A Long Way Gone: Theme

     Throughout this memoir, there is one major thing that is repeated throughout. Ishmael cheats death time after time and continues to survive. A Major theme in this book is death and rebirth. On Ishmael’s journey to survival, and to look for his family, he faces death with every turn. Almost every village, aside from two or three, attempt to kill him and his friends upon entry. Almost every village saw the young boys as rebel recruits. Each time the boys were lucky enough to be released alive. Entering villages wasn't the only way Ishmael almost got killed, he also had to deal with the elements. At one point in the journey, one chief had taken away his shoes, so Ishmael was forced to walk barefoot on the hot ground when Ishmael said on page 60 that "it was over 120 degrees." He also ran into a heard of wild pigs that chased him for miles. Eventually, Ishmael was recruited by the rebels and forced to take drugs that made him kill innocent people. This was also a near death experience. In the end, Ishmael starts to experience rebirth once he reaches the hospital. Rebirth didn't come as soon as he reached the hospital, since when he first got there, he still said, "it was infuriating to be told what to do by civilians." (page 138) With time and care, Ishmael was weaned off of the drugs he was taking and was on his way to recovery. At one point in time, a nurse even gives him a cassette tape, which triggers all of his childhood thoughts. Ishmael’s uncle then brings Ishmael into his home to provide love and shelter for him. 

     I feel as if death and rebirth define the whole outline and story line of this memoir. Do you feel death and rebirth were important to the story? If not, what other theme was more prominent?

A Long Way Gone Pt 2

     Ishmeal had been living in the town of Kanator when one night the rebels attacked unannounced. Everyone who could, ran. But when Ishmeal ran, he lost Junior and his friends. Ishmeal was now alone. He just kept walking and walking until he would find food. Ishmeal could never climb coconut trees, but on his journey he bacem so hungry that his adrenaline allowed him to do so. Ishmeal lived off of oranges and coconuts for a long time. He hadn't seen people in days until the sixth day when he ran into a family out by the river. He went to the river to wash off and ask for directions. The family seemed cautious around him but still conversed with him. As soon as he got directions, he set out on his way to save the family discomfort. While continuing his journey, Ishmeal eventually landed himself in a forest where he had no clue how to get out. He spent countless days in the forest until he ran into wild boars and had to find his way out. Once he made it out, he ran into some old friends who he began to travel with. They ran into a village that wasn't accepting of them and kicked them out and took their shoes. While they were lucky to survive, they were set up for extreme failure being left to walk the hot days barefoot. Their feet were destroyed while they continued their journey, until they ran into an extremely generous man who took them into his fishing shack to treated their feet and feed them. They were so grateful for this man until the man's town found out about the boys. The only thing that helped the boys to survive was Ishmeals rap cassettes. When the chief listened to the tapes he came up with a decision, which was that Ishmeal was "just a child." (p68) He freed the boys and made them leave.
     If I were Ishmeal, I would be extremely lost without my brother. I more than likely wouldn't be able to move forward in life without him. I would be depressed and unmotivated. Would you be able to go on without your brother during the war?

A Long Way Gone Pt 1

     Ishmeal was just a normal kid. He, his brother, Junior, and two friends used to watch TV at a local pool, when they saw a few young men speaking very fast to a beat. They found out that it was called Rap and they fell in love. They wanted to spread their love for rap by traveling to a town a few miles away called Mattru Jong. They packed their pockets with cassettes of rap music and set off to Mattru Jong. Upon their arrival, they met up with two more friends who had lived in this town, They soon heard of an attack by Rebels on their hometown, Mogbwemo. The boys were in shock and all they could think about was going home to find their families. They set out immediately to head back towards home. On their way through one of the neighboring towns, they ran into several injured people coming from their hometown. One man even pulled up in a van full of his dead family members who were shot during their escape. That was when they boys knew they couldn't return home and that their families weren't still at home. They set back to Mattru Jong. While there, they got notified that the rebels were coming for them. When the rebels came, the boys escaped, but not for long. They eventually became so hungry that they needed to go back to Mattru Jong to find their hidden money. This turned out to be a not so good idea because this got them caught by the rebels. They were going through their captures and deciding who would be recruited and who would be killed when they heard gun shots, which allowed the boys to escape. After escaping, they ran into a town that thought they were rebels. They tied them up and were ready to kill them until a boy from their hometown told the leader that they weren't rebels. At this town is where Ishmeal, Junior, and his friends settled for the night. Ishmeal really wished he knew what his brother was thinking. Ishmeal thought, "I wanted him to ask me if I was fine." (p40)
     If I were Ishmeal I would not have survived this long. I would have been caught and killed by rebels so long ago, Reading his memoir makes me so happy to hear he was able to escape death so many times. I would also pull Junior aside and ask how hes feeling and talk to him if I were Ishmeal. Since Junior was the only family he had left at this point, I think it is really important for Ishmeal to connect with him so they can get through this together. Should Ishmeal stay quiet or talk to Junior?