Journal 6 Alyssa

     There were a lot of important characters in this book. The one I found to be most important was the nurse, Esther. She was the one to help Ishmael gain trust again, and to feel loved and cared about. Esther was the first person, besides the other boys, that Ishmael became close to after having experienced the way, and being a solider. She never gave up on him no matter how many times he was rude and blew her off like she was nobody. In chapter 16 Ishmael tells us how he hurts his hand and she was the one to continuously care for him each time he ended up back at the hospital. "you can go if you want, but I suggest you stay in bed tonight" she said, pointing at me the way a mother would a stubborn child" (Beah 141). She would get to know him, his likes and past activities he had done and would buy him gifts, such as cassette player and music that reminded him of the good times before the war. She went out of her way to take him to the city to enjoy himself like a normal kid should. I was actually surprised she wasn't the one to adopt him and that they lost touch with one another.
     Ishmael's rehabilitation didn't start off too well. Which was to be expected.I personally think he is doing well for a child who had to be a soldier in the war, and to see and commit such gruesome murders. He has learned how to love and to trust. Once things got bad, while living with his uncle, he knew he had to get out. He had to leave the country or he wouldn't make it out alive this time.  He said a lot of boys he was in rehabilitation with were back to being soldiers again. He didn't want that for himself. He wanted and chose to better his life.
     I love how Beah uses both characterizations and sense details. I was always intrigued when reading in "A Long Way Gone". I could always see and feel what was going on, like I was right there with him. A sense detail he used that was so easy to picture, especially if you have seen the movie Rambo was when Alhaji wanted to practice his Rambo moves before the began to fire. "Alhaji was already rubbing mud on his face, using a combination of saliva and some of the water from his backpack to wet the mud" (Beah 145).
     The passage I chose, which at that time in the book seemed good, turned out to be not so good.
"I wanted to drop the hand and run as fast as I could to the village. My eyelids were twitching, and I felt as if the breeze was passing through my brain. It made me feel light-headed. Excitement and sadness made me feel as if my heart would explode if I waited any longer, but on such a narrow path I couldn't walk past all those in front of me. (Beah 92,93). This was when Ishmael found the village his parents were in and was told they were just over a hill. While traveling over the hill the rebels attacked the village burning down everyone's homes and shooting every body. He had lost his parents. The passage shows the excitement and the feeling you get when you are so close to getting what you want, what you need. That is what I loved about this passage. Though, wish it would have ended differently.