Monday, November 11, 2013

Fish Bowl #1, A Long Way Gone, Chapters 1 and 2

Welcome to your first A Long Way Gone fish bowl!

A few reminders if you're looking for an A for the day:

(A) Bring at least one quotation and/or page reference into at least one of your responses.
(B) Explain your thinking thoughtfully and thoroughly (try to avoid the one-sentence response).
(C) Keep it professional, including the usage of proper grammar and spelling.
(D) Comment frequently from the beginning of the conversation to the end.


Remember also that you're welcome to get into a hot seat in the inner circle for a little while and earn some of your daily participation points there.

91 comments:

  1. Pg 19 "We walked toward the dead bodies giving each other high fives"
    Could this quote show that they have become proud of killing people like it's a game?

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    1. Well the rebels made the boys have this mind set that it is okay for them to kill people. I think the boys don't realize that it is bad and it is just a game. The rebels would probably kill the boys if they didn't act like it was a game and killing people was wrong.

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    2. I think this quote shows the people Sierra Leone, specifically the child soldiers have been brainwashed into thinking killing is right. They've been drugged up so bad they feel no guilt or remorse killing somebody.

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    3. Yeah, I could say they were because living in a cruel environment, you start to loose some of your morals as you are, when you are out there during that civil war.

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    4. Yes, because in Lord Of The Flies most times that they kill someone they celebrate so i feel that it is the same in this case.

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    5. Pg 19 "The group had also consisted of young boys like us but we didn't care about them" This quote from the book tell that the boys had no feeling g of regret to the kill other boys or even people. He has been in that army for so long that he is proud that they killed all those people. The fact that he killed those people he may have done it for the drug. I think this because, if your addicted to a drug and only this person has the drug then you would do anything to get the drug.

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  2. Do you think that Ishmael's father would regret not treating him with more respect?

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    1. Yes because Ishmael needs a father that can respect him so Ishmael can respect himself and know that people have faith in him.

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  3. On chapter 2, the author begins to talk about an experience he had with a rival group on a soccer field. He said, "We opened fire until the last living being in the other group fell to the ground." As the story continues, the author speaks of how they killed everyone and then they started to high five and sit on the bodies. Has this become a game to Ishmael at this point? In his dream it seem that it was devastating to his mental state but in the soccer field story, it seemed like it wasn't as bad for him in the beginning.

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  4. Do any of you guys know why the civil war started?

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    1. The civil war of Sierra Leone began when a rebel army attempted to overthrow the current government in 1991.

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    2. Back a long time ago. In olden America, blacks weren't seen as equals but instead as slaves. That was mainly in the south. Up north people were more accepting of the dark man. This triggered a dispute between the two regions. They went to war and managed to free the slaves from both North and South . #equality

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    3. I agree with what Wilmer said

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  5. On page 18 it says "Their arms and legs are missing their intestines spill out through the bullet holes in their stomachs; brain matter comes out of their noses and ears. How can he look at these horrific scenes and not throw up or be affected in any way.

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    1. As he is sleeping, he is not affected the same way as if he were awake. Also, what has been experienced before, starts to lose it's affect

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    2. I think that he is affected by this but he doesnt react the way you think he would. He probably just copes within himself or maybe he is just in complete shock.

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    3. Maybe because as a soldier he had to look at those horrible things and because he created some of this terror.

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    4. I think that he has seen it so much that he doesn't react to it anymore

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    5. Beah quotes on page 18, "I feel no physical pain.." He is not affected by anything for he is in a dream.

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    6. I believe that because it was a dream he didn't really have emotion, didn't know what to think, He had no idea if he had been shot or if he was injured. So the other people around him werent going to affect him very much.

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    7. Usually a child or adult have to adapt to the bloodshed of the war.

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  6. Do you think the sun will be a symbol throughout the book?

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    1. Yes because the sun is bright and shines. It can make people happy and let them see that there is light after darkness.

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    2. Yes, the sun is frequently talked about in this book. It is shown as peaceful and not depicted as harsh and awful like it is usually described.

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    3. I agree with Hannah. So far the book hasnt been very pleasant. Theres a war going on and dead bodies everywhere. I personally believe that the sun is one thing that everyone can count on for happiness.

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    4. Yes, I think it and the moon both will because he seems to not know if it is day or night so i think that they will both symbolize something.

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  7. Page 6 "Can you even understand what they are saying?" Ishmeal's father asks them about the rap music.
    Did the people of Sierra Leone know how to speak English and why?

