Analysis Of A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

Ishmael is living with haunted memories of his past. His new life without any war zone or hostility, is unfamiliar with him as was always looking over his shoulder during his time in Sierra Leone. This is causing disruption to his life and his identity due to vivid dreams constantly returning to him. “One of the unsettling things about my journey, mentally, physically, and emotionally, was that I wasn’t sure when or where it was going to end. I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life.

When Ishmael had to run away to find safety, he stated, “I walked for two days straight without sleeping. I stopped only at streams to drink water. I felt as if somebody was after me” (Beah 47). Ishmael had to find a way to survive that he is not normally used to. He has to drink any water he can find, and he can never rest because he feels as if somebody will find him and hurt him. He feels this way because the rebels from the war have killed many people just like him all over the continent and right in front of his eyes. Also, Ishmael began to feel alone when he stated, “It was during the 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). The war has not only made him have a new lifestyle, but it also took away many people that he loved away from him. During the first attack on his own village he lost his family because they all ran in different directions and never found each other again. Ishmael and his older brother, Junior, were able to stick together, but another village was attacked and they lost each other. Now Ishmael was alone and had to fight for himself with no one to guide him. Ishmael was a victim because the war caused many events to occur that affected Ishmael’s

Ishmael Beah and Grace Akallo Like hundreds if not thousands of other child soldiers, Ishmael Beah suffered the devastation of war and conflict in an African country. This country in particular is Sierra Leone, a former British colony that was left with no concrete government. The history of Sierra Leone and how the 10 year war in the country started is rarely mentioned in A Long Way Gone. Whether the historical and political aspect of the war is purposely omitted from the memoir or never explored by Ishmael Beah is never mentioned in the story.

After some time as as a child soldier Ishmael thought he had finally found his place. He

Bang! Bang! “At that instant several gunshots, which sounded like thunder striking the tin-roofed houses, took over town. The sound of guns was so terrifying it confused everyone” (Beah 23). In A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah conveys his amazing journey through war and hardship as a child soldier. Sierra Leone--a country on the western coast of Africa--was embroiled in a bloody civil war in the 1990’s. Battles multiplied as bloodshed abounded and as a child in Sierra Leone Ishmael Beah was forced to survive, find food, and face unimaginable dangers. Running from the battle front was also a routine ordeal. At age 13 Beah was captured by the military and brainwashed into using guns and drugs. As a child soldier he perpetrated and witnessed a great deal of violence. At 15 he was rescued and taken to a rehabilitation center. With time and continual treatment, Beah was able to recover, to some extent, and reconnect with his Uncle Tommy who adopted him. He was later chosen to speak to the United Nations in New York City about his experiences as a child soldier. When he returned to Sierra Leone, war broke out throughout in the city where he lived, causing many deaths including his Uncle Tommy. Eventually Beah escaped Sierra Leone and he managed to reach New York City, where he began a new life. Through Ishmael Beah’s book A Long Way Gone, he conveys a central theme of having to survive, at a young age, through the hardships of war with the use of imagery.

Ishmael's life is turned upside down when he and his friends lose their families in the attack and are forced to wander from village to village looking for food, shelter, and kindness

This is a very detrimental time during Ishmael’s life because he is still a very young boy experiencing this. The violence that the rebels exhibit, successfully terrify the people of these villages. This fear forces young boys into physical and mental slavery. They become child soldiers under the authority of the rebels of RUF. I noticed that throughout the novel, Ishmael became more cautious and paranoid.

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

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

Overall, Ishmael Beah is bright, happy, and good natured, until he is unexpectedly separated from his family, when rebel forces attacked and destroyed villages. The group of six boys continued on after there devastating journey to survive, they try several ways to escape the war enormity. The unstable teens

Overall, Ishmael Beah is bright, happy, and good natured, until he is unexpectedly separated from his family, when rebel forces attacked and destroyed villages. The group of six boys continued on after there devastating journey to survive, they try several ways to escape the war enormity. The unstable teens struggle to take on board, a terrifying journey,

Violence consumes Sierra Leone during a civil war, as well as Ishmael Beah’s childhood. This theme of war highlights itself through the events of bloodshed, gunfights, and senseless murder in Ishmael’s A Long Way Gone, but can also be seen through the hidden details of literary devices throughout the book of memoirs. To express the violence involved in his traumatic experience in Sierra Leone, Ishmael uses imagery, personification, and quotes an individual’s diction. First off, Ishmael’s use of imagery paints a vivid image in the mind of the reader.

Despite the violence caused by the children, one of the staffers, Nurse Esther, becomes interested in Ishmael, learning about his childhood love of rap music. As a gift Esther gets him a rap cassette and Walkman, when she takes Ishmael and his friend Alhaji to the city. It is through this connection and his numerous counseling experiences with Esther that Ishmael eventually turns away from his violent self and starts to heal from his mental wounds.

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

Ishmael became addicted to the drugs and became numb to everything around him. He would spend all of his time watching war movies, being on the front lines, or doing drugs. At this point Ishmael thought this was normal. Something that Ishmael did not realize is that he was no better than the rebels. He and his unit would kill civilians and ransack villages.