Part 1:
- How do you think the boys felt when they were invited hunting and to stay for the feast? The boys felt happy that they were invited hunting and to stay for the feast.
- What did his grandmother call him when he would play tricks on his brother? Ishmael's grandmother would call him carseloi every time he would play tricks with his brother.
- What specific things did he miss about his family? Ishmael longed for his grandmother's long, gentle, dark, and shiny old hands; his mother's tight enclosed embrace; his father's laughter when they played soccer together and when he chased him in the evening with a bowl of cold water to get him to take a shower; his older brother's arms when they walked to school. He also missed his younger brother who looked exactly like him. He missed the times he would say his name was Ishmael when he did something wrong.
- Why didn’t they want to hear the story about Bra Spider? They didn't want to hear the story about Bra Spider, because they all knew it too well already and they just didn't want to hear it.
- What does the description of the naming ceremony tell you about his village and the members of his community? The description of the naming ceremony tells me that everyone cared for everyone as if they were family every time someone was involved in the ceremony. The villagers were all happy people, feasting all the time, and just having a good time. Everyone in the village was nice to everyone.
- Who or what took their meat? As Ishmael and his friends looked around, trying to look for the thief that ate their meat, they discovered that it was a dog all a long who ate their food.
- After hearing all the boys’ stories about the rebels attacking, whose story do you think is the worst circumstance? I think Saidu's story was the worst circumstance, because he somewhat witnessed his sisters getting raped over and over again. He didn't physically witnessed everything, but all he heard was screams, and his parents yelling at the rebels. It was sad because he couldn't do anything about it. The rebels took all their property and made Saidu's parent carry it. Along all that, the rebels took the three girls with them.
- Do you think the people passing by were ghosts? No, I don't think the people passing by were ghosts. Just because they were wearing white doesn't mean they were ghosts. Ishmael and his friends agreed that those people were ghosts, wandering around as if they were alive.
- What do you think the dogs crying means? I think the dogs could sense or see things that they cant see. The dogs were crying, probably because they sensed that something was going to happen.
- What do you think made Saidu sick and ultimately killed him? I think Saidu was slowly dying as they were on their journey. Especially that one time when he got attacked by some men with machetes, axes, and spears. His body became so weak that he fainted, and died.
- Have you ever experienced feelings like he is describing at the burial? Explain. Yes, I've experienced that feeling that Ishmael was describing at the burial when my grandmother had left us. I was in disbelief that she passed away. I saw her the next day, and now I'm looking at her in her coffin. I couldn't breathe from thinking.
Part 2.
1. What is the unsettling thing about Ishmael journey? The unsettling thing about Ishmael's journey was that he wasnt sure when or where it was going to end.
2. Why are they boys always on the move? The boys were always on the move, because they dont have a permanent place to live at, they were always going somewhere.
3. Describe Ishmael’s mood in the beginning of the chapter. Ishmael happened to find some happiness in some villages where they were treated with food and water. They couldn't completely be happy, because he always expected for worse to come which didnt disappoint him at all.
4. What does he compare his journey with? Ishmael compares his journey with that of the moon, he had even more thich clouds coming his way to make his spirit dull.
5. What does Saidu mean by this “I feel like each time I accept death, part of me dies.”pg.70 Saidu meant that everytime they go somewhere they sometimes experience death before they even find safety. Its like he had no other choice but to just accept it. Part of him just dies, because the thought of death and just accepting it just took over his body. So basically hes just going to be an empty body walking around with the group.
6. What do spiders symbolize in his culture? In Mende culture spider symbolizes the character that tricks other animals to get what he wants. but his trick always backfire on him.
7. Tell me one of your fondest memories with your family? One fondest memories with my family was when we all got together and spent time with each other just talking to one another, laughing, and just tryna have a good time. Just seeing them happy makes me smile.
8. What happened to their meat? Ishmael and the group woke up one morning with the meat gone. They were curious who stole the meat. So they started blaming each other. Then they soon found out that a dog took ate their meat.
9. What happened to Musa’s family? Musa's family was left behind when the village got attacked by the rebels. Musa was home with his father, and his mother had gone to the market to buy some fish. He and his father ran to the market to get his mother. Musa wanted to go with him, but he couldnt so he left. Then that was when the village got attacked.
10. What was Alhaji doing during the attack? During the attack Alhaji was fetching water. He ran home, only finding out that it was too late, because his parents, two brothers, and sister was gone.
11. What is Kanei’s story of attack? Kanei escaped with his parents, but he lost his brothers and sisters in the attack. He and his parents all jumped in a boat with others to cross the Matrru Jong River. The rebels then began to shoot at people on the boat, which resulted in the boat to capsize. Kanei swam to the other end of the shore, and he had lost his parents then. Others said that his parents had gone through the river.
12. Tell me Jumah and Moriba’s story? Jumah and Moriba both lived next to each other. The RPGs had destroyed their houses. They ran toward the wharf to find their parents, but they're parents werent there. So they ran toward the forest where they parents used to always hide, but they were nowhere to be seen.
13. Why was Saidu’s family unable to leave town during the attack? Saidu's family was unable to leave town during the attack, because the rebels had broke into their home, raping his sisters, then they took everything with them including Saidu's family.
14. What happened to Sauidi’s sister? Saidu's sisters got raped over and over again.
15. What do you think of the crow falling out of the sky? What does it mean? I think the crow was just hungry or was weak thats why it fell out of the sky. Or it could mean a sign that something bad might happen.
16. Why were the dogs crying? The dogs were crying, because they sense that something was wrong.
17. Which boy in the group died? What did they do for him? Saidu was the boy that died in the group. They set a burial for him.
18. Tell me some customs in your culture when someone dies? When someone dies in my culture, we go and have a regular funeral and burial. We would place the coffin in our home and have like a family gathering with food. Or we place the coffin at church while we sit their mourning and grieving for the deceased.
19. What do you think was a fore shadow of death? I think their journey was the foreshadow of death.
