Analysis Of A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

The key passage I chose from Ishmael’s time as a child soldier was when he shot and killed a man for the very first time for the government army. On Pgs. 118-119 it says, “I turned toward the swamp, where there were gunmen running, trying to cross over. My face, my hands, my shirt and gun were covered with blood. I raised my gun and pulled the trigger, and I killed a man. Suddenly, as if someone was shooting them inside my brain, all the massacres I had seen since the day I was touched by war began flashing in my head.

One of these experiences is when he was about to see his family, then the village they were staying in was attacked by rebels. His mother, father and two brothers were trapped in their house and slowly burned to death. This happened only a few weeks after their former home was attacked and raided by rebels. But it is a better fate then some because one of his now deceased, friend’s 3 sisters were raped over and over again. while their father was knocked out for trying to defend them and their mother being forced to watch. The rebels took the girls with them. Ishmael's fate was not much better than the 3 girls for he became a child soldier: traumatized and hopped up on drugs and told to “avenge” his family by killing every rebel and snorting cocaine until he no longer felt anything. Remember war is not all honor and glory, it is suffering, death and pain. In more ways than

In the memoir, A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, Ishmael talk about his story of his childhood and when he was recruited as a child soldier during the war in Sierra Leone. In the book, it is his journey to escape the war and explains what he went through when the war first made an appearance in his life, to when he was actually a part of the war and fighting, killing, and harming other people, then later on when he was brought to a rehibition center to be established back into society and lastly how he finally escape Sierra Leone and began living in New York City and how he spoke and informed people about the children affected by war. He talks about the horrible things that happened to him and everyone that was affected by the war. On his journey

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.

War is devastating and tragic. It affects the daily lives of the people that are involved in the war. In the excerpt from, A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, it displays a man who is dreaming about war. When the man wakes up, he lays sweating on the ground, remembering the painful memories that the dream has brought. In the end, the man realizes that from now on he will have to live in three worlds; his dreams, the experience of his new life, and memories from the past. Meanwhile, in the image, “In Times of War” by The New York Times, there is an angel on a cloud looking over the dreadful war. Then the angel walks away because the view of people dying makes it sick. The theme of the excerpt A Long Way Gone, and the image, “In Times of War,” is that the war brings death, seriously injured, and psychologically broken people.

There may be as many as 300,000 child soldiers, hopped-up on drugs and wielding AK-47s, in more than fifty conflicts around the world. Ishmael Beah used to be one of these child soldiers  , Ishmael Beah is a child who lived most of his childhood in the war   . He is one of the first to tell his story in his own words according to  http://www.alongwaygone.com/index.html and his memoir “A Long Way Gone”. The war had made ishmael have perseverance  in the long run , inference that he was brainwashed by the war and that ishmael was a very hopeful child always wishing for better days.

Ishmael`s hope for a better life portrays one example of the theme “Always have hope”. The war was very traumatic for everyone in the country. In fact, Ishmael joined the army at only 12 years old. While fighting in the war, Ishmael recalled his family and the wisdom they left with him. For example, Ishmael`s father said, “If there is nothing good left in the destiny of a person he or she will die” (Beah54). Ishmael holds on to his father`s words as they comfort him and divert his attention away from the war around him. He could`ve given up many times during the journey. Instead, Ishmael does not lose hope and continues to move on because he knows that life will get better.

Throughout the memoir A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, Ishmael faces a plentiful amount of challenges and conflicts. In the book there are four main conflicts that Ishmael faces and overcomes. These conflicts include Ishmael running away from the war, his family, and his friends, Ishmael's entire family dying and him becoming a soldier at the age of 13, Ishmael going through rehabilitation, and Ishmael trying to move to a safer area when war meets Freetown.

Ishmael, in A Long Way Gone was made boy soldier. Ishmael went through many commands to hurt people and try to bring an anonymous message. Treating people with injustice without knowing the reason why he was even doing it. Showing corpses, dead people before torturing them and then killing them. Becoming brainwashed with all the task he was being told to do he thought that this was his life. Making games out of the torture and killing with his friends. Slowly giving up on trying to get away from the rebels. “People were terrified of boys our age” (Beah 37). Having everyone still around scared of him, not doing anything to help him, but just trying to get away from him.

In the story, A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, Ishmael’s life experiences while escaping the war show how everything in life should be cherished, because one day those great features are there but they can easily be taken away. Ishmael Beah has experienced the traumatizing effect of war and how it can tear someone apart and morph them into a completely different person. This happened to Ishmael himself. He was brainwashed and his mind was molded into believing that revenge is the answer to the deaths of his family members. This essentially is why he puts his safety and wellbeing at risk. He goes from being a twelve year old boy who heard stories of the war, but never imagined it chasing after him, to running away from this inescapable war only

“If you are alive, there is hope for a better day and something good to happen...” (pg. 54). Throughout the course of A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, we familiarize ourselves with the exceptional hardships that Ishmael has experienced as a child soldier, in Sierra Leone, and what actions he takes to overcome them. Despite the fact that Ishmael has been through these devastating hardships and that he became the fear that he himself feared, Ishmael is able to instill hope and keep the reader going through the themes of powerful memories, nature and redemption. He does this through the use of powerful memories that contrast the fear and danger of the war with the remembrance of the beauty of life. Furthermore, nature leaves the reader striving

“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

Everyone else was crying, but I couldn’t cry. I felt dizzy and my eyes watered. My hands began shaking again. I felt the warmth inside my stomach, and my heart was beating slowly but at a heavy rate.” (89). When I read that Ishmael didn’t cry it really surprised me. It is even said later on in the book that Saidu felt like family to not only him but the whole group. The excerpt says that he can’t cry. I believe that the war has gotten to his head and changed his perspective on the world. Through all the hardships he has been through I feel as if he has changed and is trying to be stronger. He sees the world in a more black in white color know and deep emotions is something that he is slowly losing. After you read about this do you think these hardships are helping him in the sense that they are making him a much stronger and independent person? Or do you fell as if the hardships are making him worse and ruing the quality of

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

Throughout his story, Ishmael always tried to shield himself from the horrors of the war and to not partake in violence. He submitted to the military’s violent ways because he was already traumatized