Week two

A Long Way Gone
By: Ishmael Beah
Week two reading blog

Loaded words

-Young boys (pg 37): Young boys are being forced by the rebels to murder. When using the term “young boys” it reminds us and makes us think of them and little, innocent, people who are killing. It makes it much more dramatic.
-Chief (pg 38): Chief of the village captured the boys. By saying “chief”, it shows how much power and authority this person has. Since they are captured by him, it the possibility of them getting hurt by the chief becomes much more real in our minds.
-Elders (pg 45): the elders were blessing Ishmael’s family’s new house. The word “elder” makes us think that this person is respected, smart, and the spiritual capability to bless the home.
-Sorrow (pg 46): “Sorrow” gives us more emotional feeling that just sadness or upset. Deep sorrow about losing his family.
-Human (pg 47): Ishmael hasn’t been in contact with humans in six days until now. Saying “human” makes them sound uncivilized, less emotion than actual people.
-Brutal (pg 49): His brutal hunger sounds more desperate and painful then just bad hunger.
-Charging (pg 53): Wild pigs were charging at him. Saying charging shows us how fast and strong the pigs were that were attacking him. Gives us a sense of the strong pigs.
-Fatigue (pg 55): His fatigue after being in a forest for one month. “Fatigue” reminds us of how tiring staying alive in a forest was for him.
-Chopped (pg 57): A person being chopped with a machete. “Chopped” makes the situation sound like it happens all the time. It is common to be chopped by a machete.
-Host (pg 63): The host took care of them. “Host” refers to a waiter, or a servant that assists and helps them whenever they need, when actually it was just a fisherman helping heal the boy’s feet after walking on hot sand.

In the second week, the boys again had close encounters with rebels. While staying in a town, they helped farm and produce food for the villagers daily. The rebels attacked the town quickly and without notice. Ishmael was separated from all of his friends, and after the rebels cleared out of the town, he left walking all by himself. Ishmael got very lost and ended up spending a month trying to find his way out of a forest. By coincidence, as leaving the forest, Ishmael found people he recognized from his home town, and joined them. This made a group of seven boys, trying to find a safe place to be, away from the war. Rumor spread that there was an island off of Sierra Leone that was protected by soldiers, so that was their target. They found a village on the beach, but instead of the townspeople helping them, they took their shoes and scared them away. Shoeless was awful on the burning hot sand, and they could hardly stand it, until they found a fisherman that helped them out.

Through his struggles, I am realizing how smart Ishmael has to be to stay alive. He has to know different plants to eat, how to make shelter, how to find water, and much more. I can hardly believe he made it through living in a forest for one whole month. I feel so bad for him and all of his misfortunes, especially not knowing if he will ever see any of his family again.