Ramona

First Journal Entry :D

April 25th, 10:54pm



To me the tree represents life, which goes along with
 the saying, Music is what life sounds like, which is
absolutely true, and I have showed that here, that
firstly you can relate anything to music,
secondly music is life and you can find a song
that would show your life
even Ishmael Beah's.



So far I’ve read about 1/4^th of the book and so much has happened. I experienced so many different feelings from the book. To me the book is like a song, the first part of the song is up to where I’ve read you get to listen to the words, the music, they way they speak, and their mind set. You get to be the person in the song, just as you get to be the person in “A long way gone”. You can connect absolutely anything to music, but this book connects to a certain song more than anything, in just the way it flows. The moonlight sonata, yes I know its classical music but the way it starts is just the way the book starts, slow pacing, trying to relate to the reader/listener.  





The main point in flow that the song and book have in common other than they begin slow, is that it gets faster, the song is very fast paced just as the book, you can read so much in such a short time. For me it’s very difficult to focus on a book the when I read this I don’t want to put it down I read so much. Just like the song, it begins slowly but becomes faster; so much is given away in the song. Also the song has a pattern it always goes back to the same three notes, which makes the song what it is. In the book the same three notes that make the book what it is, is the concept of war and the surrealism of it, how even as he’s experiencing the war, its as if it’s a bad dream and just wants to wake up. The moonlight sonata although very beautiful is also a very sad song, so I believe everything will become much more sad then I expect.

To me the saying is exactly what Ishmael was talking about when
he was remember his family in the beginning, and
wasn't expecting that he would never see them again.
To me the saying is true, make sure that you and your family
always mention that you love them because
one day when your doing something you
could lose them in a snap.

In the first few pages I felt very much in connect with Ishmael, because we both thought the same thing “you hear it happen in other places but you never think it will happen to you”. I have always thought this, but I on the other hand have no experienced being the person it does happen to, and Ishmael becomes that person.  Yet again I could never imagine having a war break out in the next town to me, let alone walking to the next town 3 miles away. I couldn’t imagine having people just walking through the town bleeding, carrying their babies on their back, and not knowing they’ve passed. It’s so sad and it’s a type of reality I’m so fortunate not to have experienced.   I feel very fortunate for the life I have, I don’t need to worry about any of this happening in Ottawa, not even Canada. Yet reading this makes me want to help, to get involved and help the people who aren’t as fortunate.  

-Ramona Iacono :)

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Second Journal Entry :D
May 9th 12:38 am

The next part of the book that I read was from Chapter 5-8. In chapter five the part that really struck out to me was when Ishmael can only think about death and how afraid of it he is. I can relate to this because I am so terrified of death, but I can’t personally relate to the situation because I haven’t ever been in a near death experience. Although I try and make ever last moment count in case the one before was the last moment ever. Hearing this line also reminds me of being a child and being carefree and this is what Ishmael is supposed to be feeling not worrying about dying.



This saying is what I pretty much live my life
by. I always try my best to make every last minute
count, and its just horrible how young Ishmael is and
that he has to think about this. He should be able to
act like a kid.



This part also makes me think of a song. The song kids by MGMT; it just has the simplest of lyrics but yet is so true “pick the insects off plants, no time to think of consequences” and how it’s horrible that Ishmael cannot be a kid. The way that I was a kid, it makes me feel so sad it’s just so hard for me to believe that for him he can’t be scared of monsters under his bed, but the monsters out in the real world with guns. I never had to experience things like this and I am grateful for that but it just makes me want to help and give these kids a chance to be real kids and not have to grow up right away and not allowed to be scared, have to be brave.



I mention that all the boys need is love to carry on
even just a little bit. Which is true, and they get it no matter
what state of war they're in. Even though no one is trusted
they get love.

 In chapter six, when the boys are tied up, but then are released they are treated with so much kindness, which makes me think about the overall theme of the book. How even though there is a civil war happening and no one trusts anyone they still have people to treat them with love, as if there’s love everywhere. Which makes me think about how that’s all that you need to carry on, even with just a little bit of kindness it can make you go on further, it’s a very encouraging part in the book compared to all the war going around. Unfortunately, everyone in the group seems different and sad, which is understandable because they no longer have that kindness from the other village with them.

In chapter eight I realized how set Ishmael is on his memories. He continues on because of them, it’s like they are his fuel to continue walking, to continue living. He remembers what his grandmother taught him, to use two pieces of grass to make soap. It just made me smile the way he would have smiled remembering the good times of his childhood. It reminds me off the scene in Titanic and how Jack tells Rose no matter what she has to continue and how this is not the day she will die, and when she sees the boat she’s about to give up but then she remembers the promise she made to Jack too survive. It’s as if Ishmael made a promise in his mind just spending time with his family to survive, they keep him going.

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Third Journal Entry :D

May 9th,  2:15am

This is a picture of the way I see
them walking by the ocean.
They're on the brutal sand and
are trying to get close to
peaceful ocean.

