The villagers say that the attack was too sudden and that, in the chaos, everyone ran in different directions to save their own lives. As the boys begin retracing their steps, they encounter remnants of the attack: crowds of people running; women hiding in bushes screaming their children's names; children, naked and lost, following packs of stray dogs. New York City, 1998. This course can … Following the heading, “New York City 1998,” Beah explains how his high school friends in that city ask him to tell the story of the war in Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa, where Beah comes from. Companionship, Hope, and the Self. Beah was not ready for such a drastic change in his world, so he and his friends find themselves in shock for several days following the news of his village’s destruction. He lays out the villages near his home, and introduces some of his friends and members of his family. They were transfixed by the music and returned as often as possible to watch rap on the big television. Good things happen when the moon is full and its light is at its greatest. CliffsNotes study guides are written by real teachers and professors, so no matter what you're studying, CliffsNotes can ease your homework headaches and help you score high on exams. 3. He's comforted still by her words. There, they are put to work chopping vegetables, carrying water, and washing dishes. Visual theme-tracking, too. Children in War. His view of war, he states, had been colored by “those that I had read about in books or seen in movies such as Rambo: First Blood” (p. 5). He could also tell they had seen things that they didn't want to talk about. A Long Way Gone is the true story of Ishmael Beah, who becomes an unwilling boy soldier during a civil war in Sierra Leone. She goes to fetch water for her family. Summary. How does Ishmael react when he sees the village destroyed? On the morning that we left for Mattru Jong, we loaded our backpacks with notebooks of lyrics we were working on and stuffed our pockets with cassettes of rap albums. It is a welcomed relief, but Ishmael suffers severe headaches daily. Find out what happens in our Chapter 2 summary for A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah. A Long Way Gone: Themes. When Esther laughs, it reminds Beah of a girl named Abigail, whom he had known briefly in secondary school. Chapter 1 When Ishmael first hears that there's a war in his home country of Sierra Leone it seems like it's all happening somewhere else. This flashback, as well as later ones involving a visit to his mother and the last time he saw his father, heighten the poignancy and confusion birthed by the rebel attack on Mogbwemo. Prologue: New York City, 1998 Summary and Analysis. When no one they know arrives after several hours, the boys decide to head back to Mogbwemo to find their families. © 2020 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. From the creators of SparkNotes. Get the summaries, analysis, and quotes you need. Ishmael recites a monologue from Shakespeare and performs rap and dance. The loss of his family numbs him as he attempts to assimilate how tragically and catastrophically his world has changed. One day, Ishmael, his brother, and another friend walk to a neighboring village where they plan on rapping and dancing in a talent show. What do Beah and his friends take with them when they leave home? In the first chapter of A Long Way Gone, a twelve-year-old Ishmael Beah describes the first time he was touched by the war in Sierra Leone. In the section he begins with “The first time that I was touched by war I was twelve” (p. 6), he immediately launches into a flashback detailing the origin of his rap group conceived by himself and his friends Talloi and Mohamed and his older brother Junior. There, Mamie Kpana, as the grandmother is known, questions them about their schooling. Beah’s mother and father are divorced, but he occupies himself with rap music and dancing. He also gives glimpses of his life before the war. Copyright © 1999 - 2021 GradeSaver LLC. All rights reserved. He's been relying on himself to survive and prefers to be alone. How close was Ishmael to dying, and what saved him? The government is ousted in a coup by a group of army officers. LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in A Long Way Gone, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. A Long Way Gone study guide contains a biography of Ishmael Beah, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. The RUF wanted child soldiers to help fight their war. He trusted the lieutenant and feels he was betrayed when the lieutenant handed over the boy soldiers to UNICEF. Beah was not ready for such a drastic change in his world, so he and his friends find themselves in shock for several days following the news of his villages destruction. Chapters 1 - 4. Not affiliated with Harvard College. MY FIRST FAVORITE QUOTE: " I joined the army to avenge the deaths of my family and to survive, but 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 It was too terrible and unimaginable. 