A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah Essay

I find the fact that they were able to even smile during this morbid time was extremely uplifting. To still have such spirit when so much had been taken away from them is astonishing. This shows so much character in Ishmael, how he does not let the war get to his head. He still preserves whatever happiness he has left. It is so important not to take life for granted, as shown in this memoir. In one instant Ishmael was a boy, in another he was a boy soldier. He manages to find joy in a terrible time.

In these four chapters there is important theme that stood out to me and how it made a more important meaning in their respective chapter. The three themes is sorrow, regret, and overcoming that was very important for the soldiers to feel to move on in life.

Ishmael had hope at the beginning trying to push through all of the struggles he had to a child soldier with no hope but just the mindset to kill back to a boy with hope and dreams to fulfill. Ishmael Beah's characterization in order to show how Ishmael had hard struggles changing he had hope at the beginning then eventually gave up on himself, but then he went to rehab and got better with the thought of hope in his mind, along with many conducive people pushing him to get better. It is important to show how the characteristic development of Ishmael is because It shows how his mind changed about everything, and his life changed drastically for him during the war times when he was a child

The more people Ishmael loses, the less he has to fight for- the less he has to hope for. Upon finding his family’s ashes, Ishmael is enraged- not hopeless. Ishmael’s hope is alive, but shrinking as Gasemu indicates when he says, “Your forehead used to glow naturally when you were just a child … We thought it was because you were happy all the time. Your mother said you even smiled when you slept. But when you started your troublesomeness and were angry, your forehead glowed even more…And here you are, it isn’t shining anymore,” (Beah 92). Ishmael’s forehead did not glow because he was mad or sad or embarrassed or happy. Ishmael’s forehead glowed because he was passionate and hopeful. The angrier he got when he was younger, the more his forehead glowed seeing as he believed in his anger. Despite the fact that his hope shrank when he was faced with the death of his family, the threat of the rebels, and the fear of dying, these events did not destroy Ishmael’s hope- Ismael’s hope begins its descent to nothingness when he becomes a child soldier and, consequently, a drug addict. When Ishmael no longer mourns the death of human life, his hope is lost. When Ishmael cannot care less if he lives or dies, his hope is lost. When he would rather continue killing as

Orson Scott Card has shown theme by having Ender make the best of what he had of when he was put in a terrible situation. The author wants us to learn to make the best of what we have when we are put in a situation like Ender. Ender always looked on the bright side and got through his problems and that is exactly what we should do and what the author wants us to take away from the book. This shows that life will sometimes be tough, but we need to pull through and deal with it, like

War is and can be defined as both a state of emergency and the liberator to a world so corrupt and unjust. The war in Sierra Leone separated families and ruined lives. How can a fight for a cause so right be so wrong. The Books “The Bite of the Mango” and “A Long Way Gone” compare and contrast Ishmael Beah’s experience to Mariatu Kamaras’. Both books are very different yet very similar. In The Bite of the Mango and A Long Way Gone both characters lose their childhood because of the war, but go through different journeys based solely on their gender.

In Ishmael Beah’s memoir A Long Way Gone, Beah’s natural imagery of thick, wild, and dangerous forest reflects his distressed emotional state and the devastation of Sierra Leone. Beah recalls his long and endless journey through the forest and expresses, “I walked as fast as I could, but the more I walked, the more it seemed I was getting deeper into the thickness of the forest. The harder I tried to get out, the bigger and taller the trees became” (53). Here, Beah represents the trees as the war in Sierra Leone because no matter how far Beah travels, he is still trapped in the war and the harder he tries to the escape the rebels, the faster the rebels catch up to him. Notably, this image mirror’s Beah’s mindset and the situation in Sierra

Ishmael Beah was a child of war in Sierra Leone. His memoir retells his experiences being in the Sierra Leone army. At just twelve years old, Ishmael Beah’s homeland was infested with Foday Sankoh’s brutal army, who would stop at nothing to take control of Sierra Leone’s diamond mines. Beah then comes to explain his experience as a soldier and his killing spree. Although some may argue that his experiences are too graphic, William Boyd hints that readers should read Beah’s memoir.

1.The most important scene in the book was when Ishmael and his friends stole food from the children. This was an important scene because this is where Ishmael really becomes more of an animal living for survival rather than a boy of humanity. It leads him to become more of a robot, brainwashed by war. This leads into the making of the horrible decisions to come. This scene relates to the rest of the book since it’s the first act of truly transforming into a soldier and how it affected him as it is the baseline of all the actions yet to come. Though it is not an extensive scene it significantly changes his and his friends outlook on the civil war and what it can do to innocent people. This is a few reasons I felt the scene where the boys

For some being a soldier is a choice, for others it’s just another reality of the world we live in. Ishmael Beah writes about his time as a child soldier in the Sierra leone civil war in his autobiography A Long Way Gone. As a young child he sees the world around him spiral into chaos and he sees soldiers as evil.

Not only did Ishmael have to see this image but he also had to watch his parents burn to death in a village right in front of him. These thoughts and images are a big part of what causes of his

On March 23rd, 1991, a civil war started between the Sierra Leonean Government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). This war had an enormous impact on everyone in and around the country, especially young civilian boys who were taken from their families and homes to become child soldiers. One of these former government soldiers is Ishmael Beah, who was brought into this battle between powers at only 13 years old. Throughout his lifetime, he has had to confront many challenges and conflicts, most of which can be found in his memoir, “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier.” After reading his memoir, I have gained much knowledge on the topic of both the Sierra Leone Civil War and the issue of children becoming soldiers. The themes of this

Ishmael is in an unfortunate situation, where he is forced to grow up fast, or he won't survive. Growing up in Sierra Leone while a war is taking place, with no food, water, or a family, it is hard to find hope, but you have to. One of Ishmael’s memories of his dad is, "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). Ishmael, is motivated to find hope, through this quote stated by his dad.

My theme is betrayal. Betrayal is important in this text because it give more intrest to the reader. Betrayal give a dramatic effect of what happens next. This text involves hassan and amir’s betrayal that was shocking to all. Most importantly,the betrayal that drives Amir's quest for redemption. We also discover Baba's betrayal of Ali later on in the novel, creating an interesting parallel between Amir and his father.

The theme is also present when he talks about how God has given us the ability of choice and determination. This relates to the theme because God is trusting in us that we will do the right thing and follow him. Finally, the theme is present in the third paragraph with the bridge keeper. It’s present because he doesn’t follow the orders he is given. Then he regrets that when thousands of people die. This is an example of how after we die and don’t end up where we want, we regret that because we had full control of our actions. If only we would’ve trusted in Christ, we would’ve ended up where we