A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider (Chapter 21)

Lily Tikijian
October 30, 2008
Literature Period 6
Mrs. Pfanschmidt

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider
Chapter 21

This chapter was a very interesting way to finish the book. I was left with so many questions that weren’t answered. Not only was I left with questions, I also got answers. It broke my heart when Ishmael’s Uncle died. I can’t imagine anything happen to any one of my family members. Not only did Ishmael lose one family, he lost too. His Uncle was the only family he had left and now he is gone. I would be filled with such agony and misery after losing the one person that I had left in my life. Ishmael is also going through the same process that he was about three years ago. He is running from the army. Its happening all over again, he keeps saying how this is all to familiar to him. Thank god he escapes instead of becoming a child solider again. I was surprised by the fact that he didn’t take anyone with him to escape. You would think he would want to take Mohamed or his cousin. I did find that very questionable and he never talked about his decision from then on. There were so many times that Ishmael could have been killed. He was stopped by so many soldiers on the way out of Sierra Leone; he is truly a miracle man. He has escaped death at least five-hundred times. Ishmael ended the book with a story he remembers from his childhood. I am sure there is a significant meaning behind the story but I couldn’t figure it out. I am a little disappointed in the way he ended the book. I wanted to know more about him going live with his friend in New York and if he ever went back and if he even made it! I just have so many unanswered questions. I did fully enjoy this book though. I thought it was filled with everything a good book should have. I could have done without the graphic images but that’s what made the story intriguing.

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider (Chapters 19 & 20)

Lily Tikijian
October 28, 2008
Literature Period 6
Mrs. Pfanschmidt

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider
Chapters 19 & 20

I was actually quite stunned by these two chapters. Ishmael is asked to take part in a conference in New York City. I think that is so cool. That a little boy from Sierra Leone is given the chance to take part in a conference half way around the world. It must have been mind-blowing for him. Especially that it has been not even a year from when he was fighting for the army. Its crazy how fast things are moving along for him. Things are really looking up for Ishmael. I thought it was really sad that he saw Esther for the last time in chapter 19. He had a big connection with her and she was like the first person he trusted in a while. She was like a mother figure to Ishmael. He said that he loved her and he never got to tell her that. Even though that is really sad, Ishmael doesn’t really have time to dwell on that because he has to get ready to go to New York. He goes shopping for new pants, shirts, and everything. When Ishmael arrives in New York it is the middle of winter and it is freezing. Ishmael, of course, living in Africa has never come in contact with such cold weather. It is a real shock for him. He is freezing. All he knows about New York is what he has learned from his rap music. It is really amazing to think that this boy was standing at the JFK Memorial Airport, cause I have been there so many times. Its just really cool to think about. When they check into the hotel Ishmael is able to meet 57 kids from 23 different countries that are also taking part in this conference. He becomes really close with a girl named Laura. He says that the conference is a wonderful experience but he can’t wait to go back home.

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider (Chapters 17 & 18)

Lily Tikijian
October 28, 2008
Literature Period 6
Mrs. Pfanschmidt

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider
Chapters 17 & 18

I loved these two chapters. They were so upbeat and happy, the total opposite of the rest in the book. Ishmael is starting to make connections again. He makes a big connect with a nurse named Esther. She buys him gifts and put music back into his life. She buys him a rap cassette that he listens to everything he goes to visit her. He develops a very strong bond with her and lets her into his life which I have to imagine would be very hard. He tells her about the dreams he has and she tells him what she thinks they mean. Ishmael is also reunited with Mohamed, a childhood friend. Even later in the book, Ishmael even finds out her has an uncle. Everything is turning for the better. Ishmael now has people who care about him in his life, he is happier, and he is not longer drugged. These chapters made me feel a lot better about reading the book knowing that not everything in Ishmael’s like was terrible.

Choice Book

I think that one of the choice books should be Promise Not to Tell by Jennifer Mcmahon. This book truly made me love reading. Its a mystery novel about a girl who goes back to her home town when she is older and she has a mystery she has to solve. Its a little bit graphic and in some parts frighting but its an amazing book. I highly recommend it.

