Black Hawk Down

When I first started reading this, I was bored out of my mind. For me I hate to read books that have a lot of detail and characters, just what this book is. At first it was just detail after detail after detail and I had a hard time reading this book. After the first few chapters though, near the end of section 1, it started to get more interesting when the fighting started and there were less details. I am beginning to warm up to this book and I believe that I will be able to read it with more interest in what is actually happening.

Choice Book

1. Black Hawk Down-have not read and only one that interests me on the list.

2. The Boy in Striped Pajamas/To Kill a Mockingbird-already read both.

4. Go Ask Alice-Do not have any interest in reading.

A Long Way Gone Chap. 21

This chapter was probably the hardest to read in the book, not because of how disgusting it was, but because it was hard to imagine what I would do in his situation and that this had to happen just after he got his "normal" life back. Now the ARFC and RUF joined forces to overthrow the corrupt government. However, they are more corrupt than the government when they start killing anyone they please and decide to bust open bank vaults with RPG's for money. I couldn't believe that this could happen so soon, especially after having Mohamed join his family. Also, the knowledge that if his friends, from the army, found him he would either have to go back to the army and commit all those unspeakable crimes or die by their hands. That is a decision I would never hope I have to make. In the end at least he makes it away and is able to escape. I thought the ending was possibly not the best one for this book because it was abrupt and not on the point I was expecting. But from that last story it shows you the kind of person Ishmael was and is, someone who would take the pain of knowing something they did caused it, just so that others would not have to face the same pain he did.

a long Way Gone Chap. 19-20

Yet another two chapters were everything is going the way Ishmael would like them to. He finally gets to go home and see how normal life is again, going to dances, dating, and knowing the meaning of a family. And he gets to go to the UN in New York to talk to them about the problems affecting the children in Africa. I was overjoyed with happiness thinking that this would be his final travel and that he was finally in the US for good. Ishmael made a lot of friends that I know he will remember for life. These chapters made me believe that Ishmael was finally going to come out of the war alive, even though I already knew he would because he wrote the book, but when i get trapped in Ishmael's terrific writing it is hard to remember that he is alive. I was a little sad that he had to go back to Sierra Leone, but I loved how his outlook on life had changed because he knew that if he died, at least he would live on in the memory of all those he has affected in the US.

a long Way Gone Chap. 17-18

WOW. Finally some chapters that almost everything seemed to go right for Ishmael. He gets a part of his child hood back from the walkman that Ester gives him and he becomes the spokesperson for Benin Home and the rehabilitation of child soldiers. This hope almost seems too good to be true, but after all the bad things that have happened to him it seems like he deserves it, hopefully it will last. And the story of how he had gotten shot in the foot and almost died was hard to read. And then he has to go and torture some rebels that probably had nothing to do with what happened to him. He has become someone no one wants to become, and you understand this with how his behavior is at Benin Home right now, he wants to change and go back to a relatively normal life. And finally, Ishmael finds part of his family, even if it is the part he has never met, his uncle Tommy comes and is ready to adopt him at anytime. If only I was certain that this was all going to last, but with how hard Ishmael's life is, I have my doubts.

A Long Way Gone Chap. 15-16

The first few sentences of Chapter 15 just goes to show Ishmael Beah has changed since the begging of the book, and I was shocked at how fast someone could change like that. He went from a nice sweet boy to someone who had become a ruthless killer that all he wanted to do was kill more and more people. And then when UNICEF came and took him away at first I thought that he had been saved. And UNICEF goes and puts rebel boys and army boys in one camp, and the fighting breaks out again. And out of all the people there Ishmael has to be the one with the grenade and throws it trying to blow up kids the same age as he is. I was shocked by this and had to reread it so that I could believe what I had just read. At least in the end the UNICEF people realized they had to send each group of boys to different facilities and the boys rehabilitation process began. There may still be some hope for Ishmael yet.

Choice Book

"I could really care less what the choice book is."

Mrs. Pfanschmidt.

A Long Way Gone Chap. 13-14

After such little training and time Ishmael is taken out on his first attack on the rebels. I had a hard time believing that two boys that couldn’t even carry their own guns were being forced to go out as well, poor Josiah and Sheku, being forced to go to war and not being able to defend themselves properly. I can’t imagine how scared Ishmael must have really been. And then the fighting started and Ishmael got a mouth full of blood which would make even veterans want to throw up. He hears the screaming of death as his friends and companions are shot dead. He realized that Josiah had been thrown backwards by an RPG and knew his life was almost over. And then Josiah reached out to Ishmael with his last bit of strength but couldn’t reach him. This was just torture on me knowing that after seeing all this Ishmael had no chance of being regular ever again. It is hard to understand how he managed to break away from all this, but I guess I will just have to finish reading the book before I can find out.

