A Long Way Gone JOTS
a long way gone JOTS
(This text will make readers think, and may elicit uncomfortable emotions…feel free to jot your connections to Beah’s story.) Chapter One Jot Questions
1. Connect O’Brien’s analysis of a war story to Beah’s. You may jot a T chart.
2. Why did most of the refugees refuse to feel sorry for those affected by the war?
3. How does Beah explain his understanding of war in a way that American readers can understand?
a. When was the narrator first touched by war? History of Sierra Leone?
4. With whom does Ishmael leave home?
a. Where are they going and why?
5. On the morning the boys left for Mattru Jong, with what did they fill their backpacks?
a. Characterization of Ishmael and his friends…(ATOAD)
6. On page 10, what does Beah recall about his father, just three days earlier?
a. Why does “a sinking feeling over[take]” him?
7. What did you learn about Sierra Leone from Beah’s POV? (14)
8. What did the old man in Kabati mean when he said, “We must strive to be like the moon”? (16)
a. How does this statement still resonate with Beah, even now?
Chapter Two Jot Questions
1. Beah moves around in time as he tells his story, flashing forward and backward. What is the effect of this technique?
a. Do you appreciate it, or would you prefer that he stuck to strict chronology? Why or why not?
2. What does Beah mean when he says that he “live[s] in three worlds”?
Chapter Three Jot Questions
1. What does Beah realize about the life of a town after all of the inhabitants fled to the forest?
a. Connection: Human nature and nature nature…to fear.
2. What is the importance of cooking for Beah?
3. Why were Beah and his friends so convinced that the “risk of staying in tow was greater for us than trying to escape”?
a. What happened to boys their ages when the rebels caught them?
i. Why did this mean they were scarred for life?
4. Why did the rebels want to keep boys, women and children with them for as long as they could?
Chapters Four and Five Jot
(This text will make readers think, and may elicit uncomfortable emotions…feel free to jot your connections to Beah’s story.) Chapter One Jot Questions
1. Connect O’Brien’s analysis of a war story to Beah’s. You may jot a T chart.
2. Why did most of the refugees refuse to feel sorry for those affected by the war?
3. How does Beah explain his understanding of war in a way that American readers can understand?
a. When was the narrator first touched by war? History of Sierra Leone?
4. With whom does Ishmael leave home?
a. Where are they going and why?
5. On the morning the boys left for Mattru Jong, with what did they fill their backpacks?
a. Characterization of Ishmael and his friends…(ATOAD)
6. On page 10, what does Beah recall about his father, just three days earlier?
a. Why does “a sinking feeling over[take]” him?
7. What did you learn about Sierra Leone from Beah’s POV? (14)
8. What did the old man in Kabati mean when he said, “We must strive to be like the moon”? (16)
a. How does this statement still resonate with Beah, even now?
Chapter Two Jot Questions
1. Beah moves around in time as he tells his story, flashing forward and backward. What is the effect of this technique?
a. Do you appreciate it, or would you prefer that he stuck to strict chronology? Why or why not?
2. What does Beah mean when he says that he “live[s] in three worlds”?
Chapter Three Jot Questions
1. What does Beah realize about the life of a town after all of the inhabitants fled to the forest?
a. Connection: Human nature and nature nature…to fear.
2. What is the importance of cooking for Beah?
3. Why were Beah and his friends so convinced that the “risk of staying in tow was greater for us than trying to escape”?
a. What happened to boys their ages when the rebels caught them?
i. Why did this mean they were scarred for life?
4. Why did the rebels want to keep boys, women and children with them for as long as they could?
Chapters Four and Five Jot