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    1. Yes English is the prominent language in Sierra Leone, their is just some variation in it from tribe to tribe

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  8. On page 11, why do you think Ishmael just starts to talk about his mother? What was the reason that Ishmael's parents divorced and how did that affect him as a child and him as a teenager?

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  9. On page 18, "I am pushing a rusty wheelbarrow..." what does this symbolize about Beah's life?

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    1. I think it represents the slavery that was going on and maybe flashback of something in the past that may or may not be related to what was going on.

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    2. I think that it represents how Ishmael wants to be in control of his life and how even though he is dead, a part of him is still alive and he just needs to bury the bad memories and start over.

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    3. it means that he doesn't want to be going to one place he wants to still be alive and he knows what it looks like to be dead and he doesn't want to.

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  10. “I am looking at my own” (p. 19) What does Ishmael mean when he says this after looking at his own body dead?

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  11. On page 20 its says “These days I live in three worlds, my dreams, and the experiences of my new life, which trigger memories from the past.” Do you think that part of the book will be based on the struggles of Ishmael dealing with his dreams and the effects of them?

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    1. Yes, it seems to be a battle between Ishmael and his inner self. He must conquer his fears, dreams and inner conflicts.

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  12. Do you think that Ishmael's father is disappointed in his son's music choice, or just opposed to it.

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    1. I think he is just opposed to it because he never says that he is disappointed he just says he doesn't like it.

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    2. I don't think that his father is not necessarily disappointed but maybe it is frowned upon. My parents don't usually support me listening to rap and hip-hop music it is just an opinion.

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    3. Not disappointed, just doesn't support it like Amelia said. Its not the music he would listen to or is use too. Just like how are parents aren't use to some of our music like rap or dubstep.

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  13. What needs to happen to a boy so that he can no longer tell the difference between dreams and reality.

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  15. Pg 13 "The last casualty we saw that evening was a woman who carried her baby on her back. Blood was running down her dress and dripping behind her, making a trail. Her child had been shot dead as she ran for her life."
    After this quote Ismael decides that he decides he doesn't want to go back to his town. Could it be because the baby had died? Because it was just a baby?

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  16. Most people in Africa know several languages. English is very common, because it is used in schools.

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  17. Can a human ever truly forget their past?

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    1. No the past is the past, but the past is not future. Sometimes you have to look past what happened, so you can act on what you believe in the present.

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    2. If their past is as terrible as Ishmael's is, it will be very difficult to forget. I think the memories you remember forever are either really good or awful things that have happened to you. The ones in between really good and really bad seem to be forgotten more easily.

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  18. "Memories that I sometimes wish I could wash away, even though I am aware that they are an important part of what my life is; who I am now." Why doesn't he want to forget? Even though these memories are a huge part of him they are giving him nightmares and ruining his peace of mind.

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  19. On pg 18 Ismael says, " When I arrive at the cemetery, I struggle to lift it from the wheelbarrow; it feels as if the body is resisting." What does this mean if he is the one in the wheelbarrow?

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    1. I think it means that he doesn't want to be buried, he wants to stay alive.

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  20. What affect do you think that Ishmael's dream had on him and what does it mean

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    1. They brought back the memories of the bad things he's seen and/or done

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  21. On page 19, Ishmael says that there are bullet holes all around the body, but specifically points out that there is a bullet in the Adam's apple? Is it a symbol?

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    1. i think it was just an observation the author used to show how Ishmael is desensitized to gore and violence

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  22. What does it mean, when he says "To strive to be like the moon," (Pg. 17)? Is he saying to be peaceful and harmless like the moon? Giving off a little light, not to shine as bright as the son so that you're not so big? Or is he saying to give off light from the sun. Living behind someone to give show yourself?

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  23. On page five, Ishmael explains how his people don't have the mental capacity to understand war, let alone take part. As we have seen in many novels, people, even those who don't think they have the capacity can commit many crimes and do many things we as a society as wrong. Why do many authors use this as a talking point?

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  24. I think that in his dream when he sees himself, it reminds him of how his childhood died in a way.

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  25. On pg. 16 it says "We must strive to be like the moon." Why does the moon have such special significance to the characters?

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    1. On page 17, Ismael says, "Children watch their shadows and play in its light, people gather at the square to tell stories and dance through the night. A lot of happy things happen when the moon shines." It seems like the moon is an escape for these characters and to go wild and be free with the people you care about.

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  26. On page 12 it says, "People covered the eyes of the children." This is very ironic considering the children will be the ones doing the killing

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    1. They probably still dont want there kids to see something like that...