A Long Way Gone Chap. 11-12

Again this book just seems to put Ishmael through such hard times its hard to believe it actually happened. Stuff like what happened in chapter 11 always seems like it should only happen in fiction, coming close to the village where you family is staying, being held up to help out an old acquaintance, and then hearing the distant sounds of death and destruction in the village you know your family is in. It is just unreal. And then the boys all started to turn on each other out of anger that they hadn’t gotten there faster to at least have 10 minutes with their families even if it meant death for them as well as their families. And on top of all of this they are practically forced into joining the government’s army as child soldiers. That came as a shock to me because after all these chapters of saying how the rebels are so bad and cruel and kidnapped boys to fight for them, I never expected it would be the government that would recruit Ishmael and his friends to become child soldiers.

A Long Way Gone Chap. 10

The beginning of this chapter showed the first sign of the way life used to be before the rebels came. The villagers welcomed the seven boys with open arms and let them eat food and dance and remember how life can be fun and that you can trust others. They finally got a break from the dull, scary, and lonely journey of seven boys trying to escape the hands of the rebels and war. The night after they left the village seemed like the firs time that all the boys felt they could be together as a whole group and have some fun instead of sitting into the night wondering what could happen next. This made me feel better, and hopeful that maybe their troublesome journey had come to an end. Then it got hard again as we learned how each boy first found out about the rebels attacking Mattru Jong. This made my heart drop especially for Saidu as he had to listen to his three sisters being raped while hiding in the attic and not being able to do anything, that would drive me crazy. When Saidu fainted I thought that he fainted and not dead, or at least passed out because the bird was poisoned. I felt better when he woke up but then couldn’t believe that he died the next night. After all the trouble these boys went through I didn’t think they would be able to handle the death of a close friend like that. And then I couldn’t help wondering like the rest of them were, who would be next to have their temporary journey through this world end. 

A Long Way Gone Chap. 8-9

IIt is hard to believe that the entire community in Africa has lost its ability to trust each other; even six young boys in a group running away form all the fighting. Everyone seems to think that the young boys must be child soldiers and part of the rebels. I felt slightly better for Ishmael and his friends when they arrived in Kamator and had the most normal life they have since the rebels first attacked their home. It is hard for me to believe that others couldn’t feel slightly better for them either, they finally had a new place to call home and there was no news of rebels anywhere near. But this all changed quickly enough. The rebels attacked suddenly one night without any knowledge that they were within 50 miles of Kamator. The Imam who was leading the prayers that night was caught and burnt in the village by the rebels. Everyone had either fled or got killed with the Imam in Kamator, and along with all those deaths was the death of Ishmael’s chance of having a semi normal life again. This was also hard because Ishmael got separated from his brother, and never saw him again. I can only hope that Ishmael’s journey does not get any worse, because it seems like it would be hard enough for him to be the smiling face on the back of the book that he is today.

A Long Way Gone Chap. 6-7

It is hard to believe that the entire community in Africa has lost its ability to trust each other; even six young boys in a group running away form all the fighting. Everyone seems to think that the young boys must be child soldiers and part of the rebels. I felt slightly better for Ishmael and his friends when they arrived in Kamator and had the most normal life they have since the rebels first attacked their home. It is hard for me to believe that others couldn’t feel slightly better for them either, they finally had a new place to call home and there was no news of rebels anywhere near. But this all changed quickly enough. The rebels attacked suddenly one night without any knowledge that they were within 50 miles of Kamator. The Imam who was leading the prayers that night was caught and burnt in the village by the rebels. Everyone had either fled or got killed with the Imam in Kamator, and along with all those deaths was the death of Ishmael’s chance of having a semi normal life again. This was also hard because Ishmael got separated from his brother, and never saw him again. I can only hope that Ishmael’s journey does not get any worse, because it seems like it would be hard enough for him to be the smiling face on the back of the book that he is today.

A Long Way Gone Chap. 3-5

These chapters had a lot less blood and gore than the previous too, but it all still seems so unreal to me and I’m sure to a lot of my classmates. It was easier to remember that all of this really happened this time though. It is hard to imagine how hard it must be on those six boys who are wandering around with no idea if their families are alive or dead, starving, and being rejected stay in villages just because they are boys and could potentially be child soldiers. Also, there were a lot of close calls that had me worried that Ishmael Beah, his brother, or friends would be killed in these chapters. I was most worried when it seemed like Junior was going to have to watch Ishmael get killed ten feet from where he stood. The book is becoming more readable especially for some of the members of our class that might get disgusted by bloody and gory content, at least for now.

First Impressions A Long Way Gone

The first thing that I thought after finishing the reading was, “Is this really a non-fiction piece and an autobiography.” The first two chapters alone were enough to make me believe that this can’t be real. The things that you read are just unimaginable and I feel like the families he talks about in the first chapter. The families that say these refugees come through here but the war they talk of, the one the say is real, can never make it to here. I feel like this war is not real from the first two chapters of the new book. Even though our teacher says this is real, and I know the author is real and had this happen to him, I am still not fully able to believe that this is true. Those were my first reactions to the new book we are reading, A Long Way Gone.

