A Long Way Gone
In this essay I’m going to be discussing three themes from the novel A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah. The three themes I am going to be talking about are survival, family, and war. There are many themes in this novel, but I believe these are the three most important ones. I will explain each theme, give quotes from the book showing the theme and then explain how they are significant and show the theme.
In A Long Way Gone, A big part of the story is Ishmael explaining what he and his friends had to do to stay alive through the civil war. This is showing the theme, survival. Survival is to show that it wasn’t easy for him, or for anyone. Everyone was scared the might die, which caused people to do irrational things. This
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Junior gave me his bucket, took my empty one, and returned to the river. When he came home, the first thing he did was ask me if I was hurt from falling. I told him I was fine, but he examined my knees and elbows anyways, and when he was done, he tickled me.” (pg. 39) This shows the theme because Junior, his older brother, didn’t learn any magic, but he wanted to keep Ishmael’s imagination running, and give him something to believe in. When Ishmael fell, It was obvious that Junior cared deeply about his younger brother and wanted to make sure he was okay after falling. Another example of family as a theme is towards the end of the book, when Ishmael is talking about when he was seven. He wrote, “Pa Sesay, one of my friends’ grandfather, had told us many stories that night, but before he began telling the last story, he repeatedly said ‘This is a very important story.’... ‘There was a hunter who went into the bush to kill a monkey. He had looked for only a few minutes when he saw a monkey sitting comfortably in the branch of a low tree. The monkey didn’t pay him any attention, not even when his footsteps on the dried leaves rose and fell as he neared. When he was close enough and behind a tree where he could clearly see the monkey, he raised his rifle and aimed. Just when he was about to pull the trigger, the monkey spoke: ‘If you shoot me, your mother will die, and if you don't, your father will die.’...’What would you do if you
A long way gone by Ishmael Beah, attempts to evoke a powerful response from the leader, by using vivid descriptions to show how he has become emotionally traumatized by the acts of violence in the war. The reader then sympathizes with Ishmael and begins to understand the lasting and deep, emotional pain that Ishmael deals with on a daily basis.
The second theme is: there is always Hope. In spite of all the terrible events in Ishmael’s life, he finds a way to overcome everything and find love again and meaning to his existence again.
The book A Long Way Gone, was an honest book. It showed the struggles of war and what it does to a person. The story of Ishmael Beah is a valuable one, full of love, struggle, family and violence. One of the things that is great about this book, is that it shows a clear progression of Ishmael’s character, from a sweet young boy, to a hardened young man You can see is innocence being slowly ripped away by the military, who forced him to smoke gunpowder and massacre villages. He is a real role model for kids who are struggling to get through something. If this boy can get through a war and survive, then you can get through this! The thing I didn’t like about it is the violence. They could have gotten away with not showing a baby being cut out
The social issue in A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, affects the main character Ishmael Beah by forcing him into bad situations and away from his family. Ishmael went through so much because of the social issue. In the text it states,” It was during that attack in the village of Kamator that my friends and I separated. It was the last time I saw Junior, my older brother.” (Beah 43).
A Long way Gone, written by Ishmael Beah is a memoir that exposes the reader to a part of the world a majority of people know almost nothing about. An area where life is cut short by conflict and a blatant disregard for the value human life. Where Mothers lose their sons, families lose their homes and people lose their sense of morality. Yet, through these struggles, the resilience of the human spirit and psyche is exposed. Ishmael, through many points in his life was challenged physically, mentally, emotionally and was extremely close to being defeated; changed from the innocent boy he once was into a fiend. Important lessons can be learned from this struggle; Even the worst challenges can be overcome, we should value all that we have because it can all be taken away and also that there is much good and evil in the world we live in.
You’ve probably heard of many famous wars like World War 1 and World War 11. What about the wars that aren’t so known but still have huge effects on people? In Ishmael Beah’s memoir, “A Long Way Gone”, every choice he makes decides life or death. Ishmael goes from a normal life in Sierra Leone to being on the run to survive the war. The struggle to survive makes Ishmael who he is after the war and how he matures through the war.
A prominent theme in A Long Way Gone is about the loss of innocence from the involvement in the war. A Long Way Gone is the memoir of a young boy, Ishmael Beah, wanders in Sierra Leone who struggles for survival. Hoping to survive, he ended up raiding villages from the rebels and killing everyone. One theme in A long Way Gone is that war give innocent people the lust for revenge, destroys childhood and war became part of their daily life.
I'm going to go over three different reasons for why A Long Way Gone is eye opening and how Ishamel gains wisdom throughout his experiences. The beginning of a boy soldier. During the first stages of going into war, Ishmael knew how to survive. Firstly, the military fed him very well so
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.
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
I read the novel A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. Based on the title, I expected an autobiography of a child who has seen and experienced war and struggles to reverse the effects of the war. 4.) Five Major characters: Ishmael Beah: Ishmael is the protagonist and the author of the novel. Ishmael serves for the Armed Services of Sierra Leone against the RUF out of revenge for the death of his family.
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
Hope enables people to move on by providing the thought that maybe tomorrow’s events will be better than today’s. Hope is a theme that remains constant in every part of A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. Ishmael begins the novel optimistic, believing he will find his family again. This optimism is later lost when Ishmael is recruited by the army to fight against the rebels, causing him to become addicted to drugs and the thrill of killing. Three years after his recruitment, Ishmael is rescued by UNICEF-a group dedicated to rehabilitating child soldiers. During his rehabilitation, Ishmael discovers hope once more by relearning how to trust, love, and have the will to survive. The presence of hope throughout A Long Way Gone enables Ishmael to
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
The connection from this to, “A Long Way Gone”, is surviving the dangers of war. Ishmael Baeh ran from soldiers, rebels, and even wild boars. He hid in the woods and moved from town to town. When he became a soldier he could have died