Redemption In A Long Way Gone By Ismael 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.

During this time the only thing predictable about politics in Reconstruction was its unpredictability. Colfax massacre being one of the bloodiest encounters of Reconstruction, serves as the base to Nicholas Lemann's book. Redemption is a story that shows the violent overthrow of Reconstruction in Louisiana and Mississippi in the 1870s. Brief knowledge is known to historian, but very little is known by the general public. In Lemann’s demonstration of the Civil War and Reconstruction, "redemption" is a very ironic term, and a huge play on words. Redemption was a term white supremacists used to commemorate the destruction of what they thought to be the vile imposition. Lemann’s way of embracing the white supremacist nomenclature, he made the paradoxes and the contradictions much more vivid.

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

Many people tend to believe that vengeance has more value than forgiveness and it’s ok. Seeking vengeance is not the same as forgiving someone who wronged you. When you forgive someone after being wronged, you let go of a desire to harm the person. Therefore, forgiveness has more value that vengeance since it helps you live a longer and healthier life, feel relief without feeling resentment of holding grudges, and it helps you protect yourself from future hurts.

The word revenge is heard all over the news today. The news shows how people are trying to get revenge such as terrorist groups or individuals harming each other. However, even though the use of the word is frequent, not everyone has a clear understanding of what revenge clearly means. Revenge is defined as someone taking action to harm someone who has done something wrong to that certain person. Bryce Nelson the author of Revenge: Sweet, Universal and Self-Destructive: [Home Edition] stated: “As the victim contemplates revenge, he hopes desperately to overcome his feelings of impotence and to regain his former sense of self-worth” (Nelson 1). This article demonstrated how revenge was human nature by showing an example of someone getting revenge. The examples are demonstrated in definitions, characteristics, stories, and real-life events.

A child hits someone; they hit them back. An individual deceives someone; they seek retaliation. While growing up as individuals in society, the phrase “Two wrongs do not make a right” is well known. The phrase is a lesson. It means because someone does something wrong towards another individual it is not justified to do something retaliate. As human-beings, the motive behind retaliation is revenge, which is the reaction behind every negative outcome towards another person. In life, behind every action that is made, a consequence follows. People in society must take the negativity that is thrown towards them, and turn it into positivity. The novel Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption shows many instances why two wrongs do not make a right. For instance, all heinous crimes in the novel are committed for the sake of retaliation. In general, every action that is made can often be justified; however, a positive outcome is not always guaranteed.

In the memoir A Long Way Gone, author Ishmael Beah describes his survival journey as a lost child in his country, because of the civil war in Sierra Leone, then becoming a child soldier facing war daily, afterward the process that Beah went through during rehabilitation and finally in fear escaping the civil war. Ishmael Beah emotional journey has three stages of development in which Beah utilized music. In the first stage, Beah uses music as a survival mechanism to keep sane and safe. In the second stage, begins when he loses his brother and friends, Beah reaches the lowest point with the loss of his entire family again, some friends, music, and being forced to join the war. In the final stage, is the process of rehabilitation where Beah connects with music once again. Ishmael Beah exposure to music at a young age stayed with him throughout his life. (Beah, 2007, p. 5-218)

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.

The human behavior is one that will haunt humanity forever. A Long Way Gone, written by Ishmael Beah, is an original non-fiction story based on Ishmael’s personal experiences in warfare. But, shockingly, he witnessed warfare from the small eyes of his teenage years. Having to experience one of the worst things in history, at such a young age, is terrible. War, in this case or in any case, relates to both human condition and human nature. Human conditions, in short, are things that that defines the human existence (birth, death, etc.) Human nature, close to human conditions, are how humans act naturally to their environment and others. The theme of A Long Way Gone ties strongly with both of these with a passion. It describes war as an art, with human condition as a canvas and human nature to paint in the fine details. The question asked is what Ishmael Beah’s experience tells us about the meaning of the human being, and to answer we have to poke at some topics that we’ve covered. The answers to the sole question include the hypothetical existence of pure evil, the important keys of human social life, and how war affects one’s own mind.

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.

Retribution is what most commonly referred to as the “just deserts” model that says the punishment should match the “degree of harm a criminal has inflicted on their victims” (Stohr, Walsh, & Hemmens, 2013, p.6). In other words,

Revenge is the act of doing something to hurt someone because that person did something that hurt them. People have been getting revenge on others for thousands of years. People usually get revenge to regain power because when someone wrongs them they feel like power has been taken from them. Sometimes people like to go outside of the law to get revenge. This is because they feel like the law is not enough to give the person who wronged them the right amount of punishment for what they have done. “Daddy” by Sylvia Plath, “Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston, and “Cask of the Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe all show the things they or their characters would do to get revenge on the person that wronged them and the different ways they did it.

Social change comes from a societies understanding and acceptance of controversial topics, laws that enforce social norms and the politics that play a role in such change. The author Gerald Rosenberg of “The Hollow Hope” believes that the Supreme Court is able to bring about social change. Rosenburg main argument seemed to be questioning if a courts ruling that had once been accepted and had standing for several years were to be over turned, would the environment outside of the courtroom suddenly change and be accepting of their division.

The word “hope” is defined as a feeling of expectation or desire. People expect things to happen to them such as winning the lottery or meeting the man of their dreams but hope does not guarantee that these things will happen. Hope is quite often found in people involved in hard times such as war. Soldiers have to hope that they will make it home to their families everyday. Ishmael Beah understood what it was like to have hope in terrible situations. When Ishmael wrote his book “A Long Way Gone” he was able to show how he had hope when he lost his family, when he went to New York and when he tragically lost hope when he was in the war.

In today's society, the media often portrays revenge as an acceptable option. This is not outright stated, but rather implied. Characters often seem to think that revenge is the only way to get closure from a bad experience, and when this is acted on, negative consequences are not shown. Rarely is the fact that vengeance is hypocritical and wrong brought up. People need to wake up and realize that revenge is always hypocritical and illogical. As Christ said, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7)