Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Activity

Where is Sierra Leone? Locate the cities of Port Loko and Freetown on a map or website. Then, using reputable resources, complete some initial research into the history, geography, and culture of this country. What are some of the most outstanding features of Sierra Leone’s cultural life?

Teaching Suggestion: Consider allowing students to first find the locations of the memoir’s early setting in Sierra Leone. For the sake of time, you might instruct students to read only the Introduction, Land, and Cultural Life sections in the second link. Mariatu, the memoir’s central figure, moves from Magborou to Manarma because of the rebels who have been attacking locals. (These small villages are unlikely to appear on most maps.) She is eventually attacked and injured and must go to Port Loko to find a hospital; she is later transported to Freetown for her injuries.

• This map from Google Maps shows the locations of Freetown and Port Loko in Sierra Leone.
• This article provides details on Sierra Leone’s geographical, cultural, historical, and political landscape.