Preparing for the Program

Use the following questions as preparation before you begin to read, to guide your critical understanding of the text as you read, to stimulate your reflection on the text after you read, and to refresh your memory before writing your short paper and discussing the text during Welcome Week in the fall.

Before you Read

Before closely reading the text, you may want to begin by quickly familiarizing yourself with the text, looking for clues about the book, its context, the writer, and the writer’s purpose.  You might consider the follow questions as you preview the text:

• What does the title of the book—A Long Way Gone—evoke for you?  What impressions do you form based on the book’s subtitle, “Memoirs of a Boy Soldier?”
• What do you learn about the book from the visual and textual features of the cover (the use of lower case lettering, the handwriting script of the subtitle, and the images/photographs on the front and back cover)?
• What can you learn from the prefatory material inside the front cover—the dialogue with high school friends in boldface print and the section titled “This is How Wars are Fought Now?”
• What do you learn about the author from the inside book flaps and back cover, and how will this inform your reading?
• What is your impression of the excerpts from reviews on the back cover of the book?  How do these reviews and quotations affect your reading?
• Based on the details you have gathered from the visual and textual features of the cover, what are your expectations and assumptions, and how might these influence your reading experience?
• What do you know about the subject of the book—the civil wars of Sierra Leone and the recruitment of child soldiers—and how might your prior knowledge and experiences influence your reading?

As you Read

The act of reading is not just an act of passively passing eyes over text but rather an active creation of the meaning of that text.  As college students, you will be expected to read actively and critically.  Engaging in active reading means meeting the writer halfway and carrying on a dialogue with the book as you read by underlining, highlighting or making notes and comments in the margins of the text (or on a separate sheet of paper).  You can talk back to the writer, question points that are unclear, and make notes where you agree or disagree. Some of the following strategies can help you read the text more actively and critically.

1. Mark or make notes on the text, such as the following:
   • Commenting on a passage (noting what you agree/disagree with, what you don’t understand, what intrigues you, what disturbs you)
   • Evaluating a passage (noting parts that you like, parts that seem particularly evocative or well-written, parts that captivated you, parts that aren’t as appealing)
   • Questioning parts by either asking for clarification (“What does this mean?”) or challenging parts (“What is the significance of this?”)
   • Paraphrasing or restating difficult passages or key parts in your own words
   • Underlining or highlighting key terms, sentences or passages that seem especially meaningful
2. Keep a dictionary nearby as you read, and look up words that you aren’t familiar with;
3. Read analytically, attempting to understand the writer’s purposes and techniques employed to engage and move readers. Consider the following as you read:
   • What questions does the text address? Why are these significant questions? What communities care about them?
   • What is the writer’s purpose in writing?
   • Who is the intended audience? Am I part of this audience or an outsider?
   • What situational factors (biographical, historical, political, cultural) might have motivated or influenced the writing of this text?
4. Keep a reading journal of your reflections, reactions and responses. Develop questions/issues to share with peers in the fall.

As you read A Long Way Gone, consider the following questions:

• A Long Way Gone is a memoir, which is defined as an autobiographical account or reflection on one’s past. Typically, a memoir imparts factual events while incorporating fictional elements of storytelling. How is the memoir an appropriate choice for Beah’s story? Given that the plight of child soldiers has been covered in films, documentaries, feature articles, and news stories, what particular angle or perspective does Beah’s memoir contribute?
• Consider the structure of the memoir, beginning with the map of “My Journey” and its meaning. What is the significance of the opening dialogue entitled “New York City, 1998?” Explain the function of Chapter 2, which interrupts the chronological account of Beah’s journey. Why do you think Beah includes this flash forward?
• As you trace Beah’s journey from Mattru Jong to Kamator to Yele to Bauya, Freetown, and Kambia, what are some of the key conflicts/tensions/oppositions that arise in the memoir? Are these mostly internal or external or both? Identify key climactic moments or turning points.
• On page 15, Beah says that he “can no longer tell the difference between dream and reality.” How do his dreams and nightmares throughout reflect the psychological trauma Beah is going through? What do the dreams tell us about his inner conflicts? What is the significance of the dream he has about his family in Chapter 17?
• What objects or images recur throughout the text? What do they represent? What is the significance of the natural imagery, particularly the recurring image of the moon?
• Author Steve Coll notes that Beah “describes the unthinkable in calm, unforgettable language,” while reviewer Rayna Patton comments, “Beah writes his story with painful honesty, horrifying detail, and touches of remarkable lyricism.” How would you describe Beah’s use of language? What tone is conveyed through his descriptive language and word choice?
• Track moments of change or growth in Beah throughout the memoir. What factors influence his transition from observer to participant in violence? What factors influence his rehabilitation? Why is he resistant to hearing (from the relief workers), “It’s not your fault?”
• While the memoir, as an autobiographical account, focuses on Beah’s story, what is the significance of other individuals he encounters, such as Saidu, Gasemu, Mambu, and Alhaji, Esther and Laura Simms? What do we learn from his interactions with these individuals?
• Examine the memoir's ending.  Analyze the riddle of the monkey and the hunter in light of the memoir and Beah's experiences. Why does he choose to end the memoir this way?
• What is the significance of the “Chronology” at the end of the book?

