Thursday, September 24, 2009

A Long Way Gone Ch. 5 Chapter Assignment

Chapter 5
Chapter Assignment


A Long Way Gone Ch. 5 Vocab Words

Chapter 5
Vocabulary Words
1. parched- v. to make extremely, excessively, or completely dry, as heat, sun, and wind do
Sentence- My skin was parched from the sun and heat.
2. scabbard- n. a sheath for a sword or the like
Sentence- The warriors used a scabbard to hold their swords.
3. remorse- n. deep and painful regret for wrongdoing; compunction
Sentence- I had a deep remorse from what I've done in the past.
4. engulfed- v. to swallow up in or as in a gulf; submerge
Sentence- The tsunami engulfed the villagers.
5. semiautomatic- adj. (of a firearm) automatically ejecting the cartridge case of a fired shot and loading the next cartridge from the magazine but requiring a squeeze of the trigger to fire each individual shot.
Sentence- I went to the shooting range with my semiautomatic ak47.
6. bayonet- n. a dagger like steel weapon that is attached to or at the muzzle of a gun and used for stabbing or slashing in hand-to-hand combat
Sentence- Ishmael used his bayonet to kill his villagers.

A Long Way Gone Ch. 5 Questions

Chapter 5 Questions

1. What was happening to his body? Ishmael's stomach was hurting, because he was so hungry. It was painful to drink water and he felt cramps in his guts. It felt like something was eating the insides of his stomach.

2. Why were they getting irritable? Can you relate? They were irritable, because the one cassava farm didn't last long, and their were no birds and rabbits to be found. I would too be irritable if there was nothing to eat.

3. How many of them are there running away? There was six of them running away.

4. What happened to the little boy eating corn? The little boy's corn got taken away and he went crying to his parents.

5. How did his mom react? Would you do the same? The mom didn't confront the six boys, because she understand why they stole her son's corn. I would do the same, because I very much understand why they took the corn away. It was like they had no choice. They were all desperately hungry.

6. Explain the incident with the Rebels? What would you have done? They were caught walking by the rebels, and the rebels pointed their guns at Gibrilla. They then took the boys to their village. If I was in their place, I wouldn't have done anything, because the rebels were holding guns, and I wouldn't want to risk that.

7. Describe Rebels, what look like, their age, and attitude.The rebels weren't older than 21. One of the rebels was dressed in sleeveless army shirt and jeans, his head tied with a red cloth. The other two rebels were dressed in jeans jackets and pants, they were wearing baseball hats backwards and new Adidas sneakers. All three of the rebels wore a lot of fancy watches on both of their wrists, which they had stole from houses and shops that had been looted.

8. What happened to the old man trying to escape? The old man that was trying to escape was caught by a rebel that was waiting for him at the end of the bridge, and was brought where everybody was at.

9. What was their culture like? What are your expectations from your culture to – elders? The rebels weren't respecting the old man. They would push him to the ground, make fun of him, and point their guns at him. In my culture, we would never do such a thing. We have to respect our elders no matter what.

10. How do the rebels do recruitment? The rebels would like them up and chose. Each person that was chosen was asked to stand in a different line facing the previous one. To get chosen for recruitment they had to kill people in front of the rebels to determine who is the weak and the strong one.

11. What did the new recruits have to do after they were chosen? Is there a time in your life that you were pressured to do something or be part of a group, family? The new recruits had to kill people in front of the rebels. This way the rebels would know how strong or weak the new recruits are. Yes there was a time when I was pressured to do something in order for me to be part a family or group.

12. How does he escape death again? Ishmael escaped death by crawling under the bush. He stayed there for an hour until he heard his friends voice.

13. Why do you think no one talked until dawn? I think no one talked until dawn, because the rebels were still nearby.

14. How did the Rebel incident affect the boys? The rebel incident made a bad impact on the boys. It was like they were living a nightmare. They were clueless, and they didn't know a safe place to go to.

