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A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah Read pages 1 – 137
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Summary –

The story is a memoir of the author, Ishmael, as a boy living in Sierra Leone during the war. In the beginning of the story the war was known all around, but it seemed almost a dream to the people because it had not yet come to start affecting them. Ishmael lived with his father, stepmother, and his brother, him and his brother being very close. They were really into American rap music and they were going into a different town to do a talent show with a few of their friends. When they reached the town, news spread that the war had reached the town where they were originally from and was heading their way. His brother and him both started running back the 16 miles they had already traveled to search for their families. On their way there they saw so many horrors of what they people had been through that were trying to escape. So many deaths, injuries, and blood shed had occurred. They decided that going back was just going to be a suicide, so they once again turned back around. They weren’t safe for long because soon enough the rebels, people who started the war, were on their way. The two boys and their friends were pretty much all on their own. They stayed on the run for a long time, trying to sneak back into different towns where either the rebels were or just had been in search for food and money. They worked together as a pack and depended on one another for survival. On one occasion they went into the town where the rebels were staying and got caught. The rebels stood and chose from the boys, children, and women they had captured to see who would be the next soldiers that would join. The first pick Ishmael was in, but then they changed their minds, the second time around his brother was picked, but just as they were about to do the initiation killing, different gun shots were heard and the boys got away. From then on the boys decided they couldn’t take it anymore and went their own ways. For a while, Ishmael was on his own wondering through the different towns, people helping his as he went giving him food and shelter if he was lucky. He was in search of the land where the war had not hit yet, the safe land. When I left off Ishmael had found another group of boys that were also searching for this safe land, but through their travels together, people felt very threatened and were scared of the boys because they thought they were rebel soldiers.

Analysis –

When I picked out this book I wasn’t too sure if I would like it or not because I saw that it was about a war, and I am not very into that. This book has completely proved my first impression wrong though. I seriously love this book. It is so interesting and keeps me engaged in it. So far it hasn’t had a single dull moment. The only thing is that the book goes into so much detail about the horrors and the gore that Ishmael sees it really makes the reality of it kick in. I seriously cannot believe the things that I have read in the book. The fact that half of the soldiers were just kids that were caught and had no choice but to become a soldier. This book really opens my eyes to a part of the world that I really had no idea about before. It makes me grateful that nothing like this has ever happened to me before. I would not know what to do with myself if I had to run, hideout, and search for food in order to survive. This is truly an aspiring story and I cannot wait to see how the rest of the story goes. And this is a true story. Just goes to show how tough some people really have it.

Application –

This book really thrives on hope and the determination to stay alive. In the story Ishmael doesn’t know what happened to his family, he and his brother were apart from his father, mother, and stepmother because they had left town, but later on the two brothers also go their separate ways. Therefore, they have no idea what the family is going through or if they are still alive. They keep that hope close and keep pushing on and trying to survive so they can get through the war and get the family back together. The hope gives them a reason to keep going, and then you have to take that and then determination and survival instincts kick in. For example, in the story Ishmael is so thirsty that he climbed up a coconut tree and picked a coconut, but before that he had never been able to do that, and then again after he was quenched and tried to climb it he couldn’t, but just for that quick second his survival skills kicked it. Throughout different cultures and time you can see this happening all the time. Take the Holocaust for example, families were separated and they depended on that little bit of hope inside of them that if they get out alive they can be reunited with their loved ones, they had a purpose to survive and that is what they went off of. When there is hope anything is possible because there is always that piece of you that is saying don’t give up, keep fighting, and the determination kicks in. Hope is like when you’re all alone and in the dark, but you see that little glimpse of light in the distance, and you grasp on to that light until you reach it. So many people try to find the hope in bad situations in order to get them through to the happier times.


