A Long Way Gone: Chapters 1–5

by Ishmael Beah
Conscripted by the army at the age of 13, Ishmael Beah was forced to fight in Sierra Leone's brutal civil war. In this memoir, Beah shines a light on the experiences of child soldiers.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–10, Chapters 11–15, Chapters 16–21
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. refugee
    an exile who flees for safety
    Some people felt sorry for them and offered them places to stay, but most of the refugees refused, because they said the war would eventually reach our town.
  2. indication
    something that serves to suggest
    Fathers had come running from their workplaces, only to stand in front of their empty houses with no indication of where their families had gone.
  3. intensify
    increase in extent or strength
    And as the gunfire intensified, people gave up looking for their loved ones and ran out of town.
  4. evade
    avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing
    “Why are you going to Mattru Jong, if not for school? And why do you look so skinny?” she continued asking, but we evaded her questions.
  5. casualty
    someone injured or killed in an accident
    The last casualty that we saw that evening was a woman who carried her baby on her back.
  6. coup
    a sudden and decisive change of government by force
    His half brother Sir Albert Margai succeeded him until 1967, when Siaka Stevens, the All People’s Congress (APC) Party leader, won the election, which was followed by a military coup.
  7. deploy
    place troops or weapons in battle formation
    Government troops were deployed in Mattru Jong, and they erected checkpoints at the wharf and other strategic locations all over town.
  8. evoke
    call to mind
    I closed my eyes, and the images from Kabati flashed in my mind. I tried to drive them out by evoking older memories of Kabati before the war.
  9. resonate
    produce a deep, clear sound
    The echoes resonated in the village, causing birds to fly off and return curiously chattering.
  10. adage
    a condensed but memorable saying embodying an important fact
    She explained that the adage served to remind people to always be on their best behavior and to be good to others.
  11. embedded
    inserted as an integral part of a surrounding whole
    Whenever I get a chance to observe the moon now, I still see those same images I saw when I was six, and it pleases me to know that that part of my childhood is still embedded in me.
  12. subsequent
    following in time or order
    But Khalilou’s family had asked us to stay behind and follow them with the rest of their property if things didn’t improve in the subsequent days, so we stayed put.
  13. ravage
    make a pillaging or destructive raid on, as in wartime
    The one cassava farm that we ravaged didn’t last long.
  14. scabbard
    a sheath for a sword or dagger or bayonet
    The younger rebel raised my head with his bayonet, still in its scabbard.
  15. interrogate
    pose a series of questions to
    All the captives stood at gunpoint watching as the rebels proceeded to interrogate the old man.
Created on Sat Oct 29 19:39:52 EDT 2016 (updated Fri Jun 27 17:39:54 EDT 2025)

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