A Long Way Gone Ch. 4 Chapter Assignment

Chapter 4
Chapter Assignment

Monday, September 21, 2009

A Long Way Gone Ch. 4 Vocab. Words

Chapter 4
Vocabulary Words
1.cassava- n. a nutritious starch from the roots, the source of tapioca
Sentence- Ishmael didn't have any cassavas to eat.
2. predicament- n. an unpleasantly difficult, perplexing, or dangerous situation
Sentence- The judge had to make a predicament decision.
3. tactics- n. (usually used with a singular verb) the art or science of disposing military or naval forces for battle and maneuvering them in battle
Sentence- The child soldiers were sent to villages for tactics.
4. ceased- v. to stop; discontinue
Sentence- My teacher had to cease the graduation.
5. stumps- n. the lower end of a tree or plant left after the main part falls or is cut off; a standing tree trunk from which the upper part and branches have been removed
Sentence- All that was left in the forest was the stump.
6. verandah- n. a large, open porch, usually roofed and partly enclosed, as by a railing, often extending across the front and sides of a house; gallery
Sentence- Ishmael sat on the verandah thinking about what was going on.

A Long Way Gone Ch. 4 Part 1 Questions

Chapter 4
Part 1. Questions.

1. Now that war has came to his town, what was his life like now? Describe Life was now difficult for Ishmael. He slept in abandoned villages, and got hungrier day by day.
2. Why did they sneak back to Mattru Jong? They sneaked back to Mattru Jong, to get some money that they had left behind.
3. Describe what they see, while they are traveling to towns? While they were traveling to towns, they encountered bodies, furniture, clothes, and all kinds of property that were scattered all over.
4. What happens to all the houses that have been attacked by Rebels? All the houses in the village had been looted by the Rebels. The houses were badly torn apart.
5. Why were they happy? What did they have? They were happy, because the money they had left behind was still where they left it.
6. Did they eat well? Why? No they didn't eat well, because people who were selling food weren't selling anymore. They saved the food just in case things got worse than usual. Some others didn't want to sell for some unexplained reasons.
7. What was the logical decision they came up with? Their logical decision that they came up with was being in the war.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

A Long Way Gone Ch. 3 Chapter Assignment

Chapter 3
Chapter Assignment

Title: Escaping Death
Characters:


  • Khalilou's family- asked Ishmael and his brothers to stay behind and follow them with the rest of their property if things didn't improve.

  • Catholic bishop- a well known Catholic bishop who had been doing some missionary work when he ran into the rebels. He was sent as a messenger from the rebels.

  • Junior, Talloi, Khalilou, Kaloko, and Gibrilla- all heard the gunshots but never really paid much attention to it. All had escaped death from thee rebels.

Setting: Mattru Jong 1993- 1997 Sierra Leone.


Problem: After several messengers, delivering messages from the rebels, they had finally come. The rebels had come and attacked the village. Not only were they attacking the town, but they were also firing many gunshots at the sky, then at people. People tried to escape from the chaos, and from the rebels.


Beginning:


Many messengers had come to town, delivering messages from the rebels. Every time a messenger would come, people would always go out and hide somewhere. One messenger had his fingers mutilated except for his thumb. He had RUF carved on his skin. People went out to the forest that night and hid. Rebels didn't come on the day they said they were. As soon as this kept happening, people soon came out from their hiding places. The town came alive again. Everything seemed as normal and happy as it was before messengers kept coming.


Med:


The rebels finally came, while Ishmael was cooking. They all heard a gunshot, but ignored it and thought it was just the soldiers. Several gunshots were fired once again. The rebels attacked town, and was forcing civilians to run toward the river. The boys ha no choice but to leave just like other people. People were running out of town. Mothers were separated from their children as well as other family members.


End:


The boys went through the swamp avoiding gunshots that were being fired from the rebels. Once they got through the swamp, they were now on top of a bushy hill. The boys went from bush after bush until they made it to the other side. They got up and ran as soon as the explosion went off. The rebels started running toward the boys, shooting after them. They all ran for more than an hbhour without stopping.


Conclusion:

The boys ran for more than an hour from the rebels, avoiding gunshots and grenades. Ishmael's brother would always call out his name to make sure he was still there. After more than an hour of running, the rebels finally gave up the chase and went back to Mattru Jong.

A Long Way Gone Ch. 3 Questions

Chapter 3
Questions


1.What was the letter about? The letters informed the welcomed, since they were fighting for them. Letters were brought by people whose lives the rebels had spared during the massacre in Sumbuya.


2.What was RUF? Where did they see the message? The RUF is the Revolutionary United Front. RUF was carved on people's skin. The first time they've seen RUF was on a young man whom was sent as a messenger.

3.Why didn’t the rebels come by the time they said they would? The rebels didn't come by the time they said they would, because everyone in town were hiding out somewhere, no one was present in town.