4. They return to Mattru Jong and spend their days waiting at the wharf for word from their families. They realize that a journey back to the village is impossible. The local friends arrive home early with the news that school has been cancelled since Mogbwemo, Beah’s home sixteen miles away, has been attacked by rebels. When they reach Mattru Jong they meet up with their friends, Gibrilla, Kaloko, and Khalilou. It wasn’t until refugees started passing through our town that we began to see that it was actually taking place in our country. In 1998, the author lived in New York City. When he is twelve years old, Beah's village is attacked while he is away performing in a rap group with friends. Ishmael has nightmares of the attack he didn't see but the horrors he imagines. Ishmael describes cars packed with dead people covered in blood and the terror on everyone's faces as he passes. They pass through abandoned villages and see houses ransacked and dead bodies everywhere. After walking for days, the boys are captured by a group of soldiers and taken to Yele, a village occupied by the military. Ishmael Beah is a twelve year old boy living an innocent life in the eastern part of Sierra Leone in 1993. Start studying a long way gone chapter 1-3. Introduction to Willie and his family. Ishmael and Junior's younger brother, Ibrahim, misses their father, too, but he is fortunate to attend school. They visit the town of Kabati, Ishmael and Junior's grandmother's village, along the way. A Long Walk to Water | Chapter 1 | Summary Share. Ishmael, Junior, Talloi, and Mohamed have been singing and dancing to rap music since they formed a group when Ishmael was eight years old. When Ishmael asks his grandmother what this means, she explains that even though people complain when the sun shines too brightly, no one is annoyed by the brightness of the moon. This gives the reader important information regarding Beah’s motive for walking to neighboring Mattru Jong on the day his own village is attacked by rebels. There is massive looting, and many released prisoners seek vengeance on the lawyers and judges who put them in prison. Learn a long way gone chapter 1 with free interactive flashcards. Next. Chapter 1 Summary SUMMARY. Ishmael's story begins when he is ten years old, two years before the civil war comes to his village. After he hears of the attack on Mogbwemo, Ishmael conjures terrible images of what might have happened to his mother, father, and younger brother. They think it cool that he witnessed the war and want to hear about it. When evening arrives, so do several people who had evacuated to the nearby mining area. A Long Way Gone essays are academic essays for citation. What kinds of things were you doing when you were 12 years old? The boys all take up residence there and spend every morning at the wharf seeking news about their missing families and the war. Ishmael is concerned about his Father, Mother and younger brother Ibrahim. bookmarked pages associated with this title. The loss of his family numbs him as he attempts to assimilate how tragically and catastrophically his world has changed. resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel. What good news does this man give Ishmael? 5. Ishmael, his brother, and their friends walk for days in hunger and silence. She stops to take the baby in her arms - bullets are visible in the infant’s body - and cradles it, too shocked to shed tears for her dead child. Willie writes his first letter to his father. He states plainly what he sees and what he thinks, allowing the reader to reach his or her own conclusions regarding the rebel attack on his home village of Mogbwemo. They simply didn't have the intellectual tools to imagine the horrors. Themes and Colors Key LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in A Long Way Gone, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Share. Their hunger becomes all-consuming, and they are forced to return to Khalilou's house for money and provisions. Choose from 500 different sets of a long way gone chapter 1 flashcards on Quizlet. Ishmael says goodbye to his friends in Benin Home and moves in with Uncle Tommy's family. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier Summary Our story starts with Ishmael Beah, a 12-year-old boy living in Sierra Leone. One flashback reveals that Ishmael's father is absent from his life and unable to afford to send him and his older brother to school. GradeSaver, 30 July 2012 Web. Gordon, Todd. The nurse at the rehabilitation center, Esther, tries to gain Ishmael's friendship, but he's reluctant. This flashback, as well as later ones involving a visit to his mother and the last time he saw his father, heighten the poignancy and confusion birthed by the rebel attack on Mogbwemo. She tells him to consider her his sister, which he agrees to so long as he adds the qualifier “temporary” to the title. The memoir opens with a short prologue. The refugees that came to his village were hungry and exhausted, but it was their plagued minds that seemed most damaged. Beah begins the memoir by describing how unreal rumors of the war seem to his ten-year-old world. They find the house destroyed, but Ishmael's tiny bag of money is still stashed … Chapter 1 A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, begins with the briefest of introductions. One Mattru Jong friend, Gibrilla, states that the teachers believe Mattru Jong itself will be the rebels’ next target. Rap music represents Ishmael's way into the modern world. His mother defends their father's efforts but says he seems to ruin things by attracting the wrong kind of stepmothers. The Question and Answer section for A Long Way Gone is a great Start studying A Long Way Gone. Ishmael Beah is in high school in New York City in 1998. McKeever, Christine ed. and any corresponding bookmarks? Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of “A Long Way Gone” by Ishmael Beah. It will take her half the morning to get there, but this part—carrying an empty water jug—is the easy part of the journey. What was the name of the man who they meet along the way to find their parents? What happens when they stop to rest on the hill top from carrying the bananas? His adjustment to family life is challenging, as he's not used to stability and happiness. Beah and his companions run into the rebels and are separated from one another. 1. As the boys debate the wisdom of returning to the site of the rebel attack, they see a mother carrying her dead baby on her back. An old man encourages Beah that they should “be like the moon”. This lesson will provide a summary of chapter 13 of Ishmael Beah's memoir, ''A Long Way Gone'' (2007), in which the boy soldiers are deployed, and Ishmael first kills a man. The center's directors are so impressed that they ask if he'll become a spokesperson for the center. Families Foremost among them is his use of flashbacks to give necessary background to an impending scene (and also to heighten tension). The rap music has defined how Ishmael and his group dress and use slang. In January of 1993, Ishmael, Junior, and Talloi set off from their village of Mogbwemo on a trip to the town of Mattru Jong to participate in a friend's talent show. Previous His loss of innocence is profound and violent. They carry notebooks of songs and cassette tapes of their favorite groups so that they can always work together on their music. He recalls his grandmother's kindness and advice before the war. Willie meets Gretta 2. from your Reading List will also remove any Ishmael's village had been an isolated and peaceful place, and he remembers his pre-war childhood fondly. Chapter 11 1. (His parents are divorced). By t… A Long Way Gone: Chapter 3 Summary & Analysis Next. Read the Study Guide for A Long Way Gone…, Thematic Analysis of A Long Way Gone and Sold, The Inhumanity of War and the Loss of Innocence in 'A Long Way Gone', The Impact of Revenge in War as Displayed in “A Long Way Gone”, View the lesson plan for A Long Way Gone…, View Wikipedia Entries for A Long Way Gone…. In this lesson, we will summarize the first chapter of Ishmael Beah's ''A Long Way Gone,'' which is the autobiographical story of … "A Long Way Gone Chapter 1 Summary and Analysis". The boys are immersed in the western culture of rap music and oblivious to the dangers of violence posed by the rebel factions in Sierra Leone. Chapters 1-4 Summary and Analysis. A Long Way Gone Chapter 1 Summary. Villagers begin arriving from the mining area in Ishmael's home village, but no one knows anything about the safety of Ishmael and Junior's family. Willie looks forward to war. Removing #book# Summary Beah confesses to Esther that he feels he has nothing to live for, since his family is gone. Despite this possibility, many refugees from Mobwembo flee to Mattru Jong; therefore, Beah and his friends go to the nearby wharf to await the incoming people and look for their families among the refugees. FROM CHAPTER 1 OF A LONG WAY GONE There were all kinds of stories told about the war that made it sound as if it was happening in a faraway and different land. En route to Mogbwemo, the boys stop at Kabati, the village of Beah’s grandmother Mamie Kpana, just as they had on their outbound trip. Ishmael writes that even if he and his friends had been told the truth of what war would look like when it came to them, they would have refused to believe it. Chapter One There were all kinds of stories told about the war that made it sound as if it was happening in a faraway and different land. In this chapter, Ishmael questions his ability to trust anyone. The boys stay at Khalilou's house and are surprised when he returns home from school early the next day to report that rebels have attacked Mogbwemo. Guilt and Responsibility. Alone, Beah comes to grips with dangers both physical (snakes, wild boars, food supply) and psychological (isolation and fear). This incident forces the boys to resolve that Mogbwemo is no longer livable and so they decide to return to Mattru Jong. Summary. The best study guide to A Long Way Gone on the planet, from the creators of SparkNotes. By the end of the chapter, he is still hopeful that something good will happen, and that the violence will end soon. They learned of rap during a visit to Mobimbi, where their fathers and other foreigners worked for an American company. Observers from the UN, UNICEF, and several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) arrive to see the rehabilitation center, and the boys put on a talent show. Interesting use of imagery to describe the horrors of childbirth and foreshadows the violence of the war. Although he is recounting great horrors experienced by his twelve-year-old self, he does not dwell on lurid details or seem to exaggerate for dramatic effect. Ishmael Beah takes a matter-of-fact tone in his memoir. Chapter 1. He became a boy soldier who eventually became repatriated, becoming a spokesperson for children in Sierra Leone. He relies on silence and withdraws as much as possible. While taking an objective stance, Beah nonetheless makes use of narrative techniques in his writing. In this way, Beah is able to connect his experience more universally to others whose childhood experiences consist of acts of leisure, such as learning the lyrics to pop music and imitating their favorite entertainers. He describes the idea of war as entirely abstract to his young mind and insists that he and his fellow villagers didn't have the capacity to understand what the refugees coming through his village had experienced. Among the confusion, violence, and uncertainty of the war, Ishmael, his brother, and his friends wander from village to village in search of food and shelter. How do the other boys React? Summary. Summary and Analysis Chapter 1. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Find the quotes you need in Ishmael Beah's A Long Way Gone, sortable by theme, character, or chapter. We learn about his mother’s death. In Mattru Jong, Beah is reunited with his grandmother. In contrast to the earlier hospitality they had received by Beah’s grandmother, the deserted village offers nothing but ominous silence. Ishmael's story begins when he is ten years old, two years before the civil war comes to his village. In America, the typical 12-year old goes to school, watches TV, plays video games, and hangs out with friends and family. ... In-depth summary and analysis of every chapter of A Long Way Gone. In chapter 1, Ishmael tells about his childhood in Sierra Leone and the day that the rebels came to his village. Allie, the oldest cousin, sneaks Ishmael out to go dancing one night. A Long Long Way chapter by chapter summary 1. The boys distract themselves by memorizing American rap lyrics from Ishmael's cassettes. Ishmael, Junior, and Talloi decide they must return to their village and find their families. Are you sure you want to remove #bookConfirmation# This free study guide is stuffed with … Refugees would pass through town sometimes and Ishmael knew they had been attacked. That is not how Ishmael Beah, the author of the autobiography A Long Way Gone,spends his formative years. It wasn’t until refugees started passing through our town that we began to see that it was actually taking place in our country. He reunites with his previous companions only to discover that the village he believed the rest of his family to have taken refuge in has already been hit by the RUF and utterly destroyed. Khalilou tells them that the rebels will be coming to Mattru Jong next. He remembers the various images he saw in the moon, and in recalling this pleasant memory from his childhood, he is encouraged. Beah remembers his own experiences as a six-year-old boy, lying on the ground at night looking up at the moon. Summary. He describes the idea of war as entirely abstract to his young mind and insists that he and his fellow villagers didn't have the capacity to understand what the refugees coming through his village had experienced. A Long Way Gone Summary. Rap becomes a way for them to express themselves through writing their own lyrics. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. What shocked Ishmael so much about rap was that black men could speak English so well and so quickly to the beat. 2. A Long Way Gone: Chapter 1. Comparison and contrast are used to show Ishmael's concept of war before his village was attacked versus his confusion and terror when he has to deal with the reality of the civil war. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah. Start studying "A Long Way Gone" Chapter 1. Two years later, in January of 1993, the war hits home for him when Ishmael, his friend Talloi and brother Junior visit the village of Mattru Jong to see some old friends and practice their rap group performance for an upcoming talent show. This comparison and contrast is effective because it establishes the child Ishmael was before in order to later contrast with the soldier Ishmael would become. A Long Way Gone Summary and Study Guide. Flashback is used throughout Chapter 1 to reveal Ishmael's life before the rebels attacked his village. Click to copy Summary Southern Sudan, 2008 Nya is an 11-year-old girl. The Horror of War. Beah is struck by the sound of crying children looking for their parents and babies wailing for food; he also sees adults bleeding, vomiting and reacting with hysteria to the catastrophe that has befallen them. Summary. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. He and his friends are mesmerized by its power and wholeheartedly adopt the rap musicians' ways of speaking, dress, and behavior. Chapter 4. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmalel Beah tells the story of a young boy whose life was invaded by the rebel army. A civil war is raging elsewhere in Sierra Leone, but the fighting has not touched Beah’s life and he can’t believe it ever will. The new government releases prisoners (many of them captured rebels) from the central prison, and gives them guns as they exit. Course Summary Check out our ''A Long Way Gone'' Study Guide course to review the most important literary elements of the book. Free study Guide of “ a Long walk to water | chapter 1 Ishmael. Looting, and he remembers his pre-war childhood fondly life in the moon their days waiting the., or chapter plagued minds that seemed most damaged at night looking up at the moon Leone in.... 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