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider (Chapters 15 & 16)

Lily Tikijian
October 26, 2008
Literature Period 6
Mrs. Pfanschmidt

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider
Chapters 15 & 16

Chapter 15 and 16 were the just more of the same brutal things. It wasn’t as brutal as the last chapters, it was more jaw dropping. By this time, Ishmael Beah has been fighting for two years. Killing is just part of a daily activity for him. He says, “My squad was my family, my gun was my provider and protector, and my rule was to kill or be killed.” This is how Ishmael has been living the last two years of his life. Everything revolves around the war, and when something in his life doesn’t, he doesn’t know what to do. When the UNICEF people come to take Ishmael and some of the people from his squad to the compound where they would be living, he doesn’t know what to do or think. He just keeps thinking about killing and how he wants to hijack the car and steal the official’s guns and kill them all. That is really scary to think about. I would hate to be the official’s in that car. They must know that they are in danger riding with a bunch of young boys who know nothing but how to kill people. When all of the boys arrive at the compound they almost immediately break into teams: army vs. rebels. All they do is fight. They kill people with rocks and kick them to death and some boys sneaked bayonets into the compound. The boys had to be moved to another city. There, the same things happen, they just fight for no reason at all, that all they know. They steal, kill, and fight. They disrespect the official’s, the nurses, and the civilians. The main reason I think this happens is because, obviously this is all the know but I think that all of these boys are going through serious withdrawal. They haven’t had marijuana or cocaine in weeks. That is one think they always relied on. These chapters really made me see how difficult like is for these boys even after the war. It seems like it’s harder for them after then it was during the war.

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider (Chapters 13 & 14)

Lily Tikijian
October 22, 2008
Literature Period 6
Mrs. Pfanschmidt

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider
Chapters 13 & 14

These chapters were by far the hardest to get through by far! I thought chapters eleven and twelve were hard but they were nothing compared to these. There was so much gore and violence and blood and hatred, it hurt to read it. Thinking that people could actually be filled with so much hate just scares me. I couldn’t imagine being able to slice open a guys neck with a bayonet or to just shoot some random civilian for nothing. I know that these kids have been trained to think that this is a good thing to kill the rebels, that they are the ones responsible for killing their families and loved ones. Even though this may be true, I don’t think it gives them on excuse to kill boys the same age as them. I have to say that I didn’t read all of these chapters. I had to skip some parts that were a little to graphic for me. I get nauseous just hearing the word blood, I can’t read about it. I find it ironic that just a few weeks ago, these boys couldn’t even hold a gun without shaking and being afraid. At the beginning of the chapter through they are clenching their guns like they are babies, like it is the only thing they have left in the world. Also, through out these chapters, all of the boys are drugged. You can tell that it made a difference in what Ishmael remembers. The memories become more vivid and less complex. One of the things that Ishmael said that shocked me was, “We exhaled quickly, afraid that our own breathing could cause our death.” After that quote things just got worse and worse. Ishmael was talking about how bodies split in half and flew everywhere, how blood poured out of the bullet holes on boys bodies, and how blood was splashed all over his face. I had to stop reading for a while after that. I just couldn’t handle it. When I picked the book back up, the little boy Joshia was tossed onto a tree stump and was stuck and blood was everywhere. Again, I had to stop reading. Ishmael said, “Suddenly, as if someone was shooting them inside my brain, all the massacres I had seen since that day I was touched by the war were flashing in my mind. “ He said he just started to kill everything the moved. He was filled with such anger and hate all he could do was kill. Both of his friends were killed. He said when they got back to the camp he couldn’t feel anything. He didn’t taste water or feel that his knee was bleeding. He is now completely desensitized. He is now so lost to the world except the war that he stopped playing soccer with the other boys, he jus sits around sniffing brown brown and cocaine, which he is obviously now addicted too. The last part of chapter fourteen almost made ma faint, I had to honestly try so hard not to pass out. The boys had a contest to see who could slit the prisoners throat the fastest. It gave every detail from the expression on the victims face to how Ishmael won, it was terrible. These chapters were honestly brutal and unbearable.

