KYLE'S QUESTIONS

1) How do you Identify with Ishmael?
I would identify ismeal as a boy who was living a normal life then a war came and he learned to either be strong and become a man or die from giving up.

2)If you were Ishmael would you stay in town and fight or get out of town?
I would probably run away because they have weapons and i dont.

3) If you were put in Ishmael's shoes would fight for your country sooner than he did?
Yes if i knew about it sooner, but ishmeal didnt know the attack was coming

4)If you were to meet Ishmael in person what would you say to him?
I would compliment on how strong and brave he must have been to be anle to keep trying instead of just giving up and dying, when that would have been the easier thing to do.

5)Would you enjoy bieng rescued from the war?
Yes, because i would feel relief that i can live in a world where i do not always have to be scared of being seen and killed

6)Would you respond in a violent way like Ishmael did?
Only if i got to the point where there were no other options.

7)Would you be happy you went to live with family?
YOU BET YOUR BOTTOM I WOULD, because family is the only thing you can count on if your in this situation
8)Would you be a leader or a follower?
Leader

9) Would you try to get out of Sierra Leone?
Yes! if i stay i might die!

10) Would you be able to kill someone like Ishmael?
No! im mean but i still have a heart!!!

A long way gone questions

1.Who is Junior, how is he connected to Ishmael?

2.What country does this story take place at?

3.Who are the rebels, what do they want?

4.Does Ishmael ever find his family?

5. When does this take place?

6.What climate/weather is Ishmael dealing with on top of all of what he's doing everyday just to survive?

7.Can you relate to anything Ishmael is going through? If so, how?

8.Who is Esther? Why does she have such a big effect on Ishmael's life, while he knows her?

9.Does Ishmael ever become of the rebels?

10.What does Ishmael do with his life once the war and everything else is over?

11.Have you ever had the urge do damage Kyle B. or kyle G.'s face hole?

poem in honor of my teacher Ms.Lines

poem 1
Ms Lines, I'm happy that you're my teacher;I enjoy each lesson you teach.As my role model you inspire me To dream and to work and to reach. With your kindness you get my attention;Every day you are planting a seed Of curiosity and motivation To know and to grow and succeed. You help me fulfill my potential;I'm thankful for all that you've done.I admire you each day, and I just want to say,As a teacher, you're number one!

poem 2
Ms.Lines, The most admired teacher Would be caring, kind and smart.She'd always have her students Best interests in her heart. She'd help us love to learn.Her lessons would be clear.She'd motivate with praise,And always be sincere. She'd be upbeat and supportive,And a great role model too.She'd be the perfect teacher;She'd be just like you!

poem 3
Rarely does someone get to influence a person's life in a positive way for a lifetime,as a teacher can,fostering optimism and confidence,providing knowledge that leads to success,and being a good role model,as you have,and you are,and you will...forever.I'll remember you always.Thank you.

Just for you Ms.Lines, sincerely Ashley

chapter 21. .ITS THE END.

