The second section of the reading in A Long Way Gone also moved at a fast pace. There were constantly people that they boys were running from and it seemed as if there were unable to trust anyone. This was hard to read given that in America when a child is in need there are organizations and people who volunteer their time to help make sure these children are safe and makes sure they stay on the right track. Unfortunately in Sierra Leone society works a little differently. There were times when the boys came across villages and the villagers would blatantly ignore them until they left the next morning. There were also times when the boys would come to a village and there would be people ready and willing to help. On their journey they came across a shack on the beach where a man maybe around the age of 20 (who stayed unnamed for safety reasons) helped them with their injuries, hunger, and thirst. The boys were ever so thankful of the man but as they were about to leave they were informed that the Chief of their village had been informed of their staying there and was very unhappy about it. Although the Chief had admitted it was a misunderstanding and the boys had been causing no harm, the Chief still publicly humiliated the boys by having them sit naked in front of the community and then dance and sing to their mix tape of rap music, and as a result they were forced to leave the village.
One of the boys that is with the group, Saidu, dies in this section. It is a very emotional few pages that is foreshadowed by dogs barking all through the night as if they knew something in the village was wrong. Ishmael tells us that the night Saidu dies, a part of himself dies as well.
At this point safety, family, peace, happiness, and even hope seem so far fetched for the boys. Everything the boys do is a struggle and they always try to think of the happy memories they used to have but those happy memories keep getting father and farther away- harder and harder to retrieve.
yours truly,
Amy
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