A Long Way Gone Part 3

After walking for days on end, the boys were picked up by a group of soldiers. Later on they started losing the battles to the rebels and inevitably had to join the rebels or be killed by them. In January of 1996, when Ishmael is 15 years old, UNICEF men arrive to take the boy soldiers from the war zone. Ishmael and his friends are lined up, and the lieutenant chooses the youngest ones to be released from their duty. He tells them that the UNICEF men will put them in schools and find them new lives.

Everything going on in this part seems to be about revenge. They use revenge as a tool, or as an excuse for doing something they shouldn’t. The boys’ motivation to join the army is survival, but the theme of revenge is present as well. The boys are brainwashed into believing that, by soldiering, they can take revenge on the men who killed their families. When Josiah and Musa are killed in front of him, he finds a rage inside that forces him to fight and to kill. The brainwashing from the military is effective in motivating violence in Ishmael, but he also must have the drugs to remain numb enough to do his job and survive. Ishmael's innocence is completely gone. He writes that the combination of the drugs made him fierce and that killing had become "as easy as drinking water." His attitude toward violence now is one of numb acceptance. He seems almost to enjoy the task, in vast contrast to his earlier descriptions of his reaction to killing. Violence as entertainment is also a theme coming up in this part of the story, as Ishmael and the soldiers make little distinction between the Rambo movies they watch and the wars in which they fight.

A Long Way Gone Post 2

In this section of the book, Ishmael and his group has run into more conflicts resulting from the rebel attacks. With every village they go to they are being captured or harassed more and more from the people of the village. No one in any of the villages they go to trust them. They walk for days and days trying to get to the coast.

The boys still follow how their ancestors would live, even in these desperate times of the story. Like their ancestors, the boys rely on oral tradition and storytelling to both entertain and to explain the world around them. To pass the time one night, Musa tells the story of Bra Spider who also struggled for food and survival. Listening to Musa's story reminds Ishmael of similar evenings listening to stories around his grandmother's campfire. Oral storytelling also plays a key role in the ceremonies of the village, and Ishmael is reminded of the tales told the night of his name-giving ceremony. The power of nature is a constant force on Ishmael's journey. He spends his evenings walking and feels that the moon is a constant companion. On moonless nights he is uncomfortable and frightened. Because the boys often walk in silence, their senses have become keener. The noise of nature is pervasive, and the forest both protects them from attacks and hides their attackers. They listen to the leaves for danger. They assess the wind for threats. They seek cover in the forest during thunder and lightning storms. The theme of the chaos of war is prevalent in this chapter. The boys are filled with excitement and hope at the possibility of seeing their families, only to have the village go up in flames before their eyes. The threat of violence is constant. The uncertainty of the rebels' next move creates a terrible tension and fear. Because the attack happens just as the boys are approaching the village, Ishmael blames Gasemu, a banana farmer, who delayed their arrival by asking for their help carrying bananas. Ishmael is furious and tries to strangle Gasemu.

A Long Way Gone (Post 1)

The conflict Ishmael is faced with in the beginning of the story is a civil war going on in his country. Ishmael, his brother Junior, and a few others went to a town called Mattru Jong. While they were staying there overnight they heard of a rebel army attacking their town. The rebels went from town to town causing chaos, murdering innocents, destroying the towns, and kidnapping young boys to become rebel soldiers. Ishmael and his group went back to their town to try to find their families, and eventually had to try to find a village far away that the rebels weren’t at. The conflict at hand now for Ishmael is he is alone wandering the paths from town to town. In the chaos his group had been able to find a village and be accepted into the village to help as lookouts and eventually work on the farms. However, no one expected the rebels to attack the town so suddenly. Ishmael got separated from everyone during the attack, and after weeks of living in fear he decided he was done being afraid. He decided to start walking to find somewhere to settle and surviving on his own. The only problem now was no one trusted any kids Ishmael’s age after hearing rumors of the teenage soldiers in the rebel army. Everyone Ishmael ran into did not want him to be around. Ishmael was trying to find his way to a city, Bonthe, south of his home town, Sierra Leone, and was instructed to go towards where people may know the fastest route to Bonthe. At this point, in the story, it seems as if Ishmael has almost given up seeing as he has no plan or any idea on how to get to where he is headed. 

