A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-book review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What country does much of this memoir take place in?

A) Chad

B) Rwanda

C) Sierra Leone

D) Poland

2. Who is Junior to Ishmael?

A) His friend

B) His brother

C) His father

D) His commanding officer

3. Why don’t the boys return to their village at the beginning of the memoir?

A) They can see people fleeing the village and know none of their family members will still be there.

B) They want to travel to the United States.

C) They have been warned to stay away from their homes.

D) They have heard rumors that their families are in Kabati.

4. What causes the boys to steal corn from a small boy?

A) They are suffering from starvation and need to eat.

B) They wish to tease the little boy.

C) They hope that, in making it seem like he doesn’t have food, the rebels will ignore him.

D) They want revenge on his family.

5. What is the biggest reason that people avoid Ishmael and his group of boys?

A) They aren’t able to take care of anyone else because resources are so scarce.

B) They aren’t willing to risk their lives by taking care of them when the rebels are after them.

C) They aren’t sure that they are trustworthy.

D) They aren’t sure that the boys aren’t rebels themselves.

6.  What is the last time that Ishmael sees his brother?

A) When they are with their friend’s grandmother when rebels attack

B) When they are helping local farmers when rebels attack the village, and Ishmael is separated from him

C) When he last performed a rap song in Mattru Jong

D) When he fled his home when the rebels attacked

7. What makes Ishmael describe himself as feeling as if “I were out of my body wandering somewhere” (Chapter 7)?

A) The feeling of finding deserted village after deserted village

B) The feeling of being separated from his family

C) The feeling of being a child soldier

D) The feeling of starvation setting in

8. Ishmael frequently thinks of his grandparents and their stories. How do these stories help him?

A) They provide a map to finding a safe place.

B) They help him sleep.

C) They remind him of a simpler time and provide comfort.

D) They help him to avoid rebels.

9. What might be the reason that the corporal advised the recruits to attend church while they still could?

A) They might want to find peace religiously.

B) They might not be able to find sanctuary anywhere else.

C) They might want to say a prayer before battle.

D) They might not be able find another church.

10. What does Ishmael’s squad mean to him?

A) He thinks of them as no more than a means to an end.

B) He sees them as the enemy.

C) He sees them as passing time, just like him.

D) He sees them as a replacement for his family.

11. Why might Ishmael feel especially fearful when his weapon is taken from him?

A) It has provided him with protection from violence.

B) It is a sign of his membership in the squad.

C) It is the last thing his brother gave him.

D) It has been a good luck charm.

12. What phrase does Ishmael often hear while at the facility in Freetown?

A) “It’s time to move on.”

B) “You’ll forget one day.”

C) “It’ll get better.”

D) “It’s not your fault.”

13. What gift provides a turning point in Ishmael’s recovery from PTSD?

A) A photo of his family

B) His birth certificate

C) A cassette with rap music on it

D) A school uniform

14. Who is Laura Simms?

A) Ishmael’s bodyguard in New York

B) Ishmael’s adoptive mother

C) Ishmael’s teacher

D) Ishmael’s nurse while in Freetown

15. What event ends the memoir?

A) Ishmael speaks before the U.N.

B) Ishmael flees Sierra Leone at the outbreak of another war.

C) Ishmael is adopted.

D) Ishmael is reunited with his brother.

Long-Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. What role does rap music play in this memoir? What is crucial about some of the moments in which rap music is mentioned?

2. Ishmael experiences the effects of withdrawal from drugs at a young age. Why is he given drugs and why does he keep taking them while he is a child soldier?

3. How does Ishmael change between the outbreak of the violence and his time as a child soldier?

4. Much of the memoir describes violence Ishmael experienced and the ways in which it haunted him. Give and explain two examples of The Capacity for Altruism in Human Nature.

5. Why might Ishmael at first reject the different environment at the facility for boys in Freetown? Why does he continue to be violent? How does his transformation affect him?