Some evenings, now that he has returned home, Ishmael will tell his family stories about his experiences in New York City. Afterwards, his uncle would respond by saying that it seemed like a strange trip. To Ishmael, it seems like something that had happened in his mind. Soon, he and Mohamed begin school again at St. Edward’s Secondary School. Ishmael is excited, because he has forgotten what it is like to be a student, to sit in class, to take notes, do homework, make friends and even provoke other students. He is eager to return, but is downcast when all the other students sit apart from them. They want to avoid Ishmael, because he had been a boy soldier. Their lives are tainted by their experiences, but Ishmael is confident that nothing could get any worse than it has been and that makes him smile. Then, on May 25, 1997, the war comes to Freetown. Gunshots erupt from around the State House and the House of Parliament, and they can see soldiers and army trucks everywhere. Ishmael and Mohamed look at each other as if to say, “Not again.” Then, they set the prisoners free from the central prisons and these criminals immediately set to find the lawyers and judges who had put them there. They tortured and killed them and their families. Someone comes on the radio and announces that his name is Johnny Paul Koroma and he is the new president of Sierra Leone. Somehow, the army has overthrown a democratically elected president. Later, they learn that the RUF (the rebels) have collaborated with the military to oust the civilian government. The whole country has now crumbled into lawlessness. Ishmael knows that he can’t return to his previous life, because he doesn’t think that now he can make it out alive. The “Sobels” (soldiers/rebels) begin looting the money in banks, halting, searching, and stealing from people on the streets, and occupying the secondary schools and campuses. Day by day, it becomes top dangerous to be out in the open and maybe take a stray bullet. Unfortunately, the Sobels also loot all the available food and so, going out in search of food becomes necessary. Ishmael has heard of a secret market where unavailable food items are being sold to civilians. So he and Mohamed head for this market and soon have many items they desperately need. Unfortunately, as they are about to leave, a Land Rover roars up and with a megaphone, a soldier orders them to put down their bags of goods and lie down on the ground with their hands on their heads. One woman tries to run and is shot in the head. This causes a general panic, and people begin running everywhere. Ishmael and Mohamed crouch and run, keeping their goods with them. Ishmael finally realizes that he cannot stay in Sierra Leone, so his long, arduous journey out of his country.
To be continued in next post.

chapter 20

Ishmael arrives in New York with conceptions of the city coming from his rap music. He expects it to be dangerous to walk the streets and so isn’t really looking forward to it. He is also surprised when he arrives in the middle of winter, because he doesn’t even know what the word winter means. He is wearing the light summer weight suit of his country, but it is absolutely freezing outside the airport, and it is also snowing. For some reason, Dr. Tamba has a jacket, but he and Bah do not. Nonetheless, when they enter the city, it seems to glitter with all its lights and the falling snow. Ishmael is completely overwhelmed. Furthermore, there are many, many people walking the streets, so Ishmael knows it is not as dangerous as he thought. They arrive at the hotel and he has a room of his own for the first time in his life. Unfortunately, he doesn’t understand how to adjust the radiator and since it is set at its highest setting, he is soon roasting. He doesn’t understand a country where it is freezing cold outside and extremely warm inside. The first person he meets at the conference is a girl from Norway named Kristen who gives him a nametag. Unfortunately, in spite of her winning personality welcoming him to the conference, he cannot adjust to the food and wishes he had brought his own. life becomes difficult over and over for ishmeal and i think he feels that there is hope for things to get better.

chapter 19

Ishmael is finally “repatriated” to live with his uncle. He is worried about what to do there especially if his nightmares and migraines return. He also feels such guilt over being the only one in his family to have survived the war. Nonetheless, he packs his few belongings and with his heart beating very fast, he says goodbye to Mohamed, Alhaji, and Mambu. Mohamed embraces him, but Alhaji just claps him on the shoulder. Ishmael never sees this longtime friend again. Esther gives him her address and tells him he can come any time. As soon as Ishmael arrives at his uncle’s house, his uncle picks him up and carries him to the verandah. He says in a formal manner that he welcomes him like he would welcome a chieftain. Then, everyone else in the family hugs him, and his aunt makes him a chicken dish for supper. This is a great honor, because chicken is only served on special occasions. Allie shows him where he will sleep, and Ishmael is impressed by how neat and clean the room is. His chores are made very clear, and this calms Ishmael’s nerves. Later, his uncle and aunt go for prayers at the mosque, and when they returned, they play a cassette of a storyteller. That’s when Ishmael finally begins to feel comfortable with people who are happy all the time. A day or two later, Allie gives Ishmael a set of dress clothes and tells him they are going to a dance at a pub. They have to sneak out so his uncle doesn’t know. Once he arrives, Ishmael feels somewhat out of place, because everyone seems to know someone else. So, he begins to dance by himself in the corner. Then, he is approached by a girl and they start to dance. They date for a few weeks but she begins to ask to many questions about ishmeals past and there was just to much pain and memories for ishmeal to start revealing to strangers. Ishmeal went to a job interveiw where everything is very strange to him. There were tall buildings and a box that transported them through out the building (escalator). when ishmeal tells the man of his reason to get the job the man just smiles and that angers ishmeal, and ishmeal does not know why.

