A Long Way Gone--Chapter 10

In chapter 10, Ishmael Beah says one of the most painful things of his journey was that he didn't know when or where it was going to end. If I were in a similar situation I would feel the same way. He and his companions are just forced to keep moving further and further away from the closest danger. This would be a horrible way to live. If I were in the same situation with no positive monumental thing in my future to drive me, I feel like I would definitely lose faith. These boys were just moving along because they had to. If they didn't they would be forced to join the rebels or their journey would be over. Neither of those seemed very positive for these young boys. This way of life is kind of short lived because I feel like sooner or later something will have to change. This lifestyle does not seem like it could possibly be long lasting. I think this is why the boys start to lose faith and start adapting to the rebels ways because they also know that this isn't a life long way to live life and that sooner or later something is going to have to change, and in their circumstances it would most likely be their death or enrollment. Also in this chapter, Ishmael Beah starts to wonder more about what has happened with his family. And later, while going through a village, a woman comes up to him and says that she knows about his family. She says that many families from his home area were in another village a little distance away. When I read this, my face brightened up. I was so happy that maybe something good might be in the cards for Ishmael. But I know that if he sees his family again and they get separated once again, it will be even harder for him to carry on without them. Throughout this chapter, there were many times when the boys said the mood felt weird, or they didn't have a good feeling about the night. While reading these parts, I became very scared because I didn't want something bad to happen to these boys when they had struggled so much to get to where they are. I think this theme of uneasiness is going to play a big part in the following chapters leading up to Beah's capture. A significant and equally tragic element in this chapter was Saidu's death. Throughout this chapter, Ishmael had recalled how much Saidu kept saying he felt like he was dying a little bit every day and soon there would be nothing left in him and he would be dead. Which is very ironic, because after the "ghosts" pass them on the road, Saidu is almost dead. And in the next village, they wake up and find him dead. I about cried when I read this. It was so sad for me to see this war over power the good in the world. I hate it when the bad guys win and this was a prime example of how they always do.