Themes and Symbols When we first started reading this book and talking about it in class the fact that it was a memoir made me question if there really would be themes and symbols in it. I was interested to find that rather than making it harder to find themes and symbols, the fact that the book was a memoir made them more prominent. Themes Family One of the most important themes in the book was family. Ishmael went from having a normal family to being stranded alone in the forrest with no one, and everything in between. After his village is taken over by the rebels he is alone for a long time. His solitary life takes a tole on him. "The most difficult part of being in the forest was the loneliness. It became unbearable each day. One things …show more content…
This is one of the best examples of the family theme because it shows that you don't have to be blood related to be a family. As Ishmael continues his journey he finds that this is true in many other situations. Even after the boys were separated and Ishmael became a soldier, family was still important. He grew close to the other soldiers that he was fighting with; they became his family. Overall, the theme of family was a big part of the book. The importance of family and the idea that anyone one can be family whether they are really related or not was something that really made an impact on me. Childhood The other theme that really made an impact on me was the idea of childhood and how important it is. Throughout this book you see Ishmael's childhood taken away from him. He goes from being a carefree boy to a man before he even has time to realize what is happening. The responsibility of war takes such a tole on him that he gets migraines and suffers with insomnia for a long time after he is taken out of the war. He is forced to grow up so fast that his mind and even his body is affected. This theme is really important because I think it is a message for the world.
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.
He realized that the time he is living in is “every man for himself.” Even if the little boy was not any trouble, Ishmael realized that if he ended up caring for the boy; in a dangerous
Another example of this theme being relevant in this book would be Cassie going to get Crisco when the soldiers arrived at their refugee. Cassie’s father told her to go get Crisco so that they could all be saved. When she does this, the soldier shoots Crisco but now Cassie is by the woods and has a greater chance of escaping. Cassie escapes but sees her father get killed. Seeing her father murdered by the soldiers drives her to grow up and realize that Sam could actually be in danger.
The book supports the theme of sudden life changes when Ishmael involuntarily experiences many traumatic events that he would have never had to if it weren’t for the rebels. The things he must endure and witness greatly take a toll on him, both physically and mentally: “I liked busying myself. It was the only way I could distract myself from the thoughts that were giving me severe headaches” (Beah, 102). This quote shows that Ishmael’s mental and internal anguish is so bad that it starts to manifest itself as physically painful symptoms. One of the most traumatic things Ishmael had to go through was becoming separated from his family whenever the rebels came, but eventually, he heard word that they were alive.
These experiences before the war, during the war, and after the war all change his perspective on life and how he copes during and after traumatic situations. Ishmael values family and friends throughout this memoir, with each view on family changing as he is exposed to love and hate. Ishmael thrives off family, and finds comfort in any situation he finds himself in. He finds comfort in his mother, father, brother, and friends before the war, but also finds family and comfort during the war with his squad, gun, and drugs. After his experiences in the war, he finds comfort in Esther and his new family who love and care for him the way his mother and brother loved him before the war.
Ishmael starts off the story by talking about the war that is taking place in his country and about his rap group he is participating in. He begins to explain to the reader how he learned about rap and why he loves it so much. Ishmael, his brother Junior, and Talloi take a road trip to Mattru Jong to participate in a talent show, but stop at there Grandmothers house on the way. In chapter two, Ishmael is having a nightmare, where he is pushing a wheelbarrow through a cemetery that is holding dead bodies. He wakes up from his dream and is living in his present day life, Ishmael thinks back on when he was carrying a Ak-47 killing villagers for food. He hates both thoughts. The next chapter consists of the three boys staying with their friends waiting to hear from their parents. A
The book Ishmael, was very eye-opening in the way that I look at the world and it was able to give me a whole new perspective. There were many themes that were incorporated into the book, but there were three themes that really stood out to me. Captivity, civilization, and the inherent goodness of man are all major themes that need to be addressed.
From my conclusions, I would say that the theme for this book is the relationship between father and son, loss of faith, and silence. Eliezer writes about terrible incidents in which even the close bond between him and his father break down. At Buna he sees a boy of about thirteen beating his father because the man had not made his bed properly. On the last train journey to Buchenwald, when a man takes some bread that has been thrown into the wagon, his son snatches the bread from him. The inhuman treatment of the Nazis ruined the lives of these Jews. Even though everyone around them is acting that way Eliezer and his father take care of each other. They have their up and downs but they did not lose their humanity. When his father got very
In a Long Way Gone shows the sanctity of life, a theme where all lives are meaningful and should be cherished.Ishmael and his friends go to a village and see an old man “I will not be alive to see the end of this war” (74) the old man says.The old man says this because he knows he will die and he wants the kids to survive and draws them a map to another village.The old man saving young lives he helped Ishmael beah and his friends so they could live then erases the map so no one else could follow them.The Lieutenant says “When the lieutenant picked me, I stared at his face, but he ignored me”(157) Ishmael falls in line,This relates to the theme because the lieutenant is saving Ishmael's life.A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah show the sanctity of life by saving innocent lives,but they're loss of innocence.
A Long Way gone is a memoir about Ishmael Beah’s life before and after he was a child soldier. It took a toll on his life when his village was invaded by the rebel soldiers. His family was taken his mom and his little brother everything he had and known was ripped from his reach. Ishmael was a good kid and was kind because of the people around him his community shaped into the person he was when he lived there. He had a good place and had been surround by good people all of his life so it was easy for him to be happy just like the people around him.
Violence is almost everywhere around the world. It is somewhat unavoidable in life. In the memoir A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, Ishmael experiences numerous severe and frightful demonstrations of violence in various ways. These cases of violence scar his life for quite a while, however there are some learning focuses that come extremely close to violence. A few things that stem from the effects of Ishmael's fierce encounters are, repulsiveness of memories, posttraumatic stress disorder and a loss of innocence.
In the beginning Ishmael has somewhat of a normal family even though his parents are divorced. Then as soon as the War breaks out his family is a group of boys and his brother. The group of boys become family because they rely on each other to stay alive. Then the group of boys gets split up and Ishmael never see a single one of his immediate family ever again. Next, Ishmael joins a different group of boys that
There is a very old saying of violence is never the answer. In the book a long way gone, Ishmael Beah has experienced multiple encounters with violence. The theme of violence is seen in multiple ways due to it being a major theme in the novel. This violence could be portrayed in a physical or psychological sense. The choices that Ishmael has taken has changed his life from a happy little kid in his village to a killing machine when he chose to be a child soldier.
Ishmael Beah had a really tough life throughout his childhood and teenage years. In his literary work, A Long Way
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