A Long Way Gone Ch. 21

I felt like this last chapter didn't really complete the book. I want to know more about what happened to Ishmael Beah afterwards. But considering the name of the book, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs Of A Boy Soldier, I guess it really was the end of his soldier life. I personally thought that this was an extraordinary book. But I'm really interested in knowing what happens next. I guess I'll just have to find out when Ishmael Beah speaks at Butler. 

I was really sad that Ishmael's Uncle died, because I really liked his personality. He was always trying to make sure that Ishmael felt comfortable in his surroundings. I think it was really good that Ishmael was able to leave for America when he did. Even though he was separated from his family again, I thought it was the right choice for him to make. He wouldn't have to worry about being involved in the war anymore. And he would be able to start his life over, with real possibilities for himself. 

I was a little confused about the metaphor of the monkey. I didn't really understand what he meant. Maybe someone could fill me in. Please.

A Long Way Gone Ch. 19-20

Chapters nineteen and twenty bring this tragic story to a joyful end. After all Ishmael has been through, he finally has a family. But Ishmael does not want to let go too soon. His experiences have made him think that happiness can't last for a long time. He is afraid that, like everything else in his life, it will all disappear. 

Ishmael is different from his cousins. They do not know what he has been through and probably would not understand. That is why his uncle does not tell his kids. He knows that Ishmael would feel extremely uncomfortable if everyone was asking him about his experience with the war all the time. Still, Ishmael is always worried that someone is going to question him. I was so sad when I read that Mohamad was put back at the front line just because his family didn't want him. With a rejection like that, I don't think he will ever be able to move past it.

When Ishmael was chosen to go to New York I was so happy. I thought to myself, "finally, they give this poor kid a break!" Ishmael deserves it. Practically his whole life, or at least the part of his life that he tells us about, Ishmael has lost everything. His family, his home, his friends, and he even lost himself along the way. It was just such a relief to finally know that this boy is somewhere safe with an opportunity for a real life.

A Long Way Gone Ch. 17-18

Ishmael meets Esther for the first time in these chapters. Ishmael had been playing ping pong when he "felt someone tap [him] on the shoulder. It was the nurse...It was the first time [he] had looked at her directly. Her white teeth contrasted with her dark, shiny skin, and when she smiled, her face not only increased in beauty, it also glowed with charm" (Beah pg. 152). Ishmael was not sure about her at first. But Alhaji teased him and said, "She likes you" (Beah pg. 152).

Ishmael is annoyed with Esther at first, but after a while he starts to warm up to her. One day, Esther called Ishmael in to see her. When Ishmael came in the room she handed him a present. "She [looked] at [him], waiting for [him] to open it. When [Ishmael] unwrapped it, [he] jumped up and hugger her, but immediately held back his happiness" (Beah pg. 154). He did not want Esther to see how happy he was. But it was too late. One might say that Esther had bribed Ishmael into trusting her. But I think she just gave him a little push.

I liked these few chapters because everything was starting to pull itself back together again. For once, things seemed to be all right.

A Long Way Gone Ch. 15-16

Ishmael is finally taken out of the war by UNICEF. The commander does not tell the boys what is happening. Instead he just tells them that they are done there and that they should leave. He does this because he knows that if he tells the boys what is going on there will be a big commotion. However, UNICEF makes a huge mistake by placing the army boys and the rebel boys together. And to make things worse, the boys smuggled in weapons with them. These people do not understand what these boys have gone through. All they know is that the boys were forced to fight in the war. But what they do not realize is that these boys may have been forced to fight in the beginning, but now they want to. The armies had become like a family to the boys and they did not want to leave that behind. They enjoyed the fighting and the killing. The boys may have been taken out of the war, but the war was still in them.

In these chapters we here the phrase, "It's not you're fault" over and over again. Ishmael cannot stand when the civilians tell his this. Partly because they were not there and do not know what he has gone through. Ishmael feels that he cannot trust anyone anymore, and that he has to do everything on his own. But he learns that that is not always the best route to take.

Ishmael had been having nightmares about the war and excruciating migraines. Nothing seemed to help. He was going without sleep because he was afraid of what he might see in his dreams. These symptoms were caused partly because of the massive amounts of drugs he had been taking. Most of the boys from the army were going through the same thing. They were going crazy because of their addiction to the drugs. 

Books to Read

Do not make me read The Red Badge Of Courage or A Midsummer Night's Dream!!!

I have heard that The Secret Life Of Bees is a good book. 

I absolutely loved To Kill A Mockingbird and I would be glad to read it again. 

A Long Way Gone Ch. 13-14

These are probably the hardest chapters of the book. Ishmael is captured and made into a boy soldier. At first it is extremely hard for Ishmael, but he soon gets used to it. Ishmael starts taking drugs and begins to kill. He is forced to watch movies about war. He starts to look up to the killing characters in the movies. Ishmael is told to take out his anger for what happened to his family on others by killing them. Ishmael completely changes in these chapters. He starts to do everything that he was against before. He takes masive amounts of drugs to calm himself and eventually he cannot feel any pain at all. 

