Changes In A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

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.

On page 184 he says, “A memory of a town we attacked during a school dance had been triggered. I could hear the terrified cries of teachers and students, could see the blood cover the dance floor.” (184). Also on 190 he describes, “Standing next to a tree with red frozen sap on its bark would bring flashbacks of the many times we executed prisoners by tying them to the trees and shooting them. Their blood stained the trees and never washed off.” (190). While Ishmael has been rehabilitated certain parts of life now trigger his gruesome memories. Such as getting firewood with his cousins and seeing the trees with red frozen sap, and being on the dance floor with Allie. Ishmael while he does still get flashbacks is for the most part fully recovered. In this chapter the transition to the United States was frustrating for Ishmael. Many people made him aggravated by the things they said or did. On page 187 he says after his interview to go to the U.N, “I still wondered why the man who had interviewed me had smiled. I meant what I said and it was not a funny matter.” (187). 2.Why does Ishmael become so frustrated with people who are unaware and just trying to do their

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.

“Things will change rapidly in a matter of seconds and no one had any control over anything” (Beah p.29). Long way gone is about the life of Ishmael Beah in which he experienced difficult tasks during a civil war and how it reshaped his life. “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” (Beah p.69) I recommend reading this book because it is based on real life events, it captures your attention and gives you a life lesson.

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.

Ishmael Beah shows many different traits in “A Long Way Gone”. Ishmael is a victim and a victimizer. War can make you do many things. It can make you do good things and it can make you do bad things. War can do good things for you and bad things to you. War can change how you think and act. It can change your morals. War does many things to people. Ishmael was a victim, because his family was killed from it. And his whole childhood was messed up from it. All his innocence was taken away he had to grow up fast. It turned him into a survivor. The war also turned a kid into a killer. It turned into a kid who would never hurt a fly into a person who enjoys torturing people. War changed ishmael into a victimiser, because he tortured people instead

Being around family again triggers memories from when he had his family and was able to play soccer with his friends. He explains, “Standing there with my family, I felt light, as if I was getting ready to fly. I wanted to hold the moment longer, not only to celebrate our victory, but because the smile on my parents’ faces that evening made me so happy I felt every nerve in my body had awoken and swayed to the gentlest wind that sailed within me” (pg 102). Ishmael ended up distancing himself from activities that reminded him of the past. The dreams were too much to handle and he did everything he could do to distract himself.

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

How the old times were when they were all together. Ishmael felt as if “ (he) was losing everyone, (his) family, (his) friends” since he didn't know where his family was and his friend had died (Beah 45). He had forgotten what it meant to be safe, what it was like to feel loved by those you call family and friends, but with the war, everything was the opposite. It seems as if everyone was afraid, with no time to feel loved, just pure darkness trying to get to people. The only thing Beah wanted was to be around his family and feel safer with them instead of being alone.

Since the beginning of A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, the protagonist of the novel Ishmael endeavors to flee from the hardships enkindled by the RUF rebel organization that has amalgamated the country of Sierra Leone, officially making it a war zone. Furthermore, for over 2 years, Ishmael has been on the run as “lone wolf”, moving from one village to the other, escaping near death situations. Self-determination was one of the reasons for such bravery, but it was also due to specific objects that helped Ishmael pursue freedom. The central themes of the novel A Long Way Gone are the theme of freedom and oppression. Seemingly, the central themes are distinguished by objects that Ishmael symbolizes, these include the moon, the rap cassette, and

Ishmael's first war experience as a soldier is altering. At first, he is sickened by the experience, but he quickly becomes accustomed to gunshots and blood surrounding him. The description of his first war is a surreal experience: his vision is blurred and he often can't hear anything among the overwhelming noise. Like the other soldiers, Ishmael relies on drugs to power him through his duties. He begins smoking marijuana along with taking the white energy pills.

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

“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

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