After you Read

Return to the parts you highlighted and marked as you read, particularly any questions you noted, and see if you now understand these parts better in the context of having read the whole book.  Then, use the following questions as a guide for considering the larger social and cultural implications of the book:

• In the online introduction to A Long Way Gone, the memoir is described as “at once crucial testimony for understanding the tragedy of contemporary war zones, and a testament to the power of peacemakers.”  What understanding of war are you left with after reading the book?  In what way does war seems to overturn and reverse cultural norms?  Do you agree that the book is simultaneously “a testament to the power of peacemakers?” Why/why not?
• Examine the role of family and family rituals (such as the naming ceremony) throughout the book, from Beah’s early life in his village, to his relationship with his uncle after his rehabilitation, to his memories of his parents, brother, grandfather, and grandmother.  What is the meaning of his grandmother’s saying that “we must strive to be like the moon?” (16). What other family values and lessons does Beah take with him on his journey, and how do these sustain him?
• Consider the important role storytelling plays in the book and in the survival of cultural values and tradition.  You might consider the story of the wild pigs (53), the story of the bra spider (74-75), or the final scene of a mother telling her two children a fable about the monkey and the hunter.  Explore the relevance of these narratives to the memoir and reflect on the larger cultural relevance of storytelling.
• At the end of Chapter 2, Beah reflects, “These days I live in three worlds: my dreams, and the experiences of my new life, which trigger memories from the past.”  Explore the role of memory and dream throughout the book.  How and why does Beah incorporate dreams and memories?
• Explain the cultural references to rap music throughout the book.  What is the significance of hip-hop culture, and what role does it play in Beah’s escape from capture (67-68) and, later, his rehabilitation?
• The book focuses on a number of universal themes like violence, loss, and survival.  Explore the factors that sustain Beah on his violent journey and the factors crucial to his healing process.  What role does his trip to the US play in his rehabilitation?
• Reviewer for The Washington Post Book World, Carolyn See, states, “Everyone in the world should read this book…. We should read it to learn about the world and about what it means to be human.”  There are times in the book when Beah travels with a group of companions and times when he travels alone (such as his month in the forest), and he reflects on his realization that “it is the physical presence of people and their spirits that gives a town life” (22).  He later laments that “the war had destroyed the very experience of meeting people” (48) when he is mistaken as a rebel.  Explore the role of human contact throughout the novel and the movement between isolation and human interaction.
• Author Steve Coll, in his review of A Long Way Gone calls it “one of the most important war stories of our generation.” He goes on to explain that “the arming of children is among the greatest evils of the modern world, and yet we know so little about it because the children themselves are swallowed up by the very wars they are forced to wage.”  What lessons have you learned about the plight of child soldiers in your reading of Beah’s book?  Explore possible solutions or ways of furthering Beah’s cause against the use of child soldiers.
• What issues/ideas raised by the book would you like to discuss or debate further with peers during the group discussions at Welcome Week?

Moving from Reading to Writing

After you have read the book, write a short (one-page) paper, using any of the above questions or statements as a starting point.  The paper should be typed.  Bring one copy of this paper to your discussion group, and reserve another copy for your freshman writing or honors class.  Your papers will be read carefully by your discussion leaders and then submitted to the office of the Associate to the Chancellor.  The writers of the ten papers judged the best will be invited to a celebratory luncheon with the Chancellor (and there is a chance that Ishmael Beah might also attend).  If you have any questions about the assignment, contact Michael Modarelli at mmodarel@utk.edu.

Contact

Michael Modarelli
407F Andy Holt Tower
The University of Tennessee
Knoxville, TN 37996
(865) 974-9289

E-mail: mmodarel@tennessee.edu