Literature Circle #2 Instructions

1. Literature Circle #2 Instructions • SET-UP: • Please pick up a discussion grading rubric from the brown table. • Please sit in your assigned groups and have your books out and turned to chapter 6. • Give each member of your group a number. • Take out a separate sheet of paper. • INSTRUCTIONS: • I will present each question individually. Using the discussion rubric as a guide, discuss the question with your group for 3 minutes. Formulate a thought, and use specific textual evidence to support your position. Reference specific page numbers and passages with your group members. • Once you complete your group discussion, we will come together as a class and discuss the answers. One person will represent your group and summarize the thoughts collected. • On the separate sheet of paper, write the question number. As you discuss, write down AT LEAST one summary finding from the group, as well as AT LEAST one quote that supports the summary. Make sure to reference the chapter and page number where you found your quote.

2. Chapter 6 • On page 37, Ishmael writes, “This was one of the consequences of the civil war. People stopped trusting each other, and every stranger became an enemy.” Can you relate to this feeling? If so, when and why have you felt that every stranger is an enemy?

3. Chapter 6 • At the end of the chapter, Ishmael states that this was the last time that he ever saw his brother Junior. What do you think happens to Junior? Justify your answer with what has happened so far in the novel.

4. Chapter 6 • Ishmael states "I was so angry at the way they pitied us that I would sometimes kick their children's behinds at school, especially those who gave us the look that said, My parents talk about you a lot." Thinking of power, why do you think Ishmael is so upset that he is pitied?

5. Chapter 7 • Chapter seven begins with the story of the imam’s death, followed by Ishmael’s recollections of his father and an elder blessing their home when they first moved to Mogbwemo. How do the concepts of faith and hope shift throughout this memoir? What sustains Ishmael emotionally and spiritually?

6. Chapter 7 • In this chapter, Beah identifies his age as twelve years old. What were you doing when you were twelve years old? You were probably in middle school. Imagine being on your own at that point in your life. Do you think you would have handled the situation Ishmael finds himself in better or worse than he has so far? Explain.

7. Chapter 8 • Chapter eight closes with the image of villagers running fearfully from Ishmael and his friends, believing that the seven boys are rebels. How do they overcome these negative assumptions in communities that have begun to associate the boys’ appearance with evil? What lessons could world leaders learn from them about overcoming distrust, and the importance of judging others individually rather than as stereotypes?

8. Chapter 8 • Was Beah better off on his own or with the group of boys he found in this chapter? Explain your answer.

9. Chapter 8 • Beah reminisces about his family while he is alone. He looks for medicinal leaves his grandfather showed him, for the soapy leaves he discovered during a summer with his grandmother, and thinks about the story of the wild pigs his grandmother told him. He remembers that his father used to say, “If you are alive, there is hope for a better day and something good to happen. If there is nothing good left in the destiny of a person, he or she will die.” Did these thoughts help Beah or make him more lonely and depressed? What makes you think so?

10. Chapter 9 • On page 65, Ishmael says, “This time we were a long way from Mattru Jong. A long way gone.” What does he mean when he says "a long way gone" here? Why might he have taken the book’s title from this particular quote?

11. Chapter 9 • How did the boys avoid death when the villagers on the coast found them? Is Beah developing a theme? What is it?

12. Chapter 9 • Comment on the presence of the LL Cool J song at the end of the chapter. Is it significant? Why?

13. Chapter 10 • On page 70, Saidu, one of the boys says, “How many more times do we have to come to terms with death before we find safety?” He goes on to say, “Every time people come at us with the intention of killing us, I close my eyes and wait for death. Even thought I am still alive, I feel like each time I accept death, part of me dies. Very soon I will completely die and all that will be left is my empty body walking with you. It will be quieter than I am.” The old saying is that that which does not kill us makes us stronger. Are there some things that just kill us slowly instead of building our strength? Explain your answer.

14. Chapter 10 • What is the usefulness and significance of a story like Bra Spider to the culture that tells and retells it? • What is the significance of Beah’s name-giving ceremony? Why does he share that story at this point in the book?

15. General Questions • What do you think motivated Ishmael to share his life story? How did you respond to his "voice"? • Do you think Ishmael is trying to elicit a certain response from the reader, such as sympathy? How has this book changed or enhanced your view of him? How has it changed your views on child soldiers or conflict in Africa? • Were there any instances in which you felt Ishmael was not being truthful? How did you react to these sections? Why would the author of a memoir want to embellish the truth? • What is Ishmael’s most admirable quality? Is this someone you would want to know or have known? Why or why not? • What did you like or dislike about the book that hasn't been discussed already? Are you glad the class is reading this book? Would you recommend it to a friend? Why or why not? • What universal truths does Ishmael teach us about surviving loss and hunger, and overcoming isolation?