A Long Way Gone

Rescue & Rehabilitation

            Ishmael Beah suffers from guilt after the war. He feels guilty for the loss of his family, and killing the innocent people of Sierra Leone. When he was in the war he was known as the "killing machine". He couldn't see past his murderous acts and he couldn't understand how he was doing it. But it was all for survival. Everything he had done since he had arrived at his burning home was for his own survival. 

 

 If he tried to fight against the rebels he would have been killed. He would have never seen his family again and he wouldn't have been able to tell his story. If you had to take another mans life to have another day on earth is it worth it?  Even though the rebels did end up killing his family he was reunited with his friends, and the family that he made during the war with the other boy soldiers. 

Ishmael overcame his guilt when he was rescued by the UNICEF. Him and many of the other boy soldiers were rescued and brought over to America. For him it was hard at first but he found ways to take out his anger and eventually forgave himself for what he had done. Now he tries to inform others on the problems happening in 3rd world countries where kids are being treated like weapons and wants to lead a movement to stop children from being war toys. Coming to America had to be very hard for the boys because of all the significant changes in culture we have from them, ecspecially since we don't have children fighting our wars. Having conversation with others was hard because the only memories they had were of pain, anger, and filled with violence. Hopefully Ishmael's book wide spreads throughout countries across the world and everyone can help fight the war against children fighting wars.

A Long Way Gone

ABDUCTION

After traveling from town to town trying to find food and shelter Ishmael and his friends are abducted by the rebels in Sierra Leone and slowly become brainwashed into "killing machines" and are forced to kill for their survival.   Before they are captured the boys are aware that the rebels are near them and are very afraid of them. While they are traveling from town to town they are forced to steal food to fight their starvation.  I can see they don't like what they are doing, stealing food and water from innocent people to fight for their own survival. If you had nothing would you begin to steal from others for yourself? If I had to steal food to stop myself from starvation, I think I would steal like Ishmael and his friends did. I wouldn't want to give up on life without knowing what has happened to my family. I think that maybe if I knew my family was gone I wouldn't steal from people but if I knew there was a chance of seeing them again I would do it no doubt. If I had to kill to see my family again then I think has passed my line of decency where I would rather starve then kill another man to benefit in my own life.

                                            

I don't think they should feel ashamed for what they are doing. Everyone needs to survive and everyone has their own way of doing it. Sure stealing is frowned upon but its not like the young group of boys can get a well paying job for the rest of their lives, and with no family to support them how can they financially afford food? They keep having to run from village to village to keep away and stay hidden from the rebels so they have no where to settle down. No where to find their own food and shelter so they must take others. I think the boys will find their family soon but I don't think what awaits for them in the future is any good. When Ishmael and his friends are taken by the rebels they begin to have the boys do even worse things, many of the boys become addicted to drugs, kill others for food or money, and are promised a fake future where the boys will be able to see their families in the end if they do everything the rebel army asks them.

                                 

A Long Way Gone

LOSING EVERYTHING

In the beginning of A long way gone by Ishmael Beah the main character in the story speaking about the cruelty of children being abducted from their homes and brain washed into fighting a war they didn't have any part in starting. The book begins in Sierra Leone where Ishmael is a small boy hanging out with friends talking about their appreciation of rap music, when suddenly they see smoke coming from their town and find out their town has been burnt by rebel soldiers.

Town in Sierra Leone

              The story is told by an older Ishmael Beah from the city of New York after his experience of being a  child forced to fight a war. All these boys were so young when this tragedy happened having to walk home and see their town, family, and friends in flames. Everything was destroyed and the boys beginning travelling to other towns looking for help. I couldnt imagine coming home one day and having my house burnt down to the ground, losing my familywould just be to hard and I can't imagine how hard it was for these boys who were only 12 to 15 years old. Could you imagine losing your family, your home, your food, and being slowly starved to death while trying to find a safer place to stay?