4.What does the Palampo mean? Have you experienced a time where your family worried that you would be Palampo forever pg.23? Palampo means single. Personally, I never experienced a time when my family worried that I would be a palampo forever, because they know Ive always been in a relationship most of the time.

5.Describe and give details, of how it was when the Rebels did come? People heard a single gunshot, but ignored it, because they never thought it was the rebels. Then after a while several gunshots were heard. People were scattered everywhere running for their lives. They were confused at the moment and didn't really know what to do. Mothers lost their children, families were separated. Rebels fired their guns towards the sky, and forced civilians to run toward the river. Other had no choice but to jump in.

6.What was the carving mean? RUF? The carving meant Revolutionary United Front. RUF were carved on young boys who were recruited. The initials RUF was carved where ever the rebels wanted using a hot bayonet.

7.Using one word how would you describe what was going on? Why? Chaos is the word that I would chose. I chose chaos, because people in town were scattered everywhere, confused and dont know what to do. Mothers separated from children, families separated from their loved ones, and several gunshots were heard along with the screams of the rebels.

8.Why do you think he was so determined to keep running? Why doesn’t he get tired? Ishmael was so determined to keep running, because he doesn't want to get killed or recruited by the rebels.

9.How does he escape death? Ishmael escaped death when the rebels started shooting at people instead of the sky. He also escaped death when he was running away from the rebels.

10.How did the rebels get their messages across? The rebels would send people as messengers to get their messages through town.

11.Why did they chop all of the messenger’s fingers off except the thumbs? The rebels called the mutilation of all the messenger's fingers except the thumb as "one love".

12.How was the tone of the village while the residents were hiding? The village seemed much more quiet, lifeless, and scary while the residents were out hiding.

13.Describe the chaos when the rebels finally arrived. The rebels started shooting up at the sky, screaming. They had attacked the town. People were running everywhere, trying to save their lives. Families were separated from each other.

14.Why was staying in town a greater risk for boys? Staying in town was a greater risk for boys, because young boys were recruited by the rebels, and RUF would have to be carved on their skin with a hoy bayonet.

15.Describe the actions of the boys as they are running from the rebels. How long were they running for? The boys crossed the swamp. Then after making it from the swamp, the boys were now on the top of a bushy hill. They dodged bush after bush until they made it to the other side. The boys ran away from rebels that were shooting at them. They ran for more than an hour without stopping.

A Long Way Gone Ch. 3 Vocab. Words

Chapter 3
Vocabulary Words
1.anticipated- v. to expect; look forward to; be sure of
Sentence- My teacher anticipated me go to school.
2.subsequent- adj. following in order or succession; succeeding
Sentence- Child soldiers subsequently killed people.
3.abandon- v. to leave completely and finally; forsake utterly; desert
Sentence- The child soldiers had abandoned the village.
4.intervention- n. interposition or interference of one state in the affairs of another.
Sentence- The rebels took over town and forced civilians to stay so they could stay longer, as military intervention was delayed.
5.civilians- n. a person who is not on active duty with a military, naval, police, or fire fighting organization.
Sentence- Rebels wanted to use civilians as shields.
6.militant- adj. engaged in warfare; fighting.
Sentence- Militant civilians would kill people if they didn't have an RUF carved on their skin.
7.fragments- n. a part broken off or detached
Sentence- Fragments of the man's fingers weren't on his hands.

A Long Way Gone Ch. 2 Chapter Assignment

Chapter 2
Chapter Assignments
Adobe Photoshop


Tuesday, September 15, 2009

A Long Way Gone Chapter 2 Part 1

Chapter 2
Part 1


  1. Have you experienced anything like that where it has traumatized you? As far as I know or remember, I haven't experienced anything like what Ishmael experienced.
  2. Give me some examples of war that you read in the chapter. One war example was when the corpse that Ishmael was carrying had been shot through the throat due to war. The other example of war was the actual war that Ishmael was going through.
  3. How long has he been in New York? Do you think he can be okay due to his experience? Ishmael had been living in New York for over a month. I think he'll be okay living his new life in New York even after everything that he experienced.
  4. Compare and Contrast young boys in the United States vs. the Sierra Leone boys. Boys here in the United States think that "war" is a really cool thing. They think that holding a gun was cool. The boys in Sierra are dangerous, because they were forced to kill people in order for them to survive the war that was going on. Boys in Sierra Leone faces emotional and physical problems from the horrifying war.
  5. Are the memories good or bad? What Do you think? I think the memories were bad, because those bad memories would forever stay on their minds and heart everywhere they go.