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider (Chapters 11 & 12)

Lily Tikijian
October 17, 2008
Literature Period 6
Mrs. Pfanschmidt

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider
Chapter 11 & 12

Unbelievable. That’s about the only words that I can use to describe these two chapters. Its true that I was warned that these two chapters would be the worst ones of the book, but I wasn’t expecting anything as bad as that! The beginning over chapter eleven starts off with a lot of grieving and sorrow because Saidu just died. “We all knew we grieve only for a short while in order to continue staying alive.” That’s what Ishmael says. No matter how much grieve the boys have, they cant dwell on it because they have to keep moving in order to stay alive. In class, we were talking about how the weather in the book is kind of like a foreshadow to the bad things that are to come. In the beginning of the reading it says that one part of the sky was completely blue and the other part was filled with stagnant clouds. The weather is a foreshadow to these two chapters I think. That sky kind of describes these two chapters. I was so excited because Ishmael and his friends are about to get to the villages were there families are. Ishmaels says he couldn’t stop smiling; he was excited to see them. The boys see one of Ishmael’s old neighbors, Gasemu. He talks about Ishmael’s family and how excited they will be to see him. Once they got close to the villages there was, of course, bad news. The villages was pretty much all burned down. Ishmael says, “When I got to the village, it was completely on fire and bullet shells covered the ground like mango leaves in the morning.” This would have killed me. I honestly probably would have died right there. They walk into the village and there are bodies everywhere and houses are burned and there is blood. Ishmael runs to the house where is family was and there are piles of ashes on the floor, no solid body is there. He becomes so filled with anger and disgust that he almost kills Gasemu, right then I could tell that the war was starting to take a huge affect on Ishmael. He was going to kill one of his friends just because he didn’t know how to control himself, that’s scary. The boys have to escape the soldiers again, and Gasemu is shot and dies a few days later. I don’t really understand the rest of the chapters. The boys were taken to a village/camp where there are other civilians and they are treated well. I am assuming that these are the native soldiers that are fighting against the rebel army. Ishmael and his friends are soon put into training to becoming a solider. They have to carry guns, which just scares Ishmael more than anything. When they are in training one of the officers tells the boys to, “Visualize the enemy, the rebels who killed your parents, you family, and those who are responsible for everything that has happened to you.” He is telling them this as they are being forced to practice stabbing a banana. They have to pretend like the its one of the rebels. Ishmael can’t sleep anymore but especially after that. I would be the same way, my head would be full of terrible thoughts and I would be afraid to go to sleep because I would probably have nightmares about them just like Ishmael. I missed a lot of things in these chapters because I couldn’t read them; I had to skip over them. They were just so terrible I couldn’t do it. I really wasn’t expecting it to be as brutally as it is.

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider (Chapter 10)

Lily Tikijian
October 14, 2008
Literature Period 6
Mrs. Pfanschmidt

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider
Chapter 10

Even though we only had to read one chapter tonight, it seemed like we had to read thirty chapters. This chapter went by so slowly for me. In a way, things seem to be more and more repetitive as we read. Ishmael keeps telling us about the villages they stop in and about how he doesn’t want to think because his thoughts scare him. I completely understand that he is scared to think about his thoughts but it’s just a little to repetitive. One of the most descriptive passages that I have read in this book so far is when Ishmael says, “In some way my journey was like that of the moon- although I had even more thick clouds coming my way to make my spirit dull.” Ishmael is starting to realize that the way is affecting him and he knows there are more bad things coming his way. I think he is mentally preparing himself for more heartache and despair. The most gut-wrenching part of this chapter is when Saidu says, “Even though I am still alive, I feel like each time I accept death, part of me dies.” This is so shocking because it is foreshadowing. Later in this chapter, Saidu does pass away. I don’t think we even find out why. I think he just saw so many terrible things and was so scared that he lost the will to live. From what Saidu was telling us about his family and how he had to watch his sisters get rapped over and over again from the attic, I think if I had been him I would have wanted to die. I had to put down the book because I couldn’t imagine watching my sister getting rapped. I couldn’t deal with that. That part just struck me. All the boys are still losing their innocent side. When Alhaji wants to kill the dog, this proves that he is turning into a killer. When Saidu is buried, Ishmael says he couldn’t believe that he was gone. He says, “Who will be the next to leave us? The question was in our eyes when we looked at each other. We walked fast as if trying to stay in the daytime, afraid that nightfall would turn over the uncertain pages of our lives.” I would be so afraid to make connections with these boys if I were Ishmael because he knows that they are probably going to die or leave. I don’t think I could deal with losing one of them, especially since they are now his family. Its just un-imaginable.