I do not think that Ishmael is a bad person. I think he is just confused and is making bad choices. But I can't really judge him.

A Long Way Gone Ch. 11-12

The chapter starts out with Saidu's death and how the boys are mourning for him. Saidu's death came as a big shock to all of the boys which made it very hard for them. When the boys are going into a village they meet a new character, Gasemu tells Ishmael that his family is alive and he knows where they are. Gasemu spacificaly mentions Junior which made me a little worried. 

A few chapters back when Ishmael is separated from Junior, he says that he would never see his brother again. That means Ishmael will most likely not end up finding his family.

I felt so sorry for Ishmael because he was so sure that his family was alive now and that he was going to be with them again and that everything would be better. Instead, Ishmael arrives to see that the village had been attacked and overheard to rebels saying that no one in the village survived. 

When Ishmael hears this he immediately blames Gasemu because he was the one who told Ishmael not to go to the village until the next day. I can understand why Ishmael is so mad at Gasemu, but at the same time Gasemu saved Ishmael's life. If it wasn't for him, Ishmael would have been killed by the rebels along with the rest of his family. 

Ishmael says that he would have rather died with his family than be alive now with his family dead. But he is very frustrated now and might not really think that. We cannot really know though. None of us have ever been in the same situation, so we cannot really judge Ishmael's actions.

A Long Way Gone Ch. 10

This chapter was so sad. I could not believe that Saidu really died. I guess I knew that something bad was going to happen, but I did not expect this. There are many different reasons that Saidu could have died. But Beah doesn't tell us the real reason, so we can only guess. Saidu might have died from the bird that they ate that fell out of the sky. Birds don't just fall out of the sky normaly. There had to have been something wrong with it. Maybe it was diseased. Another reason that he could have died was from starvation. But I think that Saidu had just lost the will to live. His whole life had fallen apart and it was obvious that things were not just going to go back to normal. Saidu felt that there was no reason to move on, it was better to just end the suffering now.

A Long Way Gone Ch. 8-9

Ishmael is now all alone, lost in a forest. In the forest, there is only him and his thoughts. The days are long for Ishmael because he has nothing to do. He tries to avoid thinking. But that is impossible. Ishmael doesn't want to let his mind wander, because he is afraid that he will start thinking about the past which will remind him of his family. He can't bear to think about them and what might have happened to them. So he tries to clear his mind of all thoughts.
One day when Ishmael is walking in the forest, he comes across six boys. At first he is terrified because he has not seen any other humans for a long time. But luckily he knew three of the boys and continued on with them.
At one point when the boys are walking together, they hear a strange noise. They "started hearing something like the roar of big engines, the rolling of metal drums on a tar road, a thunder exploding, roll after roll" (p. 58). When I read this chapter I was so scared for Ishmael and the others. I thought that the noise was coming from rebels. I thought that the boys were going to be captured and maybe even killed. My eyes were running across the page. I wanted to know what would happen. but when I got to the passage about the ocean, I was relieved. Beah did such a wonderful job writing this novel. It really grabs the reader's attention. I felt like I was really there.

A Long Way Gone Ch. 6-7

Ishmael is traveling with a group of six boys which is "not to [their] advantage" (p. 37). People were afraid of boys their age because they thought that they were rebels. The boys could not walk through the villages because they were afraid that they would be hurt by the villagers. In chapter six, Ishmael and the other boys are caught and threatened by men from a nearby village.

I loved this part of the chapter because the boys were saved by there love of rap music. When the men search the boys pockets, they find rap cassettes in Ishmael's pockets. The chief of the village plays the music and realizes that these are just six innocent boys trying to survive the war.

A Long Way Gone Ch. 1-2

In chapters three through five, Ishmael starts to become more accustomed to the ways of war. He is no longer shocked by bloody wounds and dead corpses. In chapter three it talks about how the boys are so hungry that they steal other people's food at night. Before the war, stealing was an unthinkable crime and something that Ishmael would never do. But now, he has no choice. This is what he has to do if he wants to survive. We also see that Ishmael is becoming more independent. He has drifted away from his brother in order to save himself.

A Long Way Gone Ch. 3-5

This book is extremely disturbing but very true. Usually when I start a book, the beginning is very boring. But I was immediately pulled into the story of Ishmael Beah. When I first started the book, I couldn't put it down. It is so well written, and so interesting. It is impossible for me to comprehend what Beah is going through. Living in America, I have no idea what it really means to be starving, in danger, or terrified. I can say that I have experienced these things, but it was not for real. As I read through the book I realize more and more how lucky I am to be living here. Nothing like this would ever happen in America.