Journal #2 - Mikayla

First of all I would like to say that this part of the book frustrated me a lot! I was so mad when he was super close to seeing his family and as he was seconds away, there was an attack in the village they lived in. I was so excited for him to see his family and I truly thought he would see them. Of course though, nothing is ever too good for long in this book. I would be feeling tremendous regret if I were Ishmael. I would have wished that I left the night before despite the loss of their friend.

It was really nice when that one village had a feast. They seemed very peaceful and happy. When Ishmael was describing the ceremony his village had when he was born, reminded me of The Lion King. Especially when he said his dad had held him up just like Rafiki did with Simba when he was born!

I was confused at first when Ishmael said there was a gun pointed at him. I was sure the rebels had captured them. Although they were the 'good guys' they are harsh. It is sad to read about the young boys who are only 9 and 11 and joined the army. Even though it's either they join or they run away and try to survive, there are clearly not mentally or physically ready to fight. 

Although the book got really intense at one point, this section wasn't as exciting and interesting as the first quarter. The mood right now is pretty gloomy and depressing. I can't in vision Beah describing any somewhat happy moments any time soon. 

Honestly, I didn't know much about what happened in Sierra Leone. I would really like to find a documentary or read another victims story. 

Journal #2 - Jose

 

The second part of the book is a roller coaster of emotions. We go from sad to happy in a couple of minutes and then we get sad again. In the very beginning of this section, the boys saw the ocean for the first time. That really amused me because I’ve been living by the Atlantic ocean since I was born. They seemed so happy and curious at the same time and I felt that quite strange as I never thought that some people might have never seen the ocean.

The methods the soldiers used to focus the boys in the war were at most, harsh. They used to say: “The rebels had cut off the heads of some people’s family members and made them watch, burned entire villages along with their inhabitants, forced sons to have intercourse with their mothers, hacked newly born babies in half because they cried too much, cut open pregnant woman's stomach, took their babies out and killed them...” That quotation made me feel really bad because everything they said is true. It really happened. This serves to show the cruelty that the human being can reach.

When the soldiers found them, they were safe, but not for too long. They were forced to engage the war against the rebels to revenge their families and friends deaths. We were able to see Beah's, conflict against himself when he was in the middle of the gun fires. He should have fired his weapon to live but he couldn’t. Until he made the first shot. When he killed the first person, his problem went away and he let his “evil side” win. Although it is wrong, we can’t blame him. He was fighting for his own life. Who wouldn’t?

I am really surprised with the ways the book is taking. My predictions on what will happen next are usually wrong. It is really interesting how the writer alternates with high tension moments and low tension moments. I’m anxious for the next chapters.

Questions on Conflicts - Jose

1. How would you feel in the middle of a civil war such as the one in Sierra Leone?

Personally, I would be really scared and anxious.

2. The boy had to survive on his own. Would you make it?

Probably not. I am not as determined as him, but in situations like this, I would get stronger and go beyond my limits.

3. The boy was afraid to shoot but as soon as he pushed the trigger, he lost his "fear". Why?

He was afraid because he had never done that before but when he did, he realized that it was not that hard. I guess he felt the same “power” that the rebels felt while attacking villages.

4. Do you think the rebels are the "bad guys"?

Yes. They used to say that they were fighting for a “bigger cause” but people who rape kids, kidnap them, drug them, force them to go to war and to kill their own family cannot be considered good people.

5. Although the boy is chased why does he keep his hope?

He was running away for his life hoping to see his family again. When they died, the boy started to fight to revenge them.

6. Ishmael saw some friends dying at his side. Could you tolerate that?

No, I would probably pass out or commit suicide.

7. Could the boy end the war?

No, nobody could do it alone.

8. Do you think his family was able to escape the attack?

Probably not because Ishmael over heard the rebels saying that nobody escaped the attack in the village his family stayed at.

9. In your opinion, will the boy's friends run away with him? Or is he going to leave alone?

I predict that his current friends are going to die. I think he will find new friends and will run away with them.

10. What do you think the "white pills" are? Without it would the boys be able to kill?

I think the white pills are probably crack. No, they would not be mentally able to kill all those innocent people without it.

Questions & Answers - Liam

1) Who is the main character in the novel?
2) In what country does this book take place?
3) What village does the main character come from?
4) What is different about the main characters family, when compared to many families in that culture?
5) What are the names of the main characters companions?
6) What plant do the boys dig from the ground and eat raw?
7) What does RUF stand for?
8) Before the fighting began, what did the boys love to do together?
9) How do the boys avoid passing through villages?
10) In your opinion, why do you think the RUF uses young boys as soldiers?

ANSWERS:
1) Ishmael Beah.
2) Sierra Leone.
3) Mogbwembo.
4) Ishmael and Junior's parents are divorced.
5) Junior, Talloi, Gabrilla, Kaloko and Khalilou.
6) They dig up cassava plants and eat them raw.
7) RUF stands for the Revolutionary United Front.
8) The boys would rap and dance to hip hop.\
9) The boys would detour around the villages to avoid being seen.
10) YOUR OPINION.

In my opinion however:
I believe that the RUF uses boy soldiers because of a few reasons. First off, the boys are young, they are frightened and they are easily influenced. The soldiers can use this, and recruit these boys to do terrible things. Second of all, these boys are "expendable", meaning that they are worthless to the RUF, and are only good for killing and dying. And lastly, there are so many children, that the RUF could have vast fighting capabilities with using young boys alone.

Journal #1 - Liam

         This book is about survival. Not survival against the elements, but survival against other humans. That's the biggest thing that strikes me. After the first 8 or 9 chapters, the clear depictions of what his life was like is so clear, that you can almost feel it. Ishmael talks about how he ran for days without stopping, and how all of the skin on the bottom of his feet would peel off, and how he had nothing to eat but bitter orange-like fruits that he carried with him.
       
        When I first began to read the book, I was surprised at how ruthless and cruel the rebels in the story were. It hit home. This book has a very good way of capturing its reader. When I read it, I don't exactly feel like I'm in it, like other books do. No, because who could feel that way if you hadn't already experienced that sort of pain. But although I don't feel like I'm in it, I feel like I'm watching it. In the first 8 chapters, you begin to see how Ishmael quickly changes from childhood to manhood, in a matter of months.
       
        At first, he is terrified by what's happening, he cannot wrap his mind around it. He is in denial, and he has no idea what to do. With time however, he becomes desensitized to all of it. Fear remains, but he is used to the pain, and the death around him. He begins his journey, accompanied by 4 other boys his age, but they are all separated. For months now, he's been alone, and he is beginning to have mental conflicts with himself.
     
       Luckily for him, he meets up with more boys that he remembered from his home village, and they begin to travel together. They are captured, their shoes are taken, and they escape. They run for what seems like forever, on the hot dirt, while their feet peel nearly to the bone. These chapters only begin the pain that I unfortunately predict Ishmael will yet go through.

-Liam

Journal #1 - Natacha

       After reading the first few chapters of A Long Way Gone I gained tremendous respect for Ishmael Beah. We see Ishmael's child hood being violently taken away from him very quickly and we see his life turn upside down. From such a young age he goes through what most kids and adults don't ever imagine experiencing. This novel is emotionally challenging and throughout the first quarter Ishmael has opened up a lot about his life and I can only imagine what's to come.

       There were a couple of parts of the first quarter of the book that really made me feel pity for Ishmael, his friends and family. I really admire Ishmael's descriptive way of writing, he describes everything very precisely. The fact that he even decided to write about his experience as a boy soldier and let the entire world in to his life shows his remarkable strength. The part that struck me the most was when Ishmael said “I thought about where my family was, whether I would be able to see them again, and wished that they were safe and not too heartbroken about Junior and me. Tears formed in my eyes but I was too hungry to cry.” ( page 27 ) That's when I realized how thankful I should be for living somewhere safe where I have access to everything I need, I have my family and I'm living in peace which is definitely not what Ishmael had during that time period of his life, which he evidently needed.

       So far I have really enjoyed the book, and as I said before it could get emotionally challenging but that's what makes it interesting. I'm sure that this memoir has made a lot of change and probably helped other child soldiers come out and talk about their experience. So far I'm really enjoying the book and it's just the beginning!  

Check this out! It's a group of refugees who basically met at refugee camp and formed a band! 
http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/av/2012/03/song-premiere-sierra-leones-refuge-all-stars-mothe.html

Journal #1 - Mikayla

            Already, I find this book is really interesting and I would recommend it. The reality of A Long Way Gone and its horrifying details makes it a unique book.  Some events the author describes that he suffered through makes me feel strong pity for the author and his friends. I keep reminding myself that it’s based on true events because it is so unimaginable. Another factor that makes it seem so surreal is that he can describe his story with so much detail. At first I thought he had a remarkable memory, but my second thought was that if I was in his position I would never forget. It’s traumatizing.

            This particular part of the book had a big impact on me when Ishmael Beah wrote “It was during the attack in the village of Kamator that my friends and I separated. It was the last time I saw Junior, my older brother.” (Pg.43) At that moment I knew that the series of unfortunate events were only about to start for him. On the other hand I was predicting something big would happen because Ishmael and his friends had been some what lucky with escaping villages and reentering them.

            Reading this book makes me appreciate the good things in my life and the fact that I live in Canada. I have never read a book that I thought about so much other than when I'm reading. It’s like when you first meet somebody and you are still missing important information about their lives. You want to know more and you have so many questions! I am really curious to read if he will meet up with certain people in the future and if he did what their relationship is now. I also wonder who the people he dedicated the book to are.

             So far so good!

                                                                                             

Journal #1 - Jose

After reading the first quarter of the book, the main feelings that take upon me are sadness and pity. Ishmael Beah tells us the story of the civil war which happened in Sierra Leone during the 90’s with all the atrocities and details. “The breeze brings the faint cries of those whose last breaths are leaving their mangled bodies. I walk past them. Their arms and legs are missing; their intestines spill out through the bullet holes in their stomachs; brain matter comes out of their noses and ears. The flies are so excited and intoxicated that they fall on the pools of blood and die.”(Pg. 18). After reading this description, I got queasy. The richness of detail which Ishmael tells the story makes us recreate image in our heads. It’s almost if those memories were yet fresh in his mind.

When he was with his brother and friends, they were feared by many. That might have made them feel the same “power” the rebels felt. At the very first time they were captured by, with his words, “huge men” I found my self very apprehensive because I didn’t know what would happen with them. I could almost feel the same pain he described when they tied them so strongly their elbows were touching each other.

In my opinion, the climax of this section of the book is the part the guys are captured by the rebels. At that point, anything could happen. I must admit that I thought they would die there or, at least, suffer some kind of torture. The escape was really surprising for me. When he split up with his friends and had to survive by his own for two months in the jungle, I felt sorry for him. To conclude, I guess been in a large group again will bring him problems.