#4 Book club reading response

     The book A LONG WAY GONE by ishmael beah is about war in sierra leone between rebels, villages and child soldiers. Violence is a reoccurring theme in the book. It really shows a great perspective of thr topic because he witnessed it. The violence is very disturbing and the vocabulary is so precise that it paints a picture in your mind, that makes it seem as if your in the book. While reading thr book it gets your emotions in touch and the images the book puts in ya head/brain literally make your stomach hurt. Parents may have banned this book from their young ones because of the violence and ignorance of characters.

     The theme of violence is a major reason why this book was banned. Every page every chapter is filled with action packed scenes with guns, killings, burnings, doing drugs sexual scenes etc. An idea of why parents and teachers might want to ban this book is because of the ignorance of the characters and the disturbing. "It was especially fun burning down this village, we got everyone no one escaped." The rebels laughed about burning down villages. This part shows a great rate of ignorance and not knowing right from wrong. With the rebels in ishmael's group he had no figure to look up to, to do the right thing and teach him what not to do. All the rebels acted the same inferior and immaturely childish. "Along the way we saw another group of rebels, they looked around our age. We opened fire until the last one was on the floor". After they did that they sat on the bodies of the ones they just kilt,while laughing and their food. The rebels had no remorse over anyones life.

    Ishmael had a hard life even before he became a rebel. There were people trying to kill him and everyone else everyday. He was terrified of death and the rebels. He often ran from his own shadow, he slept in the woods, but usually went for days on end with no sleep. It was especially hard for me and the main character when he witnessed the infant baby girl on her mothers back with a bullet hole put through her head. Her mother was still running. "... Blood ran down her dress as her baby was shot". This part is very sad, to witness a baby girl get shot in her head and strapped to her mothers back is very hard to take. 

     A book with strong violence, language, scenes, and drugs can be compelling for a teacher or parent to ban, but it can teach many things. Parents may ban the books because of the ignorance that the characters shown, and the disturbing violence.