Trust Issues In Ishmael's Life

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.

Ishamael Beah’s resilience allowed him to be adaptable to many different and difficult situations. In the beginning of the book Ishmael and his friends decide to go to Mattru Jong for a talent show. As they begin to go there they hear that the war has hit the mining areas. Ishmael and his friends knew that they may never be able to find their families again. Ishmael adapted very quickly and never gave up on trying to find them. “For more than three hours, we stayed at the Wharf, anxiously waiting and expecting to see our families or to talk to someone who had seen them.” (Beah 10) They never heard any news of them. Ishmael, Junior, Talloi begin to travel back saying goodbye to their friends. Ismael and they boys saw their first look, at what the war was about. They saw blood everywhere, parents carrying their dead children and people in pain. As Ismael, Junior and Talloi traveled

Ishmael showed perseverance during his time in the war when in his memoir  “ A Long Way Gone” it stated on page 179 “ Leslie had told me that I was to be “repatriated” and reinstated into normal society. I was to live with my uncle. Those two weeks felt longer than the eight months I had spent at the Benin Home” showing that he had only spent eight months getting over everything he went through in the war in two years , therefore it showed how much he could overcome in such little time and how he went through very difficult things in a matter time and still had perseverance through it all. Another example of how he had perseverance was stated in the book on page 88 “ We were leaving our friend, or as my grandmother would put it, “ His temporary journey in the world had ended.” We on the other hand had to continue.”Showing how hard it was for Ishmael to have to keep going on but still continued

The book is based on actual events and is expressed through a personal point of view. Ishmael wrote a memoir that tells the story of a young boy who is torn from his peaceful life, and then forced into a frightening world of drugs and slavery. In writing about his experiences, he has made the decision to present his experiences in a particular way by missing out details and recounting others. This

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

Imagine being unable to trust anyone even when their best interests is to give a helping hand. In the book a long way gone, Ishmael has went through a lot of trauma because he fought in war at a young age. One of the things that he lost was his trust in people while being in the war. This also made it hard for him to communicate with people, even for people who were trying to help him after being saved after the war. Survival was another thing that Ishmael has struggled with because he wanted to survive the war and stay alive.

The second part of the book takes an uncompromising look at the difficulties this entailed for the boy soldier and his peers, who for a long time resist the most determined efforts to restore their humanity, their anger at having been taken from their family. Children are meant to be protected from violence and war. They are extremely vulnerable both physically and psychologically, to abuse and misguidance. They are easily influenced by those around them because they are young and incapable of forming independent opinions. Adult soldiers at Ishmael’s base were snorting brown brown and smoking marijuana, Ishmael, as naive as any child would be, was influenced by these people and looked up to the adults as role model and leader and so he began to do it as well. “I took turns at the guarding posts around the village, smoking marijuana and sniffing brown brown” The job of a soldier is to fight wars, to take lives, to kill if not be killed. If these children are taught hatred

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.

Beah had never a home, he had never a place where he went and felt safe. Ishmael was never loved, he was just used for the benefit of others. He had to survive all the physical and emotional pain. Beah overcame the psychological problems that the war left him and learned how to regain his humanity that the army had taken from him. Ishmael never lost hope, he always looked forward for a better future. He kept having hope even when he was brainwashed by the army and was forced to do bad things. He was always hoping to survive. Despite what Ishmael lived through, he regained his humanity by the help of others but mostly by his perseverance and personal strength he could vanquish his killing thoughts and become a confident person

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

What would Ishmael’s grandfather give him and his brother? Explain how this impacted him. What if we had this, how would it impact the world?

Throughout it all, Ishmael leads his pupil through his trials with wit and wisdom, even while leading him towards solutions for world hunger and environmental destruction. Makes one wonder how it is that Quinn, as he claims, arrived at all of the conclusions in the book by simply going to the library and doing a little research. Part parable, part myth, and totally compelling, Ishmael leaves one hungry and wondering, waiting for the next chapter of humanity's tale to play out. As any good book does, Ishmael leaves readers with more questions than answers, and demands that the reader figure out the solution for himself.

For a boy who often has a great deal of misfortune in his life, he also seems to have an endless amount of luck. Though fate may have played a big role in starting Ishmael’s war life, his luck always helps him overcome the obstacles the war throws at him. Before the war, Ishmael spends more than a month in the forest alone before he finally runs into people again. Ishmael consciously joins the new group of six boys. With over miles and miles of empty forest and rebel territory, Ishmael was lucky to find a group of boys who have the same motives as him. As the boys continue on their journey, they’ve been captured and are brought to a nearby village; they wait

A final theme tells us when everything else disappears, there is always love. Ishmael learns this the hard way. He has a kind of family unit with the soldiers that actually carries over into the love and friendship between him and Alhaji. Then, there is the love of Uncle Tommy and his family and their willingness to make Ishmael a son and a brother. Finally, there is the love of people like Esther and Laura who accept him unconditionally and welcome him into their homes when he most needed help and love.

His Uncle. Though he did not last very long, he was still a huge turning point for Salva and helped his urge to keep moving, just a step at a time. On one special day in Southern Sudan 1985, Salva was stood off from an unusual sound, his name. But who was it called him? Then the man came toward him, it was his Uncle Jewiir. His father’s youngest brother who he had not seen in two years. Soon later Uncle took full responsibility for taking care of Salva. “Listing to Uncle, hurrying to stay close to him. Salva was able to make his feet move despite the cold terrain that froze his whole body.” To add later on chapter seven, page 41 second part, “ Just one step at a time, just a day at a time.” Salva was closer to reaching his goal First part. These quotes relates to how Salva had lost almost everything, but he did not want to lose Uncle too. So he was trying to everything that he can, so that Uncle would not get out of his sight and to keep him with him. Salva was very cautious during the time he had Uncle because he was at least someone that would willingly take care of him and helped the person that he is. It was also for Uncle’s words that helped Salva for when he was stuck. So that Salva’s goal will not loosen from his grip like almost everyone had. During Salva’s childhood, he always felt better for when he had Uncle. He acted as Salva’s guardian angel, a person that Salva could trust and love. For what happened to