A Long Way Gone
Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
Chapters 3-5 Questions
1. On page 22, Beah writes, “That night for the first time in my life I realized that it is the physical presence
of people and their spirits that gives a town life.” What prompts him to observe this? How old is he at the
time? Who are the five boys with whom Ishmael flees at the end of this chapter?
2. Why did the rebels attack the towns so fiercely? (24) What was their goal? Does it make sense to you?
3. In this chapter we see the challenges and conflicts that Beah faces. List 2 different conflicts (opposing
forces to the protagonist and his welfare/goals) in this section. For each conflict, explain:
1) the source of the conflict
2) the nature of the conflict
3) the complications that might influence how the conflict will be resolved
4. In Chapter 4, why were people afraid of groups of boys travelling together? Are there similar
occurrences in the United States? Are fearful responses to people based on looks justifiable? Why or why
not? What happens to people and communities when certain types of people are feared? What happens to
both the feared and the fearful?
5. In this chapter and the next, the boys steal food because they are starving. We usually consider this
“acceptable” theft, but the boys stole from other people who didn’t have much food either. How do you
judge what they did?
6. In this chapter we continue to see the challenges and conflicts that Beah faces. List 2 different conflicts
(opposing forces to the protagonist and his welfare/goals) in this section. For each conflict, explain:
1) the source of the conflict
2) the nature of the conflict
3) the complications that might influence how the conflict will be resolved
7. In Chapter 5, when the rebels overtake Beah, his brother, and his friends, they submit them to two
selection processes. Why? What were the rebels selecting for? What did they see in Beah and in his
brother, Junior?
8. In this chapter we continue to see the challenges and conflicts that Beah faces. List 2 different conflicts
(opposing forces to the protagonist and his welfare/goals) in this section. For each conflict, explain:
1) the source of the conflict
2) the nature of the conflict
3) the complications that might influence how the conflict will be resolved