Quote 1:
"The idea of death didn't cross my mind at all and killing had become as easy as drinking water."
- Ishmael Page 122
I am deeply disturbed by the fact that Ishmael has become so desensitized to violence. When Ishmael came to the camp, I thought that maybe he would find sanctuary from all he had been running away from. Instead, he was pushed out of the frying pan and into the fire. This outlook towards life will become a great problem later on in the book. Maybe even when Ishmael makes it to America.
Character Judgement:
I think that Ishmael should have though about his descisions instead of acting rash and violently.
If Ishmael had thought about his actions, he would be in a better situation than he is now. I do think that it would be difficult to resist if everyone around you was doing the same thing.
Question:
Would you have tried to do something different instead of going out to the battlefield if you were in Ishmael's case?
Quote 2:
"Other times, the younger boys sat by rocks telling us that the rocks were their dead families."
- Ishmael, Page 145
All the child soldiers at the Unicef camp in Freetown (capital of Sierra Leone) are slowly losing their minds. Now that these boys have been reemoved from the warzone and given free time to reflect, they have begun to realize horrifying things that never seemed to bother them before. They have all begun to recall people that they killed or people that were killed in front of them, and remembering watching their parents and familes die. The boys have also been so addicted to the drugs they had been taking on the battlefield that they have all gotten extremley sick from lack of drugs. I think the lack of drugs clouding their minds has also affected how vivid their recollections of death were.
Reflection:
I think that the fact that the kids are only starting to realize what horrors they have experienced, is very disturbing. I remember once when an old junior guard instructor made me run 15 miles, and my freinds and I were in a lot of pain, but he distracted us by making us tell jokes the entire time. This made us forget how much our legs hurt from running so much. On an entirely different level, I have also experienced a system of distraction from pain.
Question:
How would you react to a sudden recollection of violent memories such as Ishmael's? What would you do if suddenly all you could think about was the worst moment of your life?
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Long Way Gone post 4
Posted by Wade *-* at 4:22 PM
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3 comments:
~Ethan~
Quote 1: I was also going to use this quote, because it's very powerful. The comparison to drinking water is just shocking, and I agree that I thought he would go back to normal. It seems that he has been so used to killing that it's second nature.
Question 1: I think I would have liked to stay behind, and manage supplies and such. I think that it's best if I don't encounter violence. I would probably slow the others down anyways.
Quote 2: I was also struck by this quote, because now that they have time to think, everything has changed. At the time they were fighting, they had occupied their minds, but now that they have time to think about what their lives have become, they are deeply depressed.
Question 2: I would probably cry, a lot. I think I might go insane if that's all I could think of. I might even think of suicide at some point, because of the sheer hopelessness of that situation.
{Jailyn}
Quote 1: I thought this quote was crazy. I was very touched by this quote because it doesn't seem that Ishmael would say something like that. I thought he would be different from the other kids, but I guessed wrong. Like Wade said, it will keep up to him later in the book. I think this is going to hunt him.
Question 1: I agree with Ethan, I would stay behind and do supplies things. I don't think that I could ever go to the battle fields and kill someone because I know how I would feel if one of my family members or close friends died.
Quote 2: This was a weird quote. It showed you how people don't realize something to it is over happened. They were so into killing people and then once they stopped for a break, the memories were coming back to there head about all the people they have killed.
Question 2: I don't think I could live to see another after all this was coming back to me. I don't think I would commit suicide, I think I would have one of the soldiers kill me because the thought of seeing another day after all I did would be foolish.
{Jailyn}
Quote 1: I thought this quote was crazy. I was very touched by this quote because it doesn't seem that Ishmael would say something like that. I thought he would be different from the other kids, but I guessed wrong. Like Wade said, it will keep up to him later in the book. I think this is going to hunt him.
Question 1: I agree with Ethan, I would stay behind and do supplies things. I don't think that I could ever go to the battle fields and kill someone because I know how I would feel if one of my family members or close friends died.
Quote 2: This was a weird quote. It showed you how people don't realize something to it is over happened. They were so into killing people and then once they stopped for a break, the memories were coming back to there head about all the people they have killed.
Question 2: I don't think I could live to see another after all this was coming back to me. I don't think I would commit suicide, I think I would have one of the soldiers kill me because the thought of seeing another day after all I did would be foolish.
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