Welcome to AHS, Class of 2018!
The 9th grade Pre-AP English teachers at Atascocita High School are looking forward to meeting you in August, but just because it is summer vacation doesn’t mean there isn’t any homework! Over the break you are expected to read A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. This is a powerful and intense true account of a young man’s journey for survival in Africa.
This non-fiction memoir deals with mature content as it is a chronicle of a child soldier. We encourage parents to preview the material and to read it along with their student. A parent who feels the book is inappropriate for his/her student may email Danna Adkins, English ALT, at , for information about the alternative novel.
Students will have an assessment over the summer reading during the first week of school. We have provided some guided reading questions for you to answer that will help focus your analysis and understanding of the text. Please bring these completed questions with you the first day of class. We are looking forward to a great year together. Welcome to high school, little eaglets!
GUIDED READING QUESTIONS
1.) Keep a running list of all major characters. Be sure to include significant events that each character goes through, as well as how each character changes throughout the story.
2.) Consider the flash-forwards and flashbacks throughout the memoir. Why didn’t Beah just tell the story straight through chronologically? What does this add to his account?
3.) Conflict is a fundamental element in any piece of literature. Identify the major conflicts in this book. (Remember to look for both internal and external conflicts as you read.) Are these conflicts resolved by the end of the book? How?
4.) What are the major themes of Ishmael’s account? Choose one quote in the book that captures a theme you chose and provide an in-depth analysis of that quote.
5.) The very first line of the book is “There are all kinds of stories told about the war that made it sound as if it was happening in a faraway and different land.” How is Beah’s book breaking this pattern? What does he do to bring the reader into his nightmare?
6.) Is Ishmael a reliable narrator? Explain your answer with evidence from the book.
7.) Music saves Beah more than once in this story. Explore the healing power of music throughout this piece, pulling at least two quotes to support your answer.
8.) How is Ishmael influenced by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)? Look up the symptoms online if you are unfamiliar with it. Provide examples from the book that confirm this is an appropriate diagnosis for Ishmael.
9.) This book is incredibly violent at times. How did you react to these scenes? What is Beah’s purpose in being so graphic? What were your overall impressions of the book?
10.) Beah’s spiritual background as a Muslim is referenced a few times (the beginning of chapter 7, the middle of chapter 10 during the naming ceremony). What significance, if any, did Beah’s beliefs have during his time on the run, at war, and in rehabilitation?
11.) The ending is abrupt. Beah isn’t out of danger yet, and he ends with a conundrum about a monkey? What’s the significance of the monkey story? How does it relate to the themes present in Beah’s story?
12.) Since the book’s publication, Beah has been accused of making up some of his story. Would it matter to you if some of this story were fictionalized? How important is it that a work of nonfiction be completely true? Explain your reasoning.
13.) We hold teen gang members in the U.S. responsible for their crimes, even though they grow up in situations that make their choices almost as inevitable as Beah’s. Is Beah responsible for any of his actions and the commands he gave the soldiers in his charge as a junior lieutenant during the war? Support your answer.
14.) Is there information that Beah omitted that you are curious about? Why might Beah have left some parts of the story vague? How do you think he determined what experiences were important to cover and which ones to omit?
15.) If you had to write your own memoir, what would it be about? Write a one paragraph summary of what your memoir would cover, addressing some of the major events in your life that have shaped who you are.