Examples Of Innocence In A Long Way Gone

Ishmael Beah is described as a pre-teen, with a love of rap and hip-hop music. He finishes as a drug-addicted killing machine, out avenging the death of his entire family. Before being rescued by a United Nations Program, and eventually fleeing to New York for rehabilitation, it is a tragic and harrowing tale that gives substance to the term ‘Boy Soldier’, that isn’t really understood in most cases. Ishmael gives a gentle portrayal of his life, before the war reached his small village and forever changed his life. Abruptly he becomes fugitive fleeing for his life and eventually into a corrupted teen.

In J.D.Salinger’s novel, Catcher In The Rye, Holden Caulfield, the main character of the novel, is a walking paradox who desires to hold onto his innocence and ,in his mind, thinks that people who lose their innocence will either turn into a “phony” or a “jerk”. During his journey towards trying to preserve his innocence Holden affected his desire to hold on to his innocence through his action, such as his experience with a prostitute named Sunny, his interaction with Sunny shows him that most of the world of adults is just an illusion. Another person who affects Holden desire is his 10 year-old sister Phoebe Caulfield, his interaction with his sister phoebe shows how it’s ok to lose your innocence because with the loss of that innocence you

innocence. Beah’s parents are burned alive by the rebels; this is the first step towards his animosity

When going through withdrawals, Beah was defiant and rebellious. That is typical behavior of any child. It appears that even though Beah was taught to be a violent killer, he was still just a boy. It is intriguing that he experienced very little fear or any other emotion when killing; however, he was terrified in his dreams. Maybe, this is to detach himself from his unwanted reality? A child’s subconscious is a powerful thing.

David Malouf's novel ‘Fly Away Peter’ charts out the life of protagonist, Jim Sadler. Jim Sadler starts the novel as an innocent young man who lives on the Coast of Queensland. As Jim shows his love and appreciation for birds, he ends up getting a job at a sanctuary owned by Ashley Crawthaw. His job was to watch for the birds that migrated to and from the sanctuary. Throughout the novel the readers are taken on the journey that Jim faces, from the innocence of a young adult to the horror and brutality of the war. At the beginning of the novel the audience is introduced to Jim while he is gazing in the far distance to where the swamp ended and the farmlands began(Malouf, D. Pg.1). Jim’s love for birds was strong, everything about them just amazed him - he could sit for hours and watch them while naming each as he proceeded into the day. By being in the sanctuary, Jim is protected from the harsh reality of the outside world. Having grown up in the country, he is oblivious to how cruel the world is. Once exposing himself to the outside world and goes to the town centre, without much awareness regarding the war, he feels pressured to join the War Effort. Jim is aware of the need to extend his experiences within life and acknowledges the changes that war will certainly bring. On Jim’s arrival to the trenches he is hit with the harsh reality he thought he would never understand. Being so distant from the

Beah is ask with other boys to fight for the government in a village they were taken to. The government force was beginning to dwindle and the rebels had the village surrounded. In this scene we see the lieutenant have to make a decision. Either have the village taken by the rebels and more than likely everyone dies or recruit the boys to fight. The lieutenant let anyone

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

Children exposed to violence within their communities are left with emotions of hopelessness, insecurity, and doubt. Historical events such as the war on terrorism, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the tragic events of September 11th have had a detrimental effect on the entire nation, including the children. Although every child is not directly affected by the aspects of war, it somehow has an emotional effect on all. The involvement of a nation with war affects every individual differently, whether it is out of fear, anger, doubt, hope, or love. In the short novel A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, he narrates the story by telling his own involvement in the Civil War in Sierra Leone as young boy and the many issues he faces while living in

Innocence is what makes a child a child. Innocence is the reason for a joyous childhood for children. However, Innocence can be seized away just instantaneously. Ishmael Beah's Innocence was snatched away when he became a child soldier in the Sierra Leone war. In A long way gone, Beah embodies the loss of Innocence by sharing his inhumane actions.

A kid charge for war crime? Kid is the purest creature on the world, their soul is beautiful and naive. A kid’s soul is so fragile such as the glass that is easily to break. It is unbelieveable to have a kid for a war crime trial. In the book of “A Long Way Gone” by Ishmael Beah, Beah is a kid who lives in a small town of Sierra Leone name Mogbwemo. Whose families and friends are “taken away” from him by the war. Beah was lucky to survive; later on, he was convinced by Lieutenant Jabati in the army to join them for protection, food and place to sleep. Ever since then, a kid transform into a killing machine. Kids in many parts of the world are being use as a child soldier. War has ruthlessly taken their homes, families, and beloved ones. Some

I consider the way the army conditioned the author, by usage of drugs and civic duty the leading factors why he partook in the brutality of the war. The battles he remembers, the way he attacked rebels, is told in a polarizing manner; it is noted that some of the rebels are in fact forced in enlistment. Ishmael Beah takes on a distinct lifestyle that forces him to act as an adult would. The way he dehumanizes and acts superior to others, can also be seen during

During his time with the army, Beah partook in mant brutal events. One of which was making prisoners dig their own grave. Beah and the rest of the soldiers were told by their lieutenant to make RUF prisoners to dig their own graves. If the prisoners were reluctant, the boys were ordered to shoot them at their feet : “So we gave them shovels and demanded, at gunpoint, that they dig their own graves.[...] I heard them groan underneath as they fought for air. Gradually, they gave up, and we walked away. ‘At least they are buried ,’ one of the soldiers said, and we laughed. I smiled a bit again as we walked back to the fire to warm ourselves” (151). Beah and his companions are making these people suffocate themselves. This a much worse punishment than before, where the boys had to see who could kill a RUF soldier the quickest. In this latter punishment, the RUF went through a slow and painful death, whereas in the competition, they received a fast and painless death. When Beah mentions that he “smiled a bit again” at the sight of people trying to work for air, he shows how dehumanized he has become. Finally, it is concluded that Beah has supported Golding’s claim that the loss of one’s family eventually leads them to a state of great

A Long Way Gone     Unlike most subjects, war has effects on so many parts of someones life. War comes with the cost of mental, physical, and overall emotional health. A Long Way Gone is a memoir that was wrote by a boy soldier, Ishmael Beah. The war in Sierra Leone started in March of 1991.

No, it should not be about holding child soldiers responsible for their actions. Instead, it should be about getting children like Beah inserted into rehabilitation. The child soldiers are trained to be horrible they can’t help themselves. “We had been fighting for over two years, and killing had become a daily activity…My childhood had gone by without my knowing, and it seemed as if my heart had frozen,”(page 127). Beah has been deprived of his childhood and all he knows is the war. Like teen gang members, he’s brainwashed into thinking and acting the way he does, while being told it’s the right thing to do. He’s growing up around a cycle of violence; everyday is a struggle to stay alive. Beah has been denied his childhood since the day the

nstead of disregarding what his country said and speaking from his heart, Beah is able to make a lasting impression on the United Nations. By using his own experiences, he is able to more accurately convey the hardships that people in his country have to go to. The other kids that came to that UN meeting are now able to see what people are able to do for their loved ones in a way that effectively establishes anguish in the reader. Many people were willing to disregard their morals and even kill in order to get rid of pain in any way they feel necessary all because they feel taking revenge on innocent people will make them feel better about the loss of their own families.