Setting - Benjamin Kinnie

"A Long Way Gone", a book by Ishmael Beah takes place in New York and in many places throughout Sierra Leone. The books starts off in New York where we meet Ishmael who feels secretive about his past and as a result doesn't tell his friends much about it. He tries to hid all the other information of his past from them. Next we find our self in Mogbwemo where Ishmael grew up. Here, the atmosphere feels warm and inviting at first but after the rebels attack, it quickly changes to a war torn area where everyone is scared for their lives. The book also takes place in Mattru Jong. A town in Sierra Leone where Ishmael goes after leaving Mogbwemo to participate in a friend's talent show with the rap group that Ishmael and his friends created. But before they get there, they visit the town of Kabati, Ishmael and Junior's grandmother's village, along the way. There, Mamie Kpana, as the grandmother is known, questions them about their schooling. The setting her is like an escape from the violence. Here they are relaxed and at peace for the moment. When they reach Mattru Jong they meet up with their friends, Gibrilla, Kaloko, and Khalilou. At this point in the book, Ishmael is happy that he's with his friends but he is still worried about the rebels. Later on in the story, Ishmael gets recruited by the rebels as a child solider in the village of Yele. Here the mood, is the horror of war as Ishmael and the other boys face an impossible decision. If they flee the protection of the village, they risk being killed by the rebels. If they refuse to fight for the army, they risk starvation. This shows that in times of war, people are forced to choose among horrible options that are often detrimental to someone else. It's kill or be killed, and Ishmael joins the army as his only chance of survival. Near the end of the book, the boys are taken by UNICEF men to a fenced compound in Freetown, Sierra Leone's capital. They are given food and beds with clean linens. They look at the beds as if they don't know what they are and they consume the food in seconds. Other groups of boy soldiers are there, and they begin fighting them until they realize that they, too, are from the army. Later, a group of boy soldiers from the RUF are brought in and a war between the groups breaks out. The MPs and nationals try to break up the fight, but Mambu overtakes them and steals a gun. He begins shooting rebels; six people are killed before more MPs arrive and break up the battle by force. The theme here is of confusion and fear returns when the boys are taken from their squad. Ishmael's journey out of the war makes him anxious and afraid. At the end of this book, Ishmael goes to New York to start his new life. Here he feels relived and worried. Relived as he no longer has to deal with war and worried because he still has the horrible memories of when he was a child soldier and all the horrible things he had to experience first hand.  

Setting Questions - Benjamin Kinnie

1. Where is the first setting in the book?
2. What is the atmosphere when Ishmael arrives in Mattru Jong?
3. Where does Ishmael's grandma live?
4. What friends does Ishmael meet when they arrive at Mattru Jong?
5. What is the village where the boys get recruited as child soldiers?
6. Who are the men that take the child soldiers to the rehabilitation center?
7. In what part of Sierra Leone is the rehabilitation center?
8. What other group of boys are brought to the camp that starts a war between the groups?
9. Who takes a gun and begins shooting rebels?
10. At the end of the book, where does Ishmael finally end up?