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A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah Pages 138 - 218

Summary - In this section of the book, Ishmael has become a soldier for "the good side", he is fighting against the rebels. At this point Ishmael is only 13 years old. He became a soldier by a random pick of boys based off of the way they looked. At first he had no idea how to fight or even how to hold a gun. After a short amount of time though he got the hang of it. The boys were scared to actually go out and fight in real battles because they have seen what it was like, but they have never been a part of it, they were always on the run. Eventually, all of the other soldiers were wounded or killed, so it was there turn to go out. In order to get them going, their lieutenant always told them that this was just revenge for everything the rebels have done to them, the killings of their families and their friends, taking over their homes, this was the time to get them all back for that. As soldiers they learned that the instinct was to kill, they lived off of marijuana, cocaine, and a drug called brown brown. This way they were always alert and had the energy to keep on going. Ishmael fought in this war for two years as a soldier, he had become brainwashed to kill. Then all of a sudden one day him and some of his friends were told by their lieutenant that they were no longer needed to fight and were told to follow these men, so they did. They had no idea where they were going or why because they were really good fighters, but they went anyways. At this new place there was clean sheets, food, and people all around, a safe place. They did not understand, but later found out it was a rehabilitation center. None of the boys wanted help though they wanted to go back to fighting. Since they couldn't they decided to lash out on the staff members and each other. Sometimes just fighting for fun, only stopping to eat meals. During this time a women named Esther, the nurse, kept trying to help Ishmael and get him for a checkup. After a couple of months he finally opened up and went to her. After a couple of visits they became friends and he would tell her about his horrible nightmares and his war experiences and she would help him. After that he started to improve greatly. He improved so much that they wanted him to give speeches about being a child soldier and be their spokesperson and talk about why they should end it. He did this for awhile and eventually they found his uncle in the city and said if he improved enough he could go and live with him. Therefore, his uncle came every weekend so they could get to know each other. Then once he was better he moved in with his uncle and his family. Once living with his new family he got the opportunity to go to the U.S. to a conference talking about children soldiers and he went. Here he once again talked and gave a speech, but this time from his heart, not one that someone else wrote for him. He got to meet a lot of new and interesting people, and learned that he was not the only one, but there were others all around the world that had hard lives as well and for once he felt like a normal kid. When he got home though, the war had over taken the city and in hopes to get away from it he headed to Guinea in order to take a flight to the U.S. to live with the one person who understood him so well when he was there the first time.

Analysis - This is seriously one of the best books that I have ever read. I have never read anything like this and I loved every second of this book. Sometimes it truly frustrated me when he was a soldier because I did not like the experiences that he had to go through and other times this book almost brought me to tears because the sadness that this young boy had to experience. This book was truly incredible and inspirational. He had such a hard life, but yet he made it through and tried to live a normal life. He made it to the U.S. where he lived with the lady from the conference and she became his mother. He made it out alive. He seriously deserved that after everything he went through. He lost his whole entire family, was a soldier fighting for revenge, and lost his uncle in the end as well. He thought that he was going to live a happily ever after with his uncle and his family, but the war followed him there and ruined that for him as well, but he made it to a safe place in the United States where he had a new family that loved him for him. He learned that there is no point in revenge because revenge never ends its just a circle that never stops, he learned that you can recover, you can get better, it is possible to love again, life can get better. He had a very hard life, and I am very glad that he shared his story with the world. I am very glad that I had the chance to read this book, and see what others go through. I have had a blind eye to all of this before, but now it has opened my eyes and I cannot believe it, but I am very glad that I got to read his experiences and see a different culture.