                         

                          Town in Sierra Leone Burnt to Ground by Rebels

Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief

Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief

The End

    Percy and his friends go through a series of challenges in the Underworld to find out that a fellow camper named Luke had stolen the lightning bolt and wants the gods to wage war against each other because his father Hermes never appreciated him. 

      Percy returns from the Underworld and ventures to New York City where Mount Olympus is floating in an invisible aura in the sky. He goes to the Empire state building and travels to the 600th floor where Mount Olympus awaits. On top of the empire state building Percy fights Luke for the Lightning bolt and is victorious. Luke manages to escape but drops the lightning bolt which Percy returns to Zeus and the battle between the Gods at Mount Olympus is ended. The Gods learn an important lesson and that is that they must spend more time with there half blood children because Luke is one example of a Child who felt abandoned by his family and decided too try and take vengeance on his father. The Gods believe there could be a whole army of children who feel alone and that they must find a way to contact them before another Luke incedint occurs. This is also the first time Percy meets his real father Poseidon and finally talks to Poseidon. He thanks him for the ability to control water and for secretly helping him on his quest for the Lightning bolt.

   Percy returns to camp half blood where an unexpected surprise awaits him. Another camper named Thalia daughter of one of the three most powerful gods has been returned to her human form from a tree and she is daughter of Zeus. She was a shield that protected camp half-blood for years and know the camp is vulnerable to attacks. How will Percy and his friends find a way to stop camp half blood from being destroyed by monsters? Hopefully we find out in the next book Sea of Monsters.

Percy Jackson : The Lightning Thief

Percy Jackson : The Lightning Thief

The Middle

     After everything is starting to fall into place for Percy at camp half blood up on Mount Olympus his father is accused by his brother Zeus for stealing the lightning bolt that controls all of Zeus's power to generate lightning at any given time. 

     Zeus threatened to wage a war against Poseidon if he does not give him his most prized item, but Poseidon is to heart broken that his brother would blame him for such an act. Percy know feels like he has to help his father and sets out on a quest with his new friends Annabeth, and Grover. They have to travel to the underworld where the third brother of Zeus and Poseidon is believed to be in possesion of the lightning bolt, Hades.

Hades is ruler of the underworld and is not a nice person to make deals with at all. The 3 friends have to find a way to travel into the underworld since you must be a dead soul to enter that realm anyway.         

      During there adventure they face the evil Medusa who turns all who look into her snake eyes to stone. The three campers defeat Medusa by making her look into  a mirror and turning her self into stone. Then the campers make there way to Los Angeles the location of the underworld. They stay at a hotel for most of their time under the illusion it had been one night and had almost been 2 weeks since they were confused by the war god Ares. The campers finally enter the Under world by paying a hefty amount of Greek gold to the Gate keeper who takes all the souls into the unescapable realm.

Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief

Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief

Rick Riordan

Rick Riordan

Rick Riordan, is the famous American author and creator of the Percy Jackson & The Olympian Series. He released the Lightning Thief the first book in the 5 book series in 2005 and the last in 2009. His book has been turned into multiple movies and has been awarded a NY Times Best-Seller award for every novel.

THE BEGINNING

                    In Percy Jackson The Lightning Thief a young boy named Percy Jackson is a dyslexic teenager who on a field trip for his school finds out he is different from most of the kids his age and later that day finds out he is a half-blood. Half-bloods are children of Greek gods and mortals and evil monsters of the darkness like minotaurs, while on his way to camp half-blood located in a secret forest outside of NY city, and his mother is killed by a minotaur. Percy soon finds out that he is the child of one of the three major gods, Poseidon. Poseidon has not had a child with a mortal in hundreds of years and Percy has become the only half-blood who's father is Posiedon, King of the Sea.

Everyone at camp half-blood was startled that Poseidon had finally had a child with a mortal and I could only imagine what Percy was thinking when his life turned from having an average life completely flip flopping into being known as a super star at camp half blood having powers that none of the others showed. Could you imagine your life being turned inside out at a random time in your life?