Monday, May 28, 2012
Ishmael Beah Foundation
Ishmael Beah is someone I really admire. After everything he went through, he is now helping others around the world. He set up the Ishmael Beah Foundation, which helps children around the world who have been affected by war. It helps give them a second chance at life. If you want to know more about the Ishmael Beah Foundation, here is a link to the website: http://www.beahfound.org/Beah_Foundation/Home.html
Interview with Ishmael Beah
This is an interview with Ishmael Beah. He is talking about his book and his experiences.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Quotes
"If you are alive, there is hope for a better day and something good to happen. If there is nothing good left in the destiny of a person, he or she will die." --- Ishmael's father (p.54, A Long Way Gone)
The candle represents hope, and how there is always hope.
"I've come to learn that if I am going to take revenge, in that process I will kill another person whose family will want revenge; then revenge and revenge and revenge will never come to an end..." --- Ishmael Beah (p.199, A Long Way Gone)
This picture represents forgiveness. We must forgive, instead of plotting revenge.
I like this quote because it is true. People are constantly plotting revenge and that gets us nowehere because it will lead to an ongoing circle of revenge. One person takes revenge, then another person takes revenge, then another and another and it will never end. This quote is saying that we need to forgive, because if everyone keeps taking revenge, eventually the revenge cycles will never end and the whoel world will be full of vengence instead of love and forgiveness.
"My children, this country has lost it's good heart. People don't trust each other anymore, Years ago, you would have been heartily welcomed in this village. I hope that you boys find safety before this untrustworthiness and fear cause someone to harm you." --- An old man (p.56, A Long Way Gone)
This picture of two hands letting go of each other, represents people not trusting each other anymore. It represents people letting go of trust.
This quote was said to Ishmael and his travelling companions Alhaji, Musa, Moriba, Kanei, Jumah and Saidu, by an old man in a village they had stopped in. At this time in the book, people have started a rumour about the seven boys, Ishmael and his companions. The old man was left behind in the village when the rest of the villagers left because they heard the seven boys were coming, because he could not run and no one wanted to carry him. The old man is talking about how, because of the war, people no longer trust each other.
"I began to worry, because last time I had found someone in the village who had gone to school with us and saved us. This time we were a long way gone from Mattru Jong. A long way gone." --- Ishmael Beah (p.65, A Long Way Gone)
This picture of footprints represents how far Ishmael has come from Mattru Jong. It represents his journey. He has come a long way. He is a long way gone form where he started.
This quote is said by Ishmael when he and his travelling companions had been captured again by a village. They were afraid they would die. In the last village they had been captured in, someone had been there from Mattur Jong and had recognized them and was able to help prove that Ishmael and his friends were telling the truth when they said they were from Mattru Jong. That person had saved their lives. This time, they were very far from any village where someone from Mattru Jong would be taking refuge in. It was very unlikely this time, that someone would be there from Mattru Jong who recognized them and could save them. Ishmael is realizing just how far he has come from Mattru Jong.
"We must strive to be like the moon." --- An old man in Kabati (p.16, A Long Way Gone)
The candle represents hope, and how there is always hope.
The sunset represents one day ending, and the hope that tomorrow will be a better day.
I love this quote from the book because it is true. There is always hope that another day will be better. I also like the quote because I think that it is saying that if you are alive, your life can get better and that if it was not going to get better, you would die. To me, I think that this quote means that if you are alive, God still has plans for you.
This picture represents forgiveness. We must forgive, instead of plotting revenge.
I like this quote because it is true. People are constantly plotting revenge and that gets us nowehere because it will lead to an ongoing circle of revenge. One person takes revenge, then another person takes revenge, then another and another and it will never end. This quote is saying that we need to forgive, because if everyone keeps taking revenge, eventually the revenge cycles will never end and the whoel world will be full of vengence instead of love and forgiveness.
"My children, this country has lost it's good heart. People don't trust each other anymore, Years ago, you would have been heartily welcomed in this village. I hope that you boys find safety before this untrustworthiness and fear cause someone to harm you." --- An old man (p.56, A Long Way Gone)
This picture of two hands letting go of each other, represents people not trusting each other anymore. It represents people letting go of trust.
This quote was said to Ishmael and his travelling companions Alhaji, Musa, Moriba, Kanei, Jumah and Saidu, by an old man in a village they had stopped in. At this time in the book, people have started a rumour about the seven boys, Ishmael and his companions. The old man was left behind in the village when the rest of the villagers left because they heard the seven boys were coming, because he could not run and no one wanted to carry him. The old man is talking about how, because of the war, people no longer trust each other.
