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They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky: The True Story of Three Lost Boys of Sudan

Authors: Benson Deng, Alephonsion Deng, Benjamin Ajak (with Judy A. Bernstein)

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“We saw the fire eating our houses, the flames pouring from the sky.”

Shows the destruction that forced the Lost Boys to flee and easier to visualize the scene in the village.

Found in Page 15

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The turning point is when Benson, Alepho, and Benjamin are forced to flee their villages after soldiers attack and burn their villages down. This moment is pivotal because it shows how the boys change from ordinary children into refugees. Leading to the loss of their homes, families, and childhood. Their lives become a struggle for survival, facing hunger, thirst, animals, and violence during their long journey from Sudan to the Kenya. This journey sets the stage for their identity as the Lost Boys of Sudan and leads to their adaption to lifestyle in the United States, showing how tragedy pushed them to persevere and not give up.

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It is a memoir of the Second Sudanese war. it gives background to the lost boys of Sudan. It shows how the boys and many others were forced to suffer from hunger and homelessness. It also shows the lost the people were made to face.

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POV and Readers Interpretation Perspective

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POV and Readers Interpretation Perspective

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The POV is 1st person, and it switches between the three boys. It shapes the experience by being from a kid's point of view and inflicting harsher emotions onto the reader. The switching of people gives new perspectives through different personalities.

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Murahiliin Raid on Juol

Event: The boys' village was attacked at night, and flames and gunfire made Benson, Benjamin, and later Alepho run for their lives. That's why they said, "fire poured on them from the sky."

Importance: It destroys their childhood and starts their journey to stay alive.

Barnes & Noble's editorial review gives a vivid account of the sudden violence and uprooting.

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The Great Trek Across Sudan Event: The three boys walked almost 1,000 miles through enemy territory avoiding landmines, predators, starvation, and disease all in the name of survival. Importance: Represents unyielding persistence and the physical and mental effects of displacement. Source: The Hachette (publisher) description mentions the staggering distance and paralyzing obstacles they had to face Hachette Book Group

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Central Theme: The persistence of the human character when tested by war is exemplified throughout the memoir.

How: Utilising childlike narration, expeditions in the name of life, and steps of independence.

Why it matters: Hope and identity still exist, post loss.

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Life at a Refugee Camp

Situation: In Ethiopia and Kenya, they find themselves cramped in camps that may be affected by three-fold threats lack of food, malnutrition, and infectious diseases, leading to considerable human loss that includes boys dying from “grass soups.”

Impact: Tragedy breaks up the monotony of malaise that comes with stationings of “safe zones.”

Reference: The Barnes and Noble provided a summary, highlighting the severity of the situation when it mentioned that “many of the boys got sick and died from eating grass soups.”

Barnes & Noble

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Moving to the United States

Happening: The Lost Boys are granted access to the U.S, a new journey begins for them to acclimate to a different culture, get an education, and re-construct their identities.

Significance: Indicates a passage from merely existing to re-creating one’s life with a gleam of hope.

Reference: Explains all their experiences under the Lost Boys as well as the ending of their journey of moving into the United States with no fees

Wikipedia

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The memoir starts in Dinkaland, where we get a glimpse of the Dinka tribe's long-standing pastoral culture, which includes a life centered on cattle, strong community ties, initiation rituals, and polytheistic beliefs.

Wikipedia has a lot of information about the Dinka people, including their way of life, farming, religious practices, and rites of passage.

Barnes & Noble says that "As cattle-keepers... we didn't have time to be meditating with the Qu'ran five times a day" shows how their tribal identity and priorities shaped how they saw the world.

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The memoir is set during the Second Sudanese Civil War, when militias supported by the government, like the Murahiliin, attacked southern villages, including Dinka communities. These attacks made thousands of kids, known as the Lost Boys, run away and go through a lot of pain.

Sources:

Wikipedia's page for They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky talks about how they traveled through Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya during the war.

The Dinka people page also talks about conflicts that happened because of political marginalization and forced Islamization, which led to more unrest.

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He is very curious and also observative. He notices small details throughout the book. He is very thin and has short hair. His clothes are usually torn and look like rags due to the constant movement. He is a good representation of how the boys grew up losing their innocence.

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He is thoughtful by caring for his friends as family. He is also very resourceful and puts his resources to good use. He is one of the calmest in the group and thinks straight in tough times. He is the one who is the calmest and keeps a straight head. He is also thin and always has a serious expression on his face.

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Verb: The act of causing a scar through cutting, burning, or scratching.

Example- "My mother wore the radiating five-line scarification mark on her forehead as a sign of bravery."

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Noun: The action or fact of maintaining or supporting oneself at a minimum level.

Noun: The means of maintaining or supporting oneself.

Example- I am the fifth child from a big family with five brothers and three sisters. My parents were pastoralists and subsistence farmers of the Bahr al Ghazal region..."

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Noun: a large, heavy motor vehicle for transporting goods or troops; a truck.

Example- "We were herded onto the back of the lorry, pressed tightly together with the other boys, unsure if we were being taken to safety or more danger."

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Benson Deng grew up in a rural village in Southern Sudan. He was forced to leave due to the Second Sudanese Civil war at the age of 7. Benson Deng made They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky as a collective autobiography along with Alephonsion Deng and Benjamin Ajak, who survived civil war. His book has been used in many schools due to its historical first hand experience to civil war. The book received the Christopher Award in 2006 and named ALA Notable Book by American Library Association

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“We walked on and on, hungry and thirsty, but we could not stop. To stop was to die.”

Tone demonstrates the fear, and helps to show the level of crisis.

Found in Page 92

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“The line of boys stretched out like a river of people, winding into the horizon.”

Compares the pattern of boys which were walking together to a river because of how they were lined up

Page 107

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“We had run to Ethiopia to find peace, but again we ran from the sound of guns.”

Shows that war was almost everywhere wherever they rested, war had broken out which forced them to flee from Ethiopia

Page 198

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A historical aspect influencing the book is the Second Sudanese Civil War. This conflict was between the Sudan in the north and rebel groups found in the south directly. This conflict caused the displacement of many Sudanese citizens including Benson, Alepho, and Benjamin. The war occurred due to political, ethnic, and religious tensions. The south opposed the major Islamic population found in the north as tried to impose Islamic law on the Christian and animist south. This historical context explains the reason for the burning villages, separated families, and children which were forced to walk across thousands of feet just to find safety. This war influences the lives of The Lost Boys in the book and how their lives were based on traveling for safety

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The book’s setting took place during the second Sudanese Civil War, when the Northern Sudans and Southern Sudans fought, and civilians were often caught in the middle of the conflict. Villages were burned, families were separated, and thousands of children were displaced. The historical context explains the reason for Alepho, Benson, and Benjamin having to flee their villages. It shows the impact of war on citizens and highlights themes of survival and resilience.

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After fleeing villages in Sudan, many children traveled hundreds of miles on foot to reach refugee camps in Kenya. These camps provided safety from violence but were very compact. Most people at these camps suffered from hunger and sickness.

This settings shows both hope and difficulty in survival. Many citizens of Sudan had made it to temporary safety and community but also experienced long years of fatigue, scarcity of food, and loss of family. Experiences at refugee camps describe the global refugee crisis and why resettlement programs are very significant.