                The next part that I read was chapters 9 – 15. In chapter nine the part that stood out a lot was how they see the beauty of the ocean but are forced to step on the hot burning sand. To me the ocean means peace and serenity and just it’s a symbol of how they’re close to it by being on the sand but the sand is yet so brutal and painful to go through. Just how the war they are going through is so brutal and defiantly painful, but hopefully the peace and serenity is coming close.

 In chapter ten it makes me think about the song lift me up by Christina Aguilera. The lyrics she sings are “just get me through this night” and “you will lift me even higher to rise above this all” these lyrics are relatable to this chapter because they find pretty much a family in a village, where they eat and dance as well. They help the boys rise above everything he’s seen before sure he still thinks about it but for now he just needs to calm down and enjoy himself. He just needs a good night to get him through the next rough one. It’s so horrible how Ishmael has to live through his friend dying over a bad omen, but should be happy to possibly see his family in the next village. A child his age should never have to deal with death that way.

In chapter 11 when Ishmael finds his family is gone, I did cry, it was just horrible I haven’t had to deal with a lot of death in my life, but when I did I didn’t deal with it very well. Especially because I didn’t get to say goodbye or even see them within a few weeks. It was one of the worst days of my life honestly. I could only imagine the pain that Ishmael was in when he found out. The only way that I can cope if by thinking of the memories I have of them, which is what he was doing in throughout the whole book anyways, but I understand how it’s not the same remembering things that you know could never happen again or that those are going to be the last of those memories.

These are the two earths, one is the
one where Ishmael lives and has his
disasterous childhood, the other is
where I live, where I get to be free
unlike him.

For me the next few chapters are the climax because after running from the rebels the whole time he finally is one now. He’s having to deal with guns and shooting people and being around drugs etc. A young boy like him should not have to be around such sort of thing. If I were him I couldn’t handle that sort of thing I lived my whole life in luxury and I couldn’t even imagine the things this boy has seen. The pages in my book are literally covered with dry tear marks. I’ve cried so much by this point, it’s so sad. It’s as if me and him we live in different worlds. He lives in one where he’s in absolute fear of his life every day. One where he doesn’t get to act like a child, he doesn’t get to cry when something bad happens. When I live in a world where I complain about going to school, where I act like a child even when I’m 16 years old, where I don’t have to worry every second that someone could just shot me and my life is over.


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Fourth Journal Entry

May 10th 4:30am

When I read the last few chapters of the book I just had realized how much had actually happened. After traveling all around Sierra Leone and noticing the conflict, which was the fact that he couldn’t get away from war or get any peace until he left. Yet he finds his way out of Sierra Leone and into Guinea, which is where he gets help from Laura Simms which I thought was amazing. When he traveled to New York to finish high school and college, I thought it was just so amazing how he finished then to continue on and become an advocate at the UN to help children. It’s just really inspiring because yes he went through a lot, but he didn’t wallow in his self pity, complaining about the life he had but he continued it on to make a difference in other kids’ lives so they wouldn’t have to deal with any problem that he dealt with.

One of the theme that I feel
is definatly in the book, that
war is hell.

As I read it I noticed a few themes such as war is hell. Everyone may already know this but just the way that it was put in front of me, in black and white in this book. It was so clear as too how horrible war actually is. Just the pain and suffering that this one boy had to endure I couldn’t imagine it personally, but I did find areas where I related like where he missed his family and how you make them live on from the memories you have. It was also very easy for me to relate the majority of the book to music, to me music is relatable to anything and I feel that the moonlight sonata was the most relatable to this theme, it may not be meant to be seen this way but to me it does.

Another theme that I noticed was love can exists even during a war. The book is not directly about love, it just shows that even during war there is still some love.  Even though this boy went through hell he found people on the way that gave him hope and that showed him love. Those are honestly the two main aspects in life that you need to carry on no matter how bad the situation is. I believe that’s why Ishmael didn’t give up, it’s like he promised himself that he wouldn’t give up unless there was no hope, but there was hope the people around him gave him hope, his dreams to finish school, to go to college, to help other children so that they wouldn’t have to go through this gave him hope. The hope he had to give these kids a life where they could act like kids, and for me if I were him that would be enough, even though I didn’t have the privilege to act like a kid when I was young to give other children the chance to be a kid.



When I was reading the book
I felt as if I were walking in
Ishmaels shoes, as if
I was walking with him, and I
really feel that I know him since
I've read the book.



Throughout the story there is definitely a lot of sadness, it’s so moving reading about his life. It’s as if you’re there with him, the words literally jumped off of the page for me I couldn’t put the book down. It really did make me think about my own life, and how fortunate I really am to be able to go to school, to have both of my parents in the same town, just I feel very lucky. I know if I were put in Ishmael’s shoes I wouldn’t be able to have gone as far as he did. After seeing my parents’ dead, right in front of me I don’t think I could carry on, I don’t even think I could deal with having to walk 3 miles to the next town just to go to school. It’s also very encouraging though knowing how well Ishmael is doing today.

I loved reading this book; I would defiantly recommend it to my friends.