WhatsApp Messenger: BlackBerry + iPhone + Android + Nokia

Hey,

I just downloaded WhatsApp Messenger on my BlackBerry.

It is a Smartphone Messenger which replaces SMS. This app even lets me send pictures, video and other multi-media!

WhatsApp Messenger is available for BlackBerry, iPhone, Android and Nokia and there is no PIN or username to remember - it works just like SMS and uses your internet data plan.

Get it now from http://www.whatsapp.com/download/ and say good-bye to SMS.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

More Literary Terms

Euphemish- "A week later my uncle passed away" (209). Using Passed away instead of died is an example of a euphemism.

Imagery- "My hands became to tremble and my migranes came back with a vengance" (123) Using details to make the image real for the reader.

Understatement- "I told the nurse that I couldn't feel the pain of the gunshot wound" (160) Ishmael is using a understatement; of course getting shot made him feel pain and he just wanted to go back to the house.

Onomatopoeia- "the guns went off next to my head... all i heard was pop pop pop" (65) Beah uses an onomatopoeia to prove how loud the gunshots were when Beah ran into rebel forces.

Hyperbole- This is often used in books and in life because exaggeration is a part of our speech, but in this story Ishamel had it so bad that a lot of his stories were THAT bad. But I was able to find some examples. The first example is, "The general was yelling so loud, my eardrums almost popped" (89) this occured right when Ishamel was taken out of the RUF and into the sheltered town.

Another Hyperbole occured when Junior said that his legs were going to fall off from all the running they were doing. This is a very extreme exaggeration.

Diction- Ishmael has a unique style of writing, what he does is periodically insert Krio which is the unofficial, official language of Sierra Leone. This serves to remind the reader where he is coming from and to not americanize the story. I.E "In between Gasemu's gasps, he told us that there was a wahlee nearby. And at the bottom margin it explains that a wahlee is a place outside the village where goods are processed.

Interpretations

Picture 11- This picture represents the nurse who Ishmael tells everything to. This nurse allows Ishamel to open up and change his life.
Picture 12- This is a picture of a village in Africa similar to the ones that Ishamael traveled through and lived in while he was on the run.
Picture 13- This is a picture of the national flag of Sierra Leone.
Picture 14- This picture is of Marijuana which Ishamel became dependant on during his time with the Rebels.
Picture 15- This is a picture of Cocaine which Ishamel took often during his time with the rebel forces.

More Pictures

Interpretations of Pictures

Picture 1- This picture represents the hope of the people of Sirre Leone during the War, the hope is on its way out due to the brutality of the rebels.
Picture 2- This picture is very symbolic of the attitudes of the people of Sierre Leone, they are constantly moving to avoidind being ambushed and killed.
Picture 3- This picture is symbolic of the people of Sierre Leone pleaing with God to give them hope and life.
Picture 4- This picture is again is symbolic of all the civiliains and how they reacted to the ambushes of the rebels.
Picture 5- This mountain is popular picture in Sierre Leone, it is near the capital of Freetown.
Picture 6- This picture shows the kids of Sierre Leone and how young they are when they begin to fight.
Picture 7- This picture shows the brutality of the rebels and the awful murders they commit on a daily basis.
Picture 8- This picture shows Ishmael Beah, the main character and author of the book.
Picture 9- This map shows a detailed map of the country of Sierre Leone including the capital of Freetown on the west coast.
Picture 10- This map shows the continent of Africa where Sierre Leone is located. Sierre Leone is on west coast in the middle of Africa.

Links

http://www.alongwaygone.com/reviews.html
This site offers a variety of different short reviews by reputable newspapers and magazines.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K4yhPSQEzo
This video clip

http://www.afrol.com/News/sil007_civil_war.htm
This site explains the civil war in Sierra Leone and how it came to be.

http://www.pangaea.org/street_children/africa/armies.htm
This is the explination of boy soldiers as told by a reporter who stayed in Sierra Leone.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1065898.stm
Sierra Leone Time Line.

http://www.worlib.org/vol12no2/kargbo_v12n2.shtml
Effects of the Civil War.

