would take someones life from them. I also never realized the time frame on this book, it feels like what I'm reading is just happening over a span of weeks but in reality is more like a span of months and years. This hit me when Ishmael started talking about how doing drugs helped make it easier to kill someone and that after awhile it just became second nature, he then continued on to say that he continued to fight and kill for two more years! I don't even see how it is possible for someone to recover after fighting for two years and especially at such a young age...
Continuing on... Wednesday, June 8th
Now that Ishmael is no longer with his brother he was still with one of his friends, but he was getting to agitated sitting in a bush waiting for death so he just decided to leave taking the risk of being caught by the rebels. The entire portion of the story that Ishmael was alone for was very sad to read. He talked about how he had nothing else to do but think and that thinking made him sad, it's kind of like he couldn't escape from his own mind. It surprises me that he went so long without ever getting caught by any rebels though. I was very happy though when Ishmael found other boys, some of them who he once went to school with, because its nice to have other personality's to read about in the book rather Ishmael's on its own. The part when Ishmael and his new group gets their crapes taken form them i thought at first was a meaningless punishment, but reading on into the book i realize now at the amount of pain they must of experienced walking without shoes for that long. When Ishmael described how the skin of the bottoms of their feet began to peel off and then they still continued walking in the hot sand, i don't know how something could experience that much pain and still have the will to keep going. Something i found sort of funny is the fact that so far Ishmael and the people surrounding him at the time have been saved twice by the rap cassettes hes been carrying in his pockets. Its kind of ironic that the thing he left home to go take part in is the ting that continues to save him from getting killed by other villages. I'm looking forward to seeing how Ishmael's story is going to end.
So Far... Thursday, May 26th
In the book I have read to chapter six and although I'm moving at a slow pace I have read enough of the book to say that Ishmael's story so far is heartbreaking and definitely not a way to spend your childhood. Something that I found really interesting that I never thought I'd have in common with Ishmael is the fact that his parents are not together. He seems to have the typical American family, with divorced parents, a remarried dad, to an evil stepmother. Visiting his mom every weekend to spend time with her. Definitely not something that I would expect to be an aspect in his life. (SPOILER ALERT) At the point in the story when Ishmael and his friends are returning to Mattru Jong, because of their desperate need for food, and get caught by the rebels i definitely thought things would have gone down differently. I thought that Ishmael would have been separated from his brother and then forced to watch him die, but it turned out to go the other way around. Luck would have it, that the rebels became distracted giving Ishmael and his brother both the opportunity to escape. It surprises me so much how untrustworthy that people in villages can be, right when Ishmael speculates that the rebels will come they get angry and kick them out. the point I have left off in the book is the last time Ishmael will ever see his brother Junior, this saddens me because I felt like they were whats keeping each other from going crazy in all this madness...
Setting Questions Wednesday, May 25th
1. What is different about Ishmael's village compared to our own community?
2. What season and year is the start of the story set in?
3. Name three villages that Ishmael and his friends visit throughout the book.
4. What country is the war-taking place in?
5. Describe the village after the rebels took over.
6. How does the climate benefit and hurt Ishmael and his friends while on the run.
7. Describe the clearing that Ishmael and his friends ran across to escape from the rebels. What does this clearing remind you of in reference to History?
8. What was the river used most for in the story?
9. In the very first page of the book what year and what city is Ishmael now in?
10. What is the differences in the mood at the beginning of the story and the throughout the rest of the book?
Predictions Friday, May 20th
Before I begin to read, "A Long Way Gone" by Ismael Beah, I'd like to make some predictions on how I think the book will turn out. Since it is non-fiction I already know the basics of how the story ends, given the fact that the author is the main character. I do think that I will be extremely surprised though, by the events that will take place as a child soldier. You think you can slightly have an understanding of some of the things that happen in war, and the things that people are forced to do, but you never considered how gruesome and torturous it really is. Which is what I believe the book will give us an insight on, and broaden our understandings. Seeing as how Beah's story of being a child soldier is so inspirational, I think his story is going to contain a lot of hard struggles for survival. Even when he's sent to the rehabilitation centre I think it will be a long and hard process for him, and he'll almost give up on himself once or twice. I am definitely looking forward to reading his story and comparing the hardships of his life to my own and seeing the significant difference in them.
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