"I began to worry, because last time I had found someone in the village who had gone to school with us and saved us. This time we were a long way gone from Mattru Jong. A long way gone." --- Ishmael Beah (p.65, A Long Way Gone)
This picture of footprints represents how far Ishmael has come from Mattru Jong. It represents his journey. He has come a long way. He is a long way gone form where he started.
This quote is said by Ishmael when he and his travelling companions had been captured again by a village. They were afraid they would die. In the last village they had been captured in, someone had been there from Mattur Jong and had recognized them and was able to help prove that Ishmael and his friends were telling the truth when they said they were from Mattru Jong. That person had saved their lives. This time, they were very far from any village where someone from Mattru Jong would be taking refuge in. It was very unlikely this time, that someone would be there from Mattru Jong who recognized them and could save them. Ishmael is realizing just how far he has come from Mattru Jong.
"We must strive to be like the moon." --- An old man in Kabati (p.16, A Long Way Gone)
This quote was said by an old man in Kabati. Ishmael is remembering him saying this as people would walk by his house. Ishmael asked his grandmother what the quote means, and she said that a lot og good things happen when the moon is out, and that no one complains about the moon. I think that this quote means that you should try to be good, just like the moon (no one complains about the moon, everyone likes the moon).
Thoughts about conflict discussion
During the conflict discussion with Jasmine, we both agreed that the major/most prominent conflict is man vs. self-Ishmael must learn to accept and forgive himself for what he did as a child soldier. We both agreed that if we had been on the run from the war, we would do what it takes to survive but not kill anyone. I learned that Ishmael was faced with a lot of challenges. I learned that the conflicts/challenges Ishmael was faced with made him stronger. I also learned that the man vs. man conflict of the rebels vs. the government army caused all the conflicts that Ishmael had. The reason we did not say that the rebels vs. the government army was the major/most prominent conflict is because this book is written from Ishmael's perspective and in the book you see that he is trying to forgive himself for what he did as a child soldier. We thought that the man vs. self conflict of Ishmael needing to learn to forgive and accept himself was a major conflict because all the other conflicts that he is faced with basically lead up to this one. Even though we agreed on basically everything about the conflict, listening to each other's answers to the questions helped us develop better answers for the questions.
Thoughts about setting discussion
During the setting discussion with Jasmine, we both agreed that the setting had an impact on the story. We agreed that if Ishamel had lived in Canada, none of this would have happened to him. We agreed that he would never have been a child soldier if he had lived in somewhere like Canada. We both agreed that the setting of the first battle Ishmael was in was very depressing and in a forest/swapmy area. During the discussion I learned that the setting in the book is a setting that I will never live in/experience. I learned that Africa is very different from Canada. Although Jasmine and I agreed on basically everything, it was interesting to talk about the setting together and I think we did learn some stuff from each other.
What the book is saying about life
The book A Long Way Gone is saying that in life, sometimes things happen that you can't control, but that if you work hard, you can get through them. It is saying that you cannot change the past, so you should let go of the things you regret having done and move on with your life because you cannot go back and change them. Ishmael had no control over becoming a child soldier, he was forced to. After some time at a rehabilitation centre in Freetown with the help of Esther, He was able to forgive himself for the things he did as a child soldier, and was able to get through the hard times he faced. Ishmael realized that he couldn't change the past, and began to move on with his life when he went to live with his uncle in Freetown after he had been rehabilitated.
How A Long Way Gone compares with The Hunger Games
The book A Long Way Gone has a few similarities with the book The Hunger Games. In both books, children are put in fighting situations. Both books also have similar themes and moods.
In A Long Way Gone, Ishmael and his friends Alhaji, Musa, Moriba, Jumah and Kanei are picked up by the government army and forced to be soldiers. They have no choice, if they do not join up with the army, they will be sent out of the village and killed by the rebels (RUF). The boys, a long with other boys and a few men, are trained for a brief period of time and then sent into battles against the rebels. Throughout their time in the war, Ishmael and his friends see and participate in acts of cruelty. These acts of cruelty include seeing people be killed, watching villages burn down, and killing people and burning down villages themselves. In the Hunger Games, Katniss, Peeta and 22 other tributes are chosen and forced into an annual hunger game-a fight to the death, where only one tribute will come out of the arena alive. Katniss, Peeta and all the other tributes have no choice, they must fight to the death in the arena or the Capitol (the people in charge) and President Snow, will punish them and their families. The tributes go through a training period to prepare them to fight in the arena. Katniss, Peeta and the other tributes see fellow tributes die and some even kill their fellow tributes.