The Maze Runner (Part 2)

In The Maze Runner, Thomas was waiting in the Glades as the walls were shutting for the night. As he was pacing back and forth by one of the walls he saw Minho and Alby in the Maze. Thomas ended up breaking the number one rule, he went out into the Maze as the walls were shutting. He couldn’t just watch Alby and Minho struggle and not make it to safety for the night. Now Thomas must survive the night in the Maze. He must defend himself against the Grievers and make it to sunrise.

How would you solve the problem in the story differently?  Why?

If I had to solve the problem in the story I would do it somewhat differently. All of the Gladers know you can’t stop the walls from shutting. So, I would have still ran out into the Maze, there is nothing else to do to help Minho and Alby. Alby had been stung by a Griever so there was nothing he could really do. Minho knew the only way to survive through the night was to split up. Minho went through the practiced maneuvers for escaping Grievers in the Maze. The only problem was Thomas has never been in the maze, he wasn’t trained for the maze, and he doesn’t know what happens in the Maze. There was one other problem, he wasn’t going to leave Alby to be killed the Grievers. Thomas took Alby and tied him to the walls with the vines. He continued to climb and carry Alby up the wall tying him off with each gain. This is where I would have changed the solution to the problem. I would have tried to find a better place to hide then just scaling the wall. At any point the vines could have snapped and it would have turned out a whole lot worse. In the story a Griever comes and tries to chase Thomas. To divert the Griever away from Alby Thomas starts to run. He leads the Griever on a huge chase until he runs into three more Grievers. At this point he manages to get around the one Griever as it charges at him. As he continues to run down the long corridor of the maze he gets pulled to the side of one of the hallways. Minho had pulled him in and led him to the Cliff where they tricked the Grievers into running off into the abyss. This plan may have worked but I feel as if there were too many slim chances to take. I feel like there were easier ways to get the same result in this case.

Predict what might happen if _____________________.

If Thomas and Minho weren’t able to trick the Grievers into going off the Cliff I think they would have to continue running through the Maze until sunrise. The last Griever was just barely able to stop itself at the edge of the Cliff before Thomas and Minho kicked it off the cliff. If this Griever wasn’t close enough to the edge it could have chased them all throughout the night before they got to the Glades.

The Maze Runner (Post 1)

The Maze Runner by James Dashner starts out with Thomas waking up in a dark elevator with no memory. Once he gets to the top he is surrounded by people in what seems to be a field, the Glade. He is told by one of the leaders of the group that they are in a big maze, that changes every night, and they are at the safe area. At night walls close around the area they are living in, and if you don't get back into the area by the time the walls close there is no doubt the grievers will get you. Now they are faced with the task that hasn't been completed in two years, getting out of the maze.

Compare this book to another book.

When I think of The Maze Runner, it reminds me of books such as The Hunger Games and Lord of The Flies. In The Maze Runner, kids are sent into a maze, or an arena, and have to survive. These kids are alone and need to work together in order to survive. They are put to tasks in order to survive, and had to set up leaders to rule over these tasks. 

Which character is most important to the story? Why?

Thomas is the most important character in this novel. The view is from a third person view, but it is always following Thomas. Everything has always been the same in the maze, until Thomas showed up. One teen was brought up in the elevator every month at the same time it was always a boy. When Thomas showed up he was late. The day after Thomas showed up the elevator had opened, this time with a girl on the platform. When the girl got to the Glade, she told one of the leaders that “everything is going to change” and handed the leader a note. After this, she freaked out. The note said “This is the last one” and this caused many to freak out. Most of the other teens were blaming Thomas, because once he came everything changed.

Discuss three reasons why this book is better than another book. 

If I had to choose a book that The Maze Runner was better than I would choose The Hunger Games. I believe The Maze Runner is better because, the adventure of the book never has any dull moments. In The Hunger Games some of the times where the story is transitioning I fell as if it was just thrown in their so the story didn’t just skip from one scene to the next. It did make those parts of the story boring and unnecessary however. Another reason I would say The Maze Runner is a better book is, even though many of its chapters end as cliff hangers, it makes you want to continue to read the book. This also makes it so once you start to read again, you are right back into the action, and there is never a dull moment. Finally, my last reason on choosing The Maze Runner as a better book is, the plot of it tells you the full story. In The Hunger Games, it starts explains it as this is how we have always done it and it will stay that way. Whereas in The Maze Runner, it explains that someone created this maze and it changes every day. The end goal is to find the exit to the maze and get everyone out safely.