Part 2.

  1. Describe the setting of the first two paragraphs. (Five sentences) Ishmael was having flashbacks of his experience back in Sierra Leone. He was in a town where everywhere he walked or looked he would always see dead people or nearly dead people lying on the ground. He would often see blood, peoples intestines poping out from bullet holes, brain matter out from their mouth or nose on the ground. The air literally smells of blood and burnt flesh. Ishmael had to take this corpse to the cemetary to lay it to rest. As he took off the bedsheet, he could see that the young boy got shot on the throat.
  2. Describe the setting of the last two paragraphs (five sentences) While Ishmael was in New York he would always get all these kinds of flashbacks. One of the flashback was when he and some group had to this small town, and kill every living soul they see. Once the people were killed they took their ammunition, sat on their bodies, and started eating their cooked food. As soon as that memory was over, Ishmael took a wet towel and put it on his head afraid of falling asleep. Staying awake on the other hand also brought him many painful memories.
  3. What are the three world he lives in know? What does he mean by this? The three world he lives now is my dreams, experiences of my new life, which triggers memories from the past. He meant that he was living his life always dreaming about the memories from the past. Other than that he is now residing in New York City, which makes him think about the experiences in Sierra Leone.

Monday, September 14, 2009

A Long Way Gone Chapter 2 Vocab. Words

Vocabulary Words
Chapter 2

1. intoxicated- adj. mentally or emotionally exhilarated.
Sentence- Ishmael was intoxicated by the war back in Sierra Leone.2. tattered- adj. wearing ragged clothing
Sentence- The old man walked through town wearing tattered clothing.
3. taut- adj. emotionally or mentally strained or tense
Sentence- Ishmael was taut everywhere he walked, he was afraid that something might happen to him.
4. resisting- v. to withstand, strive against, or oppose
Sentence- Ishmael couldnt resist from killing people, because he forced to do such a thing.

5. anxiously- adj. full of mental distress or uneasiness because of fear of danger or misfortune; greatly worried; solicitous
Sentence- Ishmael was really anxious about sleeping, because she was afraid he was going to get killed.

6. burden- n.that which is carried; load
Sentence- Ishmael burdened a corpse from a wheelbarrow.

A Long Way Gone Chapter 1 Part 2

Chapter 1
Part 2.


What difference can you explain between him and the other students? The other students think that the war hes been through was cool. What they don't know is the emotional and physical pain that Ishmael encountered during the war. They don't know the reality of living the life with war everywhere around them.

How was he when he first encountered war? War wasn't a good sight to Ishmael, because everywhere he goes he would always witness people getting murdered and wounded. Not only that but a sight of people running everywhere, running from death that came upon them, and the sight of blood everywhere.

What is an example of a Western Civilian? An example of a western civilian is a place where not much of a war is going on.

Why did he love hip hop? Ishmael loved hip hop, because the way they dance, and the way they sing their songs. Hip hop on the other hand was also fashionable.

Why do you think he was mesmerized by the blacks on TV? Ishmael was mesmerized by the blacks on, because they could sing in English really fast, and how the words goes with the beat.

What was the father’s reaction to the rap? What did he want them to watch instead? His father wasnt into rap, because it doesn't teach you anything good. His father wanted him to watch the news instead.

Can you relate to him and his fascination about another culture? And desire to dress or imitate the American rappers? Yes, I can indeed to Ishmael by his fascination of other culture, because I too love learning about other people's culture.

How was walking around town different from your town? Walking around town is very different from Ishmael's town, because the kind of war that was going on in Ishmael's town wasn't going on in my town.

What is grandma’s name? And how would you describe her. Ishmael's grandmother was known for Mamie Kpana. She was tall with a perfectly long face and beautiful cheekbones. She had beautiful dark skin, white teeth, and translucent creases on her neck.

How would you describe granddad? Everyone in the village called grandfather Kamor. He was a well known local Arabic scholar and healer in the village.

What is a sign of god luck? A good sign of good luck can either be something material or what good is going on around town.

Why was school canceled? School was canceled due to the war that was going on throughout town.

Who are Rebels, What do they do? What happens to families because of them? Rebels are people that attack town, suck as burning their houses down, and killing and wounding people. Families are torn apart due to these rebels.

