A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

In the memoir A long Way Gone Ishmael Beah states “When I was young, my father used to say, “If you are alive, there is hope for a better day and something good to happen. If there is nothing good left in the destiny of a person, he or she will die” (Beah 54). Throughout the war Ismael Beah survives many difficult situations, that make him think is it worth it to keep running. Ishmael Beah, always remembers what his dad said to motivate him to try and keep surviving the war. Ishmael Beah used adaptability, the kindness of others and bravery to overcome the adversities of the war in Sierra Leone.

A long way gone by Ishmael Beah, attempts to evoke a powerful response from the leader, by using vivid descriptions to show how he has become emotionally traumatized by the acts of violence in the war. The reader then sympathizes with Ishmael and begins to understand the lasting and deep, emotional pain that Ishmael deals with on a daily basis.

Hope enables people to move on by providing the thought that maybe tomorrow’s events will be better than today’s. Hope is a theme that remains constant in every part of A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. Ishmael begins the novel optimistic, believing he will find his family again. This optimism is later lost when Ishmael is recruited by the army to fight against the rebels, causing him to become addicted to drugs and the thrill of killing. Three years after his recruitment, Ishmael is rescued by UNICEF-a group dedicated to rehabilitating child soldiers. During his rehabilitation, Ishmael discovers hope once more by relearning how to trust, love, and have the will to survive. The presence of hope throughout A Long Way Gone enables Ishmael to

Another way the theme, “Always have hope” is shown in A Long Way Gone is through Ishmael`s hope to find his family by keeping his will to live and the memories at the forefront. In Ishmael`s first account of war, his village was overturned by the rebels and his family was split up. Therefore, Ishmael and his friends were left to survive

“He never said anything back then and didn’t get upset by what they said.” (Beah, 2007, p. 91) Living freely, this man is a spirited human, not suffering but taking the pain. Pleasant people in ‘A Long Way Gone” are the selfless, secure souls. Next, on page 119, Ishmael remarks “I was not afraid of the lifeless bodies. I despised them and kicked them to flip them.” At the front lines of his first battle as a soldier, trained to fight and through with living fearfully. The water rises and Ishmael builds his wall. Also, on page 187 Ishmael utilizes brutal honesty with his interviewer, never questioning himself, “I meant what I said and it was not a funny matter.” Embodying the confidence of someone choosing to stay when everyone else runs, surviving the war. In conclusion “I Lived” by OneRepublic (2013) the pinnacle of connections between the real world and literary devices in A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah (2007), reflecting the significance of courage and all it can get you

Ishmael Beah had a really tough life throughout his childhood and teenage years. In his literary work, A Long Way

A prominent theme in A Long Way Gone is about the loss of innocence from the involvement in the war. A Long Way Gone is the memoir of a young boy, Ishmael Beah, wanders in Sierra Leone who struggles for survival. Hoping to survive, he ended up raiding villages from the rebels and killing everyone. One theme in A long Way Gone is that war give innocent people the lust for revenge, destroys childhood and war became part of their daily life.

In the introduction of A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, he writes, “There were all kinds of stories told about the war that made it sound as if it was happening in a faraway and different land. It wasn’t until refugees started passing through our town that we began to see that it was actually taking place in our country” (Beah 1). During this statement Beah says that he is completely oblivious to the war around him. These people living in Sierra Leone had adapted to the war to the point where their perception had been altered. With this memoir he shares his experiences and obstacles he faces throughout the war to become a beckon of hope in this despairing country. Ishmael uses his social skills, timely luck, and emotional strength, to find the courage to overcome these adversities and survive in and out of the war.

1. Man v.s. Society One challenge that Ishmael Beah faces throughout the novel A Long Way Gone was trying to escape the war while also searching for his family. The source of this hardship Ishmael faced was the civil war between the Sierra Leonean government and the RUF (Revolutionary United Front), or rebels. On Pg.23 Beah writes, ”No one was able to think clearly...

There were many themes throughout Ishmael’s memoir such as: Survival, Memory, Loss of Innocence, Nature, Life and Hope, The Damages of War, and Family. These themes represent Ishmael and his life was during the time of the war. Survival is shown by Ishmael and his friends a bunch of times. They survived when the rebels attacked Mattru Jong and the town where the were with Gasemu. They boys ran when the rebels came because they that if they stayed, they would immediately become a the newest recruit to them.

Ishmael is initially sicken by the acts of war but as he is continue to see people killed in front of him and fed drugs it became the new normal. Ishmael becomes desensitize about the situation and accepts the challenge. He was told that if he didn’t want to kill he would not be giving rations. “They have lost everything that makes them human,” (108) he was told and killing them would be his chances to help get rid of a great evil. A young child can easily be manipulated into thinking that he is doing the right thing. Everything is knew was destroyed and he now was building a new

“Survival was my only hope, success my only revenge.” -Patricia Cornwell. A Long Way Gone is a memoir of a child soldier named Ishmael Beah. Throughout the story, it talks about overcoming different obstacles about life as a child soldier. Throughout the story, Ismael conquers his problems but also shows signs of wanting revenge. The most powerful motif in A Long Way Gone is revenge because of his will to kill the rebels for killing his friends families and being bloodthirsty to kill any rebel in his path for the terrible things the rebels have done.

Social Injustices in A Long Way Gone There are countless examples of social injustices in the book A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. In his Memoir, Beah is greatly affected by the civil war taking place in his homeland of Sierra Leone. He is forced away from his normal life and to survive became a boy soldier.

“‘It was not easy being a soldier, but we just had to do it. I have been rehabilitated now, so don’t be afraid of me. I am not a soldier anymore; I am a child.’” (Beah 199). In Ishmael Beah’s a long way gone, he retells the story of his childhood as a child soldier fighting for the government in the Sierra Leonean civil war, and his journey to rehab after UNICEF places him in a rehabilitation camp. The book starts with Beah in his hometown village, Mattru Jong. As a twelve-year-old boy, his life is simple, yet fun and he enjoys spending time with his mom, his dad, his older brother—Junior, and his friends, as well as listening to and singing the lyrics of rap and hip-hop western music with his friends, Mohamed and Talloi, and his brother. One day, one of Ishmael’s friends in a faraway village wants Ishmael and his friends to come perform at the talent show that their village is hosting. Ishmael and his friends depart from Mattru Jong, and while they are traveling, the civil war that is happening in Sierra Leone reaches Mattru Jong, and it is attacked by rebels. Ishmael spends weeks traveling with his friends and his brother, until one day they are captured by rebels. After escaping Ishmael is separated from his friends and brother, but he continues to travel Sierra Leone, just barely surviving, until he reaches a village where people have said his parents are; however when Ishmael reaches the

Ishmael made considerable growth in his writing in his second book especially in the area of character development. In the first book which was more personal and was a memoir he tended to just focus on himself and only introduced characters but didn't give them much of a personality. In the second book he showed that he could develop characters and he did so with a lot of characters. The main characters were benjamin and bockarie but he also had a lot of other important characters like Me kadie and Pa kensai who were the elders of the town and led the fight against the mining company. Colonel was a great example, he told his story and struggles than his turn around and how much of a help he was to the town which allowed him to develope benjamina and bockarie even more. The development of characters also affected the development of others. “Colonel went to work, driving nails into the tires.” in this segment the elders were