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    2. Unless, the children are brain washed and maybe kill their loved ones. But it is ironic in a way because the parents are trying to protect them form the horrific massacre, but at the same time their own children could be the killers.

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  27. I can connect Amir and Ishmeal because they are both young boys that grow up in a war scene and are forced to move out of their homes.

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  28. Pg 15 " There was someone standing on top of me with a gun."
    This quote is a dream Ismael had right after he had seen all the casualties and just days before his life had been normal. Could we as Americans think that danger is much farther from our doorstep than it seems?

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  29. Page 13, "Blood was running down her dress and dripping behind her, making a trail. Her child had been shot dead as she ran for her life." What can the symbolism or the deeper meaning of the Civil War in the book?

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    1. This quote shows how violent the civil war really was. There wasn't just military deaths, but innocent civilians in Sierra Leone were getting killed everyday. Even woman and children died, the final result of the war was 50,000 dead.

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    2. I think it means that the rebels have no mercy on women and children. They don't care about anyone, they just want to kill innocent people who have nothing to do with the Civil war.

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    3. I think this can symbolize the sad cruelty of what is going on in this country at the time. This woman is probably devastated, losing her children, but there is no time for grieving she has to fight to survive. Its survival of the fittest.

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  30. As Ishmael is trying to escape, do you think that he considers what he's about to become?

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    1. I think the only thing he was thinking about was getting the heck out of there. He obviously miserable and he wanted to leave so..

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    2. He just was done he doesn't want to be stuck there, he thinks that is where he will be for the rest of his life.

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  31. On page 18, when Ismael is carrying the body in the wheel barrel, he says, " I do not know why I am taking the particular body to the cemetery." Do you think he wants to give this body a proper burial? Do you think he feels guilt of what he has done?

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  32. Can we learn lessons from Ishmael and from the people who enslaved him as a boy soldier? Did those people really see boys as soldiers or are have they had a complete change of heart? I would like to think that these people are ina confused state of mind. I think people can truly change their state of mind when influenced.

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  33. On page 12, Ismael, Junior, and Tallio, are crossing the river on the other side of Mattru Jong. They are seeing people running and screaming and running frantically, why do you think that they didn't go back? Was this a regular thing that happens, or did it not phase them?

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  34. In the prologue, why does Ishmael feel so ashamed about his past? Why does he kinda smile when a friend thinks shooting people with guns is cool? Does he feel bad or good about his past?

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    1. i think he is ashamed of his past, but has accepted it as his and will live with it peacefully from now on

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    2. He feels ashamed of his past and you can see it in the quote "It pleases me to know that my child hood is still embedded in me." But it's talking about when he looks at the moon which one of his happy moments in life. It shows that he is glad that he remembers things that are before the time he became a child soldier.

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  35. pg 17 "It pleases me to know that part of my childhood is still embedded in me"
    This is the quote right after the part where Ismael is looking at the moon. Could it be that when he becomes a child solider he no longer thinks he's a child?

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  36. on pg. 16 an old man said," We must strive to be like the moon." what does this mean or symbolize about the moon?

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  37. The question about being out of sequence is intriguing. I think it shows a true thought process of a person with PTSD, or even other depression. I think that each person remembers things in a different and that it creates a really interesting flow that intriguing.

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  38. Why do you think Ishmael wanted to write all of this? Don't you think that he wouldn't want to remember all these painful memories?

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  39. Could his dream be a clue for later events in the story?

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    1. I think that it's showing how graphic the war is & how Ishmael deals with horrific dreams

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    2. There could be a certain event of his dreams trying to tell him, to be prepared of what's really going to happen in the future.

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  40. I think the looming reminder of success, of happiness, makes this hard book easier to read. I like that the tone of the story is like a wise person telling a story. I think the point about him talking in real life, like meeting him, is an important one to bring up. He is personable, he is real. This is a real story.

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  41. In the Kite Runner, it was hard for Baba to adapt to America. Do you think that it was harder or easier for Ishmael to adapt to America?

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  42. Pg.12 "... a Volkswagen roared in the distance and all the walking people on the road ran int the nearby bushes. ...whoever was in the van was not armed. " The question I have about this why are all these people going to this one town.

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  43. What is he referring to in this quote, "It wasn't until refugees started passing through our town that we began to see that it was actually taking place in our country." pg. 5

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  44. Do you think Ishmael wrote this for people to know what happened, or to just express how he felt and what was on his mind?

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  45. Do you think Ishmael is enjoying America? Will he come to enjoy it if not?

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  46. Do you think Ishmael will ever return to his village?

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