What is the family relationship like? Can you relate? Having separate families? Family relationship us always being there for each other through thick and thin no matter what happens.

What does the women mean pg.11 quote? What was going on? The women meant that war was going on in the direction that they were heading to.

Give me 3 examples that showed display of a hard life and war? Give details. One example is getting separated from your family. In the book people would go looking for their family. The second example is houses getting burnt down, losing everything that you own. Rebels were cruel enough to burn down the houses. The third and last example of a hard life is people dying and losing people you love.

Give one example of the cruelty of the rebels? One example of cruelty from the rebels is them killing a lot of people.

What kind of war was going on? Pg.14 A revolutionary war was going on.

What was his dream? What do you think it meant? Have you had any dreams that were hard to tell from dream or reality? Describe. The dream that Ishmael had was about the war that he experienced. It was like a flashback. I think it meant that he was still emotionally wounded by the war. Yes, I've had dreams that was hard to tell from dream to reality.

Tell me about a time where you could not get an image out of your head? The time when I couldn't get an image from my head was the good happy times. Its like flashbacks running through my head.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

A Long Way Gone Chapter 1 Questions

Chapter 1 Questions
Part 1:

Preface: Predict what will happen in the book. What do you think the narrator is feeling based on his reaction from his friends questions? I predict that the book is going to talk abofut the war that Ishmael had faced and was in back at Sierra Leone. The order of sequence from the war and how he ended up in the United States. I also think the book would describe in details how the war affected many children and families back in Sierra Leone. I think the narrator felt sad to know that his fellow students thought it was so cool that he experienced a war.

1. How did the refugees act that walked through their town? The refugees that walked through town were paranoid, because they would often jump and the sound of chopping woods or as stones landed on the tin roofs that were flung by children hunting birds with slingshots.

2. How old is the main character when he is first affected by the war? The main character was just 12 years old when he was first affected by war.

3. What kind of music where the boys fascinated with? (Quotes from the book) As stated from the book , " The four of us sat there mesmerized by the song, trying to understand what the black fellows were saying" the four boys were fascinated with rap and hip hop songs.

4. Where were they going and why? Four of the boys walked sixteen miles to Mattru Jong I guess for a dance competition.

5. What did they bring on their trip? Describe what they were wearing. The four boys had brought notebooks with lyrics that they were still working on, and they also brought cassettes of rap albums. The boys wore baggy jeans, and underneath their jeans they wore soccer shorts, and sweatpants which was used for dancing. They wore long sleeved shirts, and underneath their long sleeved shirt was sleeveless undershirts, T shirts, and soccer jerseys. They wore three pairs of socks that were pulled down and folded to make their crapes look puffy.

6. What was the prank the narrator pulled when they were swimming in the river? The narrator got out the water first and took Junior and Talloi's clothes, and ran across the bridge.

7. What impression do you get from the description of his grandparents? My impression that I get from the description of his grandparents was that they were probably known in their village where they live at.

8. When they arrived at Mattru Jong, whose house did they stay at? Describe. When the four boys arrived at Mattru Jong they stayed at the verandah room of Khalilou's house.

9. What did they hear was happening at home? The boys heard that the rebels had attacked Mogbwemo.

10. Where did they go to wait for news about the main character’s family? What did they decide to do next? The boys went to the wharf to wait for news about the main character's family. Then they decided to go back home to see if they can find their families.

11. Describe the living situation between the main characters family. The main character's family was facing financial problems therefore she couldn't send the main character's brothers back to school.

12. What was a warning they received? As they were walking, they had encountered a woman carrying her flip flops on her head, without looking at the boys she said, "Too much blood has been spilled where are you going. Even the good spirits have fled from that place.

13. What happened as they waited back at his grandmother’s village? They heard people arriving xback from the mining area. They heard their whispers, the cries of little children seeking their lost parents and tired of walking, and the wails of hungry babies.

14.Why did they decide to go back to Mattru Jong instead of staying at the grandmother’s village or going home? The boys decided to go back to Mattru Jong, because they had seen that Mogbwemo was no longer a place they could call home.

15. What were some new regulations in Mattru Jong? They would go to the wharf for new from home.

16. What conclusions did the boys come up with abut the war? The war was just a passing phase that wouldn't last over three months.

17. In your own words describe what the old man meant by “ we must strive to be like the moon’. The man meant that people should always be on their best behaviors, and to be good to others.