Application - In the second half of the book Ishmael once again is acting on his survival instincts while he is a soldier. He does as he is told and does not think a single thing of it. He does not truly realize what is going on around him because being with these other fighters gives him the upper hand, he has a support group, they work together to stay alive. They kill when they need to, mostly to take over camps in order to get food, water, and shelter. Survival is a natural instinct among all humans. Most people would do anything in order to get supplies to stay alive, especially the essentials of water, shelter, and food. Also, Ishmael talks about revenge. Revenge is one thing that most humans want to do, the saying revenge is the best medicine proves that for humans. Therefore, in the story Ishmael is fighting and killing because he thinks that it is the right thing to do, just because he is killing the people that have already killed the innocent, his friends, and his families. That how he rationalizes the deeds that he has done, so he thinks everything is okay because they deserved it because they started it. Many people have that same attitude, well they started it or they deserved that, they did it first. People put the things that they do off on others in an act of revenge, therefore they do not have to take the responsibility of it. Ishmael addresses this in the end when he is giving his speech in the United States, he says that revenge is just a cycle, one person will do something so you get revenge on them and then they get it back and the same thing just happens over and over again, never ending. He says that revenge is not an excuse to do bad things, I think that more people need to realize that because an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

Typos and such... 47/50

__My Influences__
There are many things in my life that made me become the person that I am today. To start off with, **my parents**. They have been there for me every step of the way. Helping me whenever I need help, listening to me when I'm upset, and sharing the pride when I have accomplishments. They mean everything to me and do so much for my family and me. Also my **siblings** have also helped shape me because I grew up with them. I have two sisters and a brother and I am the youngest, growing up I was the baby, so everyone always looked after me and teased me at the same time. I love my brother and sisters to death and they are my best friends that I can tell anything to and I know that they will have my back. We may fight sometimes, but in the end we will be together always. **The death of my grandmother** also had a big influence on me. My grandma was one of the people that looked over me a lot when I was a kid when my parents were at work. We used to play video games and she would make me peanut butter and banana sandwiches. She was like a best friend to me and losing her was one of the hardest things for me to go through because it was the first death that I had to experience in my life. It taught me how to love someone even when they aren't there and that it is okay to show and share your feelings with others. Over the years I have gained and lost **friends**, but all of them have affected me in some way. A friend is someone that you can go to and entrust in them when you don't think you really can to anyone else. I have a few very good friends that I know I would do anything for them and they would do the same way for me. **School** has definitely been one of my major influences, especially since college is approaching. I get a lot of pressure to do well in school and get good grades. School has taught me not to procrastinate, and how to manage my time, which are very important things to do. Along with that **Mrs. Lutz** has also been a huge influence on my life. This is because of her tenth grade honors algebra II class. From this class I realized that I wanted to become a math teacher, and I am now doing multiple internships, taking many math classes, and looking into colleges for secondary education. When I am not at school I am pretty much always at **work.** Work has influenced my life in many ways because it has taught me about patience, time management, responsibility, and leadership. I have been at Panera Bread for over a year now and work almost every day of the week. I have now became a trainer and have the responsibility of helping and training the new people that come through our doors, and I truly love my job. Sports are also a huge impact. Ever since I was little I have played **basketball.** Basketball was a sport that my whole family grew up playing. My mom and siblings all played basketball while growing up. We all went to each others games to watch and support them, and now they all do the same for me. It is a sport that we all can bond over and talk about because it is our one passion that we all share. Also, **track and field** is very important to me. I throw the javelin which all my siblings did as well. I did not originally start out doing that, but my sister taught me how and then her and I both did it in high school together. It was our thing that we had in common and could help and support each other through our bad days and our good days that brought us closer. Lastly, **my church** has truly influenced me as a person. Growing up every Sunday my family and I went to Sunday school and church. It was the place where we could all go together and be peaceful. Even though we don't all get to go together on Sunday's I'll still go with my dad and mom. Church has really shaped the beliefs that I have and has given me faith and hope. It is a place where you know you can go and get reassurance and help. All of these things have truly shaped me into who I am today. I am very grateful for all of the people, places, and things in my life that have helped and inspired me to be the person that I am today.

Wow, a math teacher! And how cool that you throw the javelin! -Mrs. Sands

Eli Kinnard - I never knew you worked at Panera Bread. I never ate there before, but I always hear good things about their food. I might come try something to see if they live up to the hype. Also basketball is one of my favorite sports, so that's cool that you play.