chapter 18

One day, during his fifth month at Benin House, Esther comes by and Ishmael tells her, “I feel as if there is nothing left for me to be alive for. I have no family, it is just me. No one will be able to tell me stories about my childhood.” Esther tells him, with a hug, that he can think of her as his sister. She reminds of him of his childhood friend, Abigail, with whom he could laugh and laugh. He wishes Esther was Abigail so they can “laugh with all their beings, longer and without any worries as he had done with Abigail . . .” Then, Esther smiles at him, and he forgets about his loneliness for the time being.The following day, Esther tells Ishmael that there are visitors coming to the center and they want the boys to hold a talent show. Esther wanthakespeare him to sing his reggae songs, but Ishmael suggests a monologue from shakespeare. She says yes to that idea, but still wants him to sing. the visitors are from the European Commission, the UN, UNICEF, and several NGOs. When they arrive, they melt into the crowd of boys to get to know them and then sit in anticipation of the talent show. It consists of stories like the Bra Spider, Ishmael’s monologue, and a short hip-hop play that Ishmael had written about the redemption of a former child soldier. Mr. Kamara, the center director, is so impressed with Ishmael’s play that he asks him to be a spokesperson for the center. Ishmael’s rehabilitation continues as he finds a real family but he still has a way to go.

chapter 17

Ishmael has not been to the hospital since he had walked out a few months before. But one afternoon, during a table tennis match, he feels a tap on his shoulder. It is the nurse from the hospital. She gives him a cold Coca-Cola and invites him to come see her anytime he wants. After she leaves, Alhaji teases Ishmael that the nurse likes him. Anyway, Ishmael decides to go to the hospital. There is a chart on the wall with the names of all the boys and checkmarks to show when they have come to the hospital for scheduled appointments. There are no checkmarks by Ishmael’s name. He finally tells her his name when she asks, and she tells him she is Esther. He asks her if she really wants to be friends with him, and surprisingly, she says maybe not. He bitterly notes to himself that it is better she feels this way, because he has come to believe that people befriend others only to exploit them. Ironically, however, her explanation for saying she’s not sure about befriending him is based on whether she will be able to trust him. She softens this by telling him he has a great smile and should use it more often. A few days later, Esther throws a package at Ishmael. It is a Walkman and a rap cassette, and he is amazed that she knows he likes rap music. She makes him sit down for a medical exam while he listens to the cassette. She sees the huge scars on his legs from bullet wounds and asks him to tell her where he got them. He then begins to unfold the story. During the dry season, the soldiers had decided to attack another village where there were more rebels than them. So they returned to base, and it was decided that they would capture the village and make it their new base. They traveled there quickly and set up an ambush, but then they realized that the village was empty. Suspiciously, they continued to watch, and eventually, five gunmen returned. In this chapter is an explanation of how, gradually, Ishmael is finding himself again with the help of such concerned and caring people.

chapter 16

Ishmael is infuriated being told what to do by the civilians. A few days before, they could have decided whether these people would live or die, so now they refuse to do anything but eat. At the end of every meal, the nurses and staff members come to talk to them about attending scheduled medical check-ups and the one-on-one counseling sessions in the psychosocial therapy center. They hate what these staff members are trying to do, so they attack them until they are basically left to wander about their new environment. That is the beginning of more violent behavior. They break into the hospital looking for drugs, but what medicines they find don’t give them the high they’re seeking. They also beat up people from the neighborhood and fight each other every day and night. They throw their mattresses out on the grass and the staffers always put them back. Finally, the mattresses are left in the rain and become soaked. They beat up the staff member who is in charge of supplies, because he won’t give them new mattresses. However, like all the other staff, he never shows anger about what they do and continues to smile and tell them that what they do isn’t their fault. Ishmael’s migraines also return with a vengeance, but no one pays any attention to his pain, because they are all going through withdrawl from the drugs.. One day, the boys decide to break all the windows in the schoolroom. For some reason, Ishmael decides to break one window with his fist and pushes it back and forth through the window until he must be taken to the hospital. The nurse gently removes pieces of glass from his hand, but it doesn’t matter how gentle she is, because Ishmael feels no pain. She tries to find out his name and rub his head after she bandages his wounds. However, he won’t let her touch him. The next day, Ishmael faints from a migraine and once again is taken to the hospital. He awakens and walks out again. Then, he faints a second time, and when he awakens this time, the nurse tells him he just shouldn’t leave again. Then, she injects him with a sedative to calm and he finally sleeps.

