Analysis Of 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.

While being face to face with war, Ishmael illustrates what he, as well as his life, has become, “My squad was my family, my gun was my provider and protector and my rule was to kill or be killed…” (Beah, p.126). With these declarations, the reader can clearly comprehend his lack of innocence and empathy. He has become a unfeeling, cold-blooded soldier trained to kill or be killed and survival is his ultimate goal. Later on in the book, the reader is informed of the barbaric scene that takes place in Benin Home, a rehabilitation center. When Ishmael arrives at this site, he ruthlessly interrogates a couple of his housemates “I took out my grenade and put my fingers inside the pin. 'Do you boys want this to be your last meal, or do you want to answer his question?”(Beah, p.133). Undoubtedly, this is not normal behavior for a 15-year old and when he displays this conduct, it can be unquestionably said that Ishmael has lost all sense of innocence and emotion. In this section of his story, Ishmael is threatening to kill boys his own age, which shows how deviated he has become from his original character and sense. Both of these examples verify that Ishmael Beah in nowhere near the innocent, rap-enthusiast and family loving boy he once was. The child that was Ishmael Beah is now dead, and in his place stands a cold-hearted

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 Beah was at the age of thirteen when his childhood and innocence was taken from him. For example, Beah says “My childhood had gone without my knowing, and it seemed as if my heart had frozen”(30). It happened so quickly. He was frantic with worry. Beah was forced to join the Sierra Leone military. It was not until later he himself started to believe he has lost his innocence. At this young age he was killing the rebels that traumatized him purely to seek revenge and to survive. His hate for the rebels was very strong, “Whenever I looked at the rebels during raids, I got angrier, because they looked like the rebels who played cards in the ruins of the village where I had lost my family. So when the lieutenant gave orders, I shot as many

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

Ishmael Beah’s memoir, A long Way Gone, is very descriptive and has a very effective way of painting a picture in the reader’s mind of what he went through as a boy soldier. Throughout the memoir, Beah used quite a few statements that impacted me emotionally, on a personal level. His vivid detail, word choice and how personal, yet professional he kept his writing led me to understand how exactly the war affected him, and everyone else who lived, and lives, in Sierra Leone.

and implausible to influence our characters, however, in times of difficulty come to our aid. Furthermore, sometimes we forget how much our identity is shaped by the stories and narratives which do not have a written form. From the developing world, in which science and technology continue to have no detrimental effects to familial relationships and or oral storytelling of elder members, amazing writers have emerged. These writers, generally, value storytelling and conversations in their writing. Ishmael Beah recognized the importance of storytelling and highlights his views of music and poetry, as they play a large role in his life. Moreover, as we observe his memoir in further depth, apart from music and poetry, storytelling and conversations had an extensive impact on Ishmael and his identity, especially when he refers to the stories as a coping method.

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

In the memoir of Ishmael Beah, A Long Way Gone, Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Beah states that his life’s journey has been a huge obstacle, but has learned to overcome that struggle by venting while the two contradictory sides continue their battling. Beah accomplishes his goal of explaining to the reader his point of view through the use of rhetorical questions, scenic narration, and parallelism. Ishmael Beah’s apparent purpose is to share personal accounts of his life with his fellow country men, in a country where war affects people to a level beyond the imagination. He is able to apply his purpose using a grotesque and bitter tone. Beah approaches his audience of ordinary people in this manner in order to vent his feelings about war by

There are many themes in the book, A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. One of these themes is how when put with the right people one can survive anything. Ishmael luckily was placed with the right people at the right time in order to survive the war. All of the people he was with helped him through the war. The group of boys relied on each other in order to find enough food and water to survive. Also, the staff members at the rehabilitation center, Ester, helped Ishmael get through life after being a soldier. Without Ester, Ishmael would have struggled big time with getting over the past and moving on with his life. Also, Uncle Tommy helps Ishmael find a normal life after the war. He also helps Ishmael have a goal towards to finish his rehabilitation and helps encourage Ishmael to get past all the things in Ishmael’s life. Lastly, Ishmael meets Laura who saves Ishmaels life by allowing him to come live with her and she helps him get away from the war in Sierra Leone. Without Laura who knows what would have happened to Ishmael. All the people Ishmael encounters throughout the book help him

Eventually, his fight leads him to a place of rehabilitation and contentment. Unquestionably, there is a certain type of person who is able to endure the hardship and challenges that Ishmael Beah does. As a twelve year old he is forced to grow up and fend for himself in a world that is unkind and unforgiving. Through all the pain and difficulty he must absorb he finds a sliver of hope through nature. Highlighting an interaction with his grandma Ishmael discovers a reason to move forward, “When I was a child, my grandmother told me that the sky speaks to those who listen to it.

Sustaining motivation can be tough under the best of circumstances. One of the ways to stay motivated is to set a goal and visualize it down. For athletes, they visualize their performance ahead of time. Another way is to make a list of the reasons you want to accomplish the goal. It is crucial to write down the list with a pen. Moreover, when people write by their hand and connect the letters manually, they engage the brain more actively in the process. A different way to maintain inspired is to break the goal down into smaller pieces. Furthermore, if people take on a project and try to do the whole thing all at once, they are going to be overwhelmed. They need to break it down into the smallest realistic steps and only do one at a time. In A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, Beah was a child soldier during the civil war in Sierra Leone. His village was attacked by rebels. Then, he was forced to join an army unit who brainwashed him into using guns and drugs. Later on, he witnessed a great deal of violence and UNICEF removed him from the army and put him into a rehabilitation program. With the help of some of the staff, he was able to return to a normal civilian life and get off drugs. Even though Beah had a terrible experience from the civil war, he was able to stay strong through willpower, not listening to peer pressure, and eventually had no free will to disobey his superior commanders.

The Story has great ways of describing events of losing loved ones. The author words his story vividly and clear enough that people can accurately picture what he is saying while keeping the thoughts war, family love, and hope in the story.