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/24189.Ishmael_Beah
Backround on Ishmael Beah.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2522709/a_long_way_gone.html
Explains the initiation into the RUF.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/ruf.htm
Explination of RUF.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/01/08/us-warcrimes-taylor-war-idUSL066107120080108
Death toll in Sierra Leone from Civil War.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/may/06/sierra-leone-independence-anniversary
What should be next for Sierra Leone.

http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1016.html
Explination of Sierra Leone and what you need to go there.

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107959.html
History and government of Sierra Leone.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201105101078.html
How to sponsor a child in Sierra Leone.

http://www.everyculture.com/Sa-Th/Sierra-Leone.html
Explination of the Culture in Sierra Leone.

Pictures representing, "A Long Way Gone"

Literary Devices

Flashbacks- On the first page the setting begins in New York City in 1998, as the page turns we find ourselves in Sierre Leone in the early 90's.

Scene-by-Scene Construction- In the story Beah's unique writng style is very evident, he switches back and forth from New York City in '98 to Sierre Leone in '93. This is a clear cut example of Scene by Scene Construction as the setting switches constantly.

Personification- Personification is when the author gives human qualities to non-living objects. When Beah says, "The trees danced in the wind" (10) he is using personification because tree's cannot dance.

Another example of Personification is when he says that, "birds and crickets sang" (22).

Similes are when he author uses like or as to compare two different things. When Beah describes the sound of gunshots from enemy forces he says, "several gunshots, which sounded like the thunder striking the tin roofed houses" (23). He is comparing gunshots to thunder.

Beah also uses hyperbole's to show the signifigance of the events that were occuring. Hyperbole is a extreme exaggeration used to prove a point. When Beah said, "My heart was beating faster than it ever had. Each gunshot seemed to cling to the beat of my heart" (23). This is showing how each gunshot went through Beah and how nervous he was.

Visual Imagery is used a few times. Visual Imagery is used to enhance the scene for the reader, when beah says he can imagine his father running towards him with outstreched arms, we, as readers can picture Beah's father physically running towards him and embracing him.

SOAPSTONE

Speaker- Ishmael Beah
Occasion- Sierre Leone, January 1993
Audience- Child Soldiers and all war torn nations
Purpose- The meaning behind the text is to explain the horrible Civil War that Sierre Leone experienced and to recount the actions that he, Ishamael Beah, experienced throught the tough years of war. Beah also aims to explain the horrible atrocities that child soldiers encounter in wartimes.
Subject- The subject of this text is the decade long civil war in Sierre Leone.
Tone- The tone is somewhat detached thus far. Beah is merely recounting and not reliving the events he experienced, he has a gentle demeanor and proves even the kindest people can transform.

Characters

Ishmael- Main character, his family was killed by Revolutionaries and he is a boy soldier in the Sierra Leon Armed Forces. His character is used to creaate sympathy and show the atrocities of the war in Sierre Leone
Junior- Ishmaels older brother, also a part of RUF but is eventually killed in a battle. Beah mentions Junior in the battle to show how Junior affected Ishamel and how good a person Ishmael was when he was with Junior.
Esther-Ishmaels nurse friend who he tells everything. During his rehabilitation she checks his mental health. Esther is put into the book to show Beah's transformation and development after he come from War. She is a guide to show what he has become after the War.
Uncle Tommy-Ishmaels foster parent who makes Ishmael part of his family.
Musa-One of Ishmaels home town friends.
Kanei- One of Ishmaels home town friends. Kanei along with Mohamed, are put into the story to show Beah's early childhood and how he became a boy soldier.
Talloi- Ishmael and Juniors friend who gets seperated from them at a rap contest b/c of RUF attack. Talloi is put into the story to show how the RUF affects families and destroys entire villages, he was lost in the middle of a attack.
Mohamed-One of Ishmaels friends from home.
Mambu- Ishmaels close friend he meets at the shelter, he is also a boy soldier.
Alhaji- Ishmaels closest friend, he was a boy soldier that is rescued by UNICEF

Reading Guide

4/26- 1-35
4/28- 36-71
5/2- 72-107
5-4- 108-143
5/10- 144-179
5/12- 180-215
5/16- 216-end