A Long Way Gone Coming Of Age Analysis

Throughout the novel, Ishmael and his friends begin to those their humanity and become completely different individuals because of their exposure to the war. The

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

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.

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.

“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

beginning of A Long Way Gone Ishmael was terrified of guns. He didn't want anything to do with them. But once he started in

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.

When Ishmael Beah was back in Sierra Leone, his villages were taken over by a rebellious group and slaughtered his family along with others. He traveled for days with his brother and friend and then was taken and transformed into a boy soldier who was convinced to seek revenge on the death of his own family. This book really shows the transformation in him when he’s in New York in the middle of a mob of protestors and must restrain himself from anger. When he’s put into this position, he tries not to remember the time when he was a soldier and hold back those feelings in his inner self. What Ishmael Beah wants us to know is that people can change no matter the struggles and it takes fight and courage despite the events that have happened in your past.

I strongly believe that one of the main purposes of this book is for the author, Ishmael, to educate his audience on one of the negative impacts of war that strongly impact children, the loss of their innocence. He demonstrates this through his personal experiences and his loss. For example at the beginning of the book, Ishmael is living a normal life and is like any other kid, living an innocent life and never having been exposed to violence. This is evidenced on page 23 as Ishmael explains how he felt as the rebel attack took place in his town. He confessed “The sounds of the guns was so terrifying it confused everyone…….My

While he was young he joined the Sierra Leone army at the age of 13, which was the end of his childhood according to the book. Ishmael lost his innocence when he was set to invade a rebel camp and became a killer. He grew the strength to be able to kill someone when one of his close tent-mates were killed. After his tent-mate was killed he became angry and filled with different emotions which drove him even more to be a killer. Ishmael also became addicted to drugs and he tended to have violent flashbacks of his childhood memories.

Ishmael Beah is someone who has lived through a lot. As a child, he grew up in Mattru Jong, Sierra Leone. His life was changed when war came into his country. Here, we will be exploring the transition from being an innocent child to becoming a soldier, to being a scarred adult.

The purpose of the book A Long Way Gone Memoirs of a Boy Soldier written by Ishmael Beah, is to show the evil behind arming children and having them fight. Beah tells a story of a personal experience of being a child forced to become a soldier, and in his story there are many rhetorical strategies that he uses. Beah uses rhetorical strategies such as Onomatopoeia, Anaphora, and Hyperbole. He uses these strategies to make the story a more sorrowful story and allow the readers to feel a certain type of connection or understanding to him. Ishmael who is suffering from what is going on around his villages goes through many obstacles with his brother and their friends. These strategies make the story more personal because they give out a lot of detail and lets the reader really see the perspective of Ishmael.

Every person in the world goes through some life changing events, whether they are small or big. These changes shape a person's personality. Many life changing events are explained in Ishmael Beah’s book, A Long Way Gone. In the book he goes through many changes throughout his childhood. The story starts during a time in Sierra Leone where rebels are causing terror supposedly trying to make the government “better”. When really they seem to be causing more chaos than help. Ishmael Beah goes through some very life changing events throughout his journey, he manages to get out of these changes but they only seem to make his life worse. Losing the people that mattered most in his life, getting enlisted into the army, and becoming a part of a new

In A Long Way Gone Ishmael uses flashbacks, symbolism, and nature motifs to illustrate the loss of his innocence. Beah’s memoir shows how he and all the other boy soldiers lost their childhood when they became a solider. At the age of 13 was the end of his childhood where he believes his childhood ended. Through the whole book he tries to use his memories as comfort and a reminder that he is still a child no matter the situation.

Ishmael Beah was an ordinary twelve year old boy from Sierra Leone, until one night changed his entire life. The author of A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy soldier is Ishmael Beah himself because he wanted to portray his life journey for readers to understand what life is like for children fighting to survive during warfare. Also, going through trauma is never easy, but however it's one of the only ways people can learn from their mistakes and prevent them from happening in future generations. It's best for people to speak up about their experiences like Elie Wiesel did in writing Night so no one ever doubts anything that actually happen. This young teenage boy converts into this cold blooded killer into a person committing himself to the survival of others Ishmael Beah transformed from an ordinary twelve year old boy, into an enraged killing soldier and then to a man that speaks up for children affected by these wars.