chapter 15

Ishmael says, “My squad is my family, my gun is my provider, and protector, and my rule is to kill or be killed.” His childhood has gone by without his knowing and it seems as if his heart has frozen. However, everything is about to change He is fifteen years old. He, Alhaji, Kanai, and twenty members of his squad leave one morning for Bauya, a small town a day’s walk away. They are excited to see Jumah, who is stationed there. Ishmael is also looking forward to seeing the lieutenant who might find some time to talk about shakespeare. They find Jumah sitting in a hammock on the verandah of a cement house. His face seems older and he no longer nods nervously as he talks. Later that night, they gathered in the yard at the center of town where it is a social event for the commanders to mingle with everyone else. Ishmael is amazed at his lieutenant who has managed to stay alive even after most of his commander friends have been killed.

chapter 14

Ishmael’s migraines stop as his daily activities are replaced with more soldiering. He takes turns as the guard posts around the village and becomes addicted to marijuana, cocaine and white capsules. When he first takes these drugs in combination, he acts in a more than bizarre manner, but eventually, he comes to feel only numbness to everything and so much energy that he can’t sleep for weeks. He and the other boys watch war and commando movies when they aren’t raiding rebel camps and attacking civilian villages to capture recruits. The idea of death never crosses his mind during this time and killing becomes as easy as drinking water. His mind had snapped with that first killing, and it caused him to feel no remorse for what he does. On a typical raid, Ishmael and the boys surround a rebel camp and wait for the lieutenant’s command. Ishmael gets angrier and angrier as he comes to believe that these look just like the rebels who killed his family and played cards in the ruins of the village.This chapter is very graphic in explaining the life Ishmael has come to live a life that is filled with actual violence, drugs, and death

chapter 13

One Sunday morning, the corporal gives them the day off. He says, “If you are religious, I mean a Christian, worship your Lord today, because you might not have another chance.” The boys go to the square and play soccer and later go to the river to swim. Then, the corporal suddenly calls them back. In the square, they are told to quickly service their guns and then to pack up ammunition, making sure not to take too much so they can run fast. Some of the boys continued to laugh and play, thinking this is just more training. However, Ishmael begins to shake, because he knows this is the real thing. The lieutenant has them all stand up for inspection and then hands them all green head ties, telling them, “If you see anyone without a head tie of this color or a helmet like mine, shoot him.” They then sit down on the ground to wait, their thoughts wandering into their own feelings. Sheku and Josiah sit close to Ishmael, their eyes watery and dull. A soldier comes by with a plastic bag with some kind of white capsules that every one of the boys is told to take to “boost their energy.” They are given no other information. In this chapter, Ishmael has his first taste of war as a soldier and It is ugly and mind numbing.

chapter 12

The boys walk for days, but Ishmael couldnt remember how many. Suddenly they are stopped by two government soldiers with rifles who take them to another village. Along the way, they see two dead bodies that make Ishmael want to vomit. And one of the soldiers smiles and says, “You will get used to it. Everybody does.” They are taken downriver to Yele, which is filled with the military. In the beginning it seemed that they have finally found safety. The village is always full of chatter and laughter, and all that ever darkens it for Ishmael is the sight of orphaned children. Apart from this, there are no indications that their childhood is threatened, much less that they will be robbed of it. The boys are given jobs working in the kitchen and Ishmael is glad for the work that distracts him from thoughts of his family. He was suffering severe migraines since finding his family dead in the village. Everyone else settles in to every day life, Then one morning the atmosphere in the village became suddenly tense. All the soldiers assembled in the square in their uniforms and were addressed for hours by Lieutenant Jacobi.