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider (Chapters 8 & 9)

Lily Tikijian
October 13, 2008
Literature Period 6
Mrs. Pfanschmidt

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider
Chapter 8 & 9

Chapters eight and nine were very different from the rest of the chapters I have read so far. These chapters seemed more…. Realistic. I don’t know why but they seemed to be more relatable because they weren’t so filled with blood and war. They had more to do with him be lonely and things like that. That’s why I thought they were more relatable, all of us have been lonely at some point in our life but none of us have been in a war. I am still in shock that Ishmael was able to walk for two days and night without sleeping. He said that he felt as if someone was after him. He even said sometimes his own shadow would scare him and he would run for miles. This is unimaginable. Being so afraid of something that your own shadow causes you to run for miles. The most horrid part of this chapter was at the beginning of chapter eight when Ishmael says. “I had passed through burnt villages where dead bodies of men, women, and children of all ages were scattered like leaves on the ground after a storm.” This sight is becoming more and more natural for him to see. At the beginning of his journey he probably would have been much more bothered at the sight of all of those innocent people that are dead, now its just like seeing leaves on the ground. The rebels are desensitizing him without even being one of them. Ishmael says that he has to try and not think, he is afraid of thinking. He is afraid of the terrible images that he has seen and he doesn’t want to think about them. He says, “I decided to just ignore every thought that came to my head, because it brought too much sadness.” How could he live like this? I couldn’t stand it, I would probably rather be dead. I was so happy when he met up with some boys and they saw the Atlantic Ocean. It was the first time he has smiled in practically the whole book. The last thing that struck me in the chapter was when Ishmael said, “… and laughed about what happened to avoid crying.” They were laughing about being captured by the villagers. It just hurts to even think about it.

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider (Chapters 6 & 7)

Lily Tikijian
October 10, 2008
Literature Period 6
Mrs. Pfanschmidt

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldiers
Chapter 6 & 7

These two chapters were so hard to get through. I had to put down the book at least five times. Just thinking about being there and having to deal with everything that Ishmael and his friends had to go through makes me feel sick. Ishmael says, “People stopped trusting each other, and every stranger became an enemy. Even people who knew you became extremely careful about how they related or spoke to you.” I am a very open and trusting person. The thought of not being able to trust the people around me makes me feel so depressed and sad. If I had to deal with all of that, I don’t think I would want to live anymore. I almost started to cry when the villagers thought the boys were rebels and they said, “Drown the rebels!” But luckily they were saved and everything was okay. Well, as okay as it could be. For about a month, the boys were appointed as watchmen for a village. This is how they ate and got a place to live. I was realized that on that same page that there was a break from the war. Ishmael is telling us about farming and stuff. It gave me a chance to relax and calm down and clear my head. But, then again you turn to the next page and someone is getting set on fire and gets burned to death. I think that was one of the worst parts of the books so far. Just hearing the details about how they tied the priest to the post and set him on fire, it kills me to even think about it. That same night, Ishmael and Junior were separate because the rebels invaded the villages at night when know one was expecting it. Ishmael found one of his friends but then set off on his own and walked for five days without coming in contact with another human. One the sixth day he came in contact with some people but they didn’t seem to want to be near him, or trust him. He says that, “Even a twelve- year-old couldn’t be trusted anymore.” Even though these two chapters weren’t as bloody or gory it was still hard to read and get through. I truly feel for Ishmael and respect him for what he is going through and how brave he is. I don’t think I could even be like that.

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider (Chapters 3-5)

Lily Tikijian
October 7, 2008
Literature Period 6
Mrs. Pfanschmidt

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider
Chapters 3-5

When chapter three starts off, the boys are still in Mattru Jong. There were there a lot longer then they anticipated. None of them had heard news about there families and didn’t know what else to do except wait and hope that they were okay. There were messengers that reported news to the surrounding villages telling them when the rebels were going to attack and to be ready. They were talking about in the early chapters how the rebels would kill anyone, especially those who had escaped. I didn’t know how they knew that they were once soldiers but they tell us that the rebels carved their initials, RUF, on the bodies of the boys and some times they chop off all of their fingers except the thumb. The rebels finally come to the village of Mattru Jong, they didn’t come at the time they said they would though, they were late. No one was ready when they came. All Ishmael remembers is gunshots being shot into the sky and him running. He sees children that lost their parents and parents trying to find their children. He said he couldn’t stop and help anyone because then he would be risking his own life. He said, “My heart was beating faster than it ever had. Each gunshot seemed to cling to the beat of my heart.” Him and his brother and friends escaped the village and ran through a swamp with some rebels following them. After an hour or maybe more of running, the rebels gave up the chase and went back to Mattru Jong while the boys kept going. For several days the six boys waked on a tiny path that was walled by thick bushes. Ishmael says they didn’t speak a word, they didn’t know what to say. They were starving and tired. They reached some tiny abandoned villages but there was no food anywhere. They said that it hurt to drink water because they were so hungry; they felt the water cramp up in their stomachs. When they got to one village they were almost captured but the escaped by crawling through the tall grass over hundreds of freshly killed bodies. They made it to a village that was still populated and stole food. When they were out in the field they were captured by the rebel soldiers. They were going to have to watch the boys that weren’t chosen get killed but then for a split second there were more gun fires and the rebels who had captured them got distracted so the boys ran for their lives and stayed in a log for hours. Once it was clear they got to a villages and stayed put but they decided they were leaving the next day.

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider (Chapters 1 & 2)

Lily Tikijian
October 6, 2008
Literature Period 6
Mrs. Pfanschmidt

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider
Chapters 1 & 2

I could tell from the moment I picked up this book that it was going to be gut wrenching. We have learned a little bit about child soldiers in our history class and learned about there pain and suffering. Even though I haven’t read very much, I have read enough to know that this novel is going to be graphic and devastating. In the first twenty pages they are already describing the dead bodies that are on the street and the blood that is everywhere. This story takes place in Sierra Leone in January 1993. A twelve-year-old boy named Ishmael Beah is just a normal boy around this time. He has heard of the war but it hasn’t really affected him yet. He is just a normal boy who likes to be with him friends and likes rap music. Him and some of his friends are going to perform in a talent contest in the village of Mattru Jong. Then him and his friends end up in the town of Mogbwemo. There is where the war finally starts to affect him. He sees people who are injured, dead, and about to die. Ishmael says that they must go back to the town of Mattru Jong because they could no longer call Mogbwemo home. Ishmael has witnessed so many things already and it is just the beginning. On his journey back to the village he says, “ I barely noticed the journey, and when I drank water I didn’t feel any relief even though I knew I was thirsty.” I think this shows that he is already losing feelings that are normal. Later on in chapter two, he talks about killing and murdering people. He ends the chapter by saying, “These days I live in three worlds: my dreams, and the experiences of my new life, which trigger memories from the past.” To me, this is a haunting statement. It proves that his childhood is over and he is becoming brainwashed by the war and the killing. I can tell this book is going to be graphic and hard to get through but I am looking forward to reading the rest.