The Bite of the Mango

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.

Short Answer

What general facts do you know about the nation of Sierra Leone? What do you recall from classes or media sources about its conflicts and people? If your background knowledge on this country is limited, research reputable sources to answer the following questions:

• When did Sierra Leone’s civil war begin?
• What were some of the problems with the rebel troops and those of the SLA (regarding group structure, behaviors, supplies, and soldiers’ characteristics)?
• What countries aided Sierra Leone against the RUF?
• What role did diamonds play in the civil war?
• How did the conflict end?

Teaching Suggestion: The conflict between Sierra Leone (the SLA) and the rebel soldiers (the RUF) is essential to the story of the memoir. Early in the memoir, Mariatu loses her hands; the rebel soldiers removed them so she would not have an opportunity to vote. Mariatu, at the time, is unaware of what a president is.

• This 22-minute video provides an overview of the conflict in Sierra Leone during the country’s civil war. (Content warning: Violence and murder are described in the context of the civil war.)
• This article is a brief overview of the conflict in Sierra Leone during its civil war.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the memoir.

Describe a time when you were forced to overcome great odds. What obstacles did you face as you sought to achieve something that seemed impossible? What was your initial reaction, and how did you adapt your thinking to push yourself to accomplish it? What strategy did you use to achieve your goal? Did your strategy work, or were you forced to choose a different strategy?

Teaching Suggestion: Students may have difficulty finding a topic for overcoming great odds. With sensitivity to disabilities in mind, consider brainstorming a list of difficult tasks. Goals may be common, like achieving a certain score on a test, working toward an athletic goal, or changing a long-term habit. Students may also choose other experiences, such as overcoming a learning disability.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students who require an additional challenge, consider asking them to come up with a new goal they would like to accomplish instead. It may be beneficial to ask students to research their goal and develop a plan to accomplish it, then permit students to share whether they accomplished their goal after a given time.