A Long Way Gone Summary

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“A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier” Summary In “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier”, Ishmael Beah’s life story is one of fear, horror, and tragedy. Growing up as a child soldier in Sierra Leone’s civil war brought struggles unthinkable for a teenager to bear. When the war first came into Beah’s life, it was with the sudden force of a tornado. Beah had been living in Mattru Jong without worry. He enjoyed doing things normal 12 year olds should: playing with friends, making mischief and dancing to hip hop. When rebels attacked the mining areas close to the village, havoc broke loose. Beah and his brother were separated from their family and forced to run away the village out of fear. They traveled in a small group of 6 boys for a whole year, spending each day walking through brush to find the next abandoned village in hopes of a meal. The boys were left alone with their minds, forced to cope with tragedy on their own. They still lived in fear, keeping a sharp lookout for wandering rebels and narrowly avoiding conflict with civilians who mistook them for rebels. The journey was grueling and dangerous. All of them came close to death many times. However, they couldn’t run forever. …show more content…

They were recruited into the army to fight, and