Both A Long Way Gone and The Hunger Games have some similar themes of bad things can happen to good people and life goes on. In A Long Way Gone, Ishmael and his companions were good people who were just enjoying their lives before they were forced to go on the run. They did not deserve to be forced to become child soldiers. Ishmael did not deserve to lose his family. Ishmael deserved nothing that happened to him during the war. Sometimes, bad things happen to good people, as they did to Ishmael. There may not be a reason for why those bad things happen to good people, sometimes they just do. Also, in the end, Ishmael is able to forgive himself for what he's done in the war, and is able to move on with his life. He discovers that life goes on. Life goes on even when it seems it cannot. In The Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta were good people just living their lives and then suddenly they were picked as tributes for district 12 to go into the arena to fight to the death with other tributes from the other districts. Katniss, Peeta and the other tributes don't deserve to be forced to fight. All but one of them will be dead at the end of the games. None of the tributes deserves to die. They were good people that had bad things happen to them (being forced into the arena, and most of the tributes lost their lives). In the end, Katniss and Peeta are alive, having survived the Hunger Games, and have realized that their lives will go on, despite everything they have been through.
In both books the mood is grim and fearful. In A Long Way Gone, it is grim while Ishmael is on the run seeing all sorts of atrocities and while he is a child soldier committing horrific, unkind acts. It is also fearful when Ishmael is on the run from the rebels, as he is scared of them because of what he has seen them do. In The Hunger Games, the mood is grim in the arena while the tributes are killing one another. It is also fearful because Katniss is afraid that she won't make it out, and she is afraid for Peeta when he is sick and wounded.
In A Long Way Gone, Ishmael and his friends Alhaji, Musa, Moriba, Jumah and Kanei are picked up by the government army and forced to be soldiers. They have no choice, if they do not join up with the army, they will be sent out of the village and killed by the rebels (RUF). The boys, a long with other boys and a few men, are trained for a brief period of time and then sent into battles against the rebels. Throughout their time in the war, Ishmael and his friends see and participate in acts of cruelty. These acts of cruelty include seeing people be killed, watching villages burn down, and killing people and burning down villages themselves. In the Hunger Games, Katniss, Peeta and 22 other tributes are chosen and forced into an annual hunger game-a fight to the death, where only one tribute will come out of the arena alive. Katniss, Peeta and all the other tributes have no choice, they must fight to the death in the arena or the Capitol (the people in charge) and President Snow, will punish them and their families. The tributes go through a training period to prepare them to fight in the arena. Katniss, Peeta and the other tributes see fellow tributes die and some even kill their fellow tributes.
Both A Long Way Gone and The Hunger Games have some similar themes of bad things can happen to good people and life goes on. In A Long Way Gone, Ishmael and his companions were good people who were just enjoying their lives before they were forced to go on the run. They did not deserve to be forced to become child soldiers. Ishmael did not deserve to lose his family. Ishmael deserved nothing that happened to him during the war. Sometimes, bad things happen to good people, as they did to Ishmael. There may not be a reason for why those bad things happen to good people, sometimes they just do. Also, in the end, Ishmael is able to forgive himself for what he's done in the war, and is able to move on with his life. He discovers that life goes on. Life goes on even when it seems it cannot. In The Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta were good people just living their lives and then suddenly they were picked as tributes for district 12 to go into the arena to fight to the death with other tributes from the other districts. Katniss, Peeta and the other tributes don't deserve to be forced to fight. All but one of them will be dead at the end of the games. None of the tributes deserves to die. They were good people that had bad things happen to them (being forced into the arena, and most of the tributes lost their lives). In the end, Katniss and Peeta are alive, having survived the Hunger Games, and have realized that their lives will go on, despite everything they have been through.
In both books the mood is grim and fearful. In A Long Way Gone, it is grim while Ishmael is on the run seeing all sorts of atrocities and while he is a child soldier committing horrific, unkind acts. It is also fearful when Ishmael is on the run from the rebels, as he is scared of them because of what he has seen them do. In The Hunger Games, the mood is grim in the arena while the tributes are killing one another. It is also fearful because Katniss is afraid that she won't make it out, and she is afraid for Peeta when he is sick and wounded.
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