The Ibo and the British

At first, most of the Ibo people believed that it might be a sign of danger, but they thought their brothers in Abame were foolish to kill a man that didn't speak, and fairly soon they forgot about it. Then the white man made it to Umuofia, but he was peaceful and nice, not like how they heard of him in the story of Abame. The white man asked for a plot of land to make his church on, and he was given one in the Evil Forrest because the elders of the tribe thought they would perish there in the first few months. All of this was done under Mr. Brown, he was a nice man who wanted to try to learn about the Ibo culture, but his main purpose was to teach them that Christianity was the true religion and that all should worship it. However, Mr. Brown got sick and went back to Europe and a not-so-nice guy named Mr. Smith replaced him. He was nothing like Mr. Brown. He thought that you either worship Christianity or you have no right to live. He made the Ibo people see that the white man is not as nice as Mr. Brown made them out to be, but this vision came too late. The British believed that the Ibo people were savages worshipping savage gods. They viewed the Ibo people as less than them and could care less if they died or were converted, even though some, like Mr. Brown, wanted to convert and learn not kill. Those are the way the Ibo people responded to the arrival of the white man and how the British treated the Ibo people.

Okonkwo and "Female Virtues"

Okonkwo  believes that showing female virtues is a sign of weakness. So he chooses to ignore and refuse them to show that he is a "manly man." This causes a lot of problems for him because of the way other people see him after he refuses to show some of these female virtues. One example is after he beat his wife during the week of peace. Inside he felt repentant for insulting the goddess of earth during her week, however he didn't show it on the outside and almost the entire village thought that he was very disrespectful to the gods and that his good fortune had gone to his head. Also, when he was banished to his mother land he refused to do anything for a while especially share his emotions with his family. So, even though they helped him, it wasn't because they liked him, but because he was family. Then, his uncle tries to tell explain to him about all of this, that it is alright to show some female virtues occasionally because it shows others that you are human, however Okonkwo just ignores these words of advice and lives his life as if he never heard them. Those are a few of the many problems that Okonkwo's refusal and his choice to ignore female virtues causes for him.

Opinion of Okonkwo

After reading the first four chapters I think I have a fairly solid opinion of Okonkwo. He is a very strict man who is afraid of laziness and affection because that is what his father was like and he disliked his father. He is a man who will not take any way but his own and beats his wives and children when he thinks they did something wrong. Since that is his culture I can agree with this on that level, however I don't think it is right to beat your wife or children. Okonkwo also has a short temper and will go off to beat his wives and children regularly. An example of this was during the Week of Peace, the week where there were to be no fighting or beating of one's family to honor the goddesses of earth. His third wife had gone to a friends house to get her hair done and didn't get back in time for the evening meal. So Okonkwo was waiting for his wife to bring him his third meal and when she didn't went to her hut to find her missing. When she got back he didn't wait for an excuse from her and starting beating her, for which he got punished for doing during the week of peace. Also, Okonkwo is a fierce warrior that has brought home 5 human heads, quite a lot for someone of his age, from war. Those are my opinions of Okonkwo after reading the first four chapters.

So Much Unfairness of Things

I think that P.S. will be in a lot of trouble and probably get expelled. I think this because of the Honor Code of V.P.S., the pledge, and how it is such a strict school. The pledge states, "I pledge on my honor as a gentleman that I have neither given nor received unauthorized assistance on this examination. The Honor Code says that the students will not cheat, lie, steal, and will turn anyone in they see doing any of those things. P.S. cheats on the examine and then lies about it when he signs the pledge. Because this is such a strict school and P.S. broke two parts of the honor code I believe that he will be expelled. I believe that the punishment will be so severe is because the school has stated over and over that it is a gentlemen's school and will not tolerate any misbehavior. Also, the title of the story So Much Unfairness of Things, supports this because he cheats once and feels sorry for it and if he got expelled I could see it as being unfair. That is what I think will happen in the last part of So Much Unfairness of Things.

1. The last meal I had at a restaurant was citrus fired chicken and shrimp fajita.
2. Liver and onions is something I intensely dislike.
3. The full moon shines brightly in the night sky.
4. I don't have a favorite local expression.
5. Sometimes it's best to back off and calm down.
6. The Dark Knight is the best movie I've seen this year!
7. As for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to resting, tomorrow my plans include whatever comes up, and Sunday I want to do something!

            In 8^th grade at Orchard we had this History teacher named Mrs. Fidler. Before you had her in eighth grade she seemed like the most mean, strict teacher in the school. She would get your entire grade to have to walk down the hall in single file without saying a word, which we never did at Orchard, because one person accidently ran into her. Everyone was afraid of her before they had her. Afterwards everyone said that she was their favorite teacher and one of the best they ever had. I was no exception. I was afraid of her since I was in fifth grade when we were first introduced. One of my friends ran into her and she got angry and had us stand on the wall and interrogated us, or at least it felt like that. In sixth and seventh grade she remained the same and everyone was afraid of crossing paths with Mrs. Fidler. However, when we became eighth graders and had her in class we all learned to love her and not be afraid of her anymore. It was a lot of fun watching her go out and yell at students in the other grades and even in our grade a few times. She is an extremely good teacher that all of us loved as a teacher and we didn’t fear her anymore. That is just one of many experiences where my first impressions of others were wrong and I felt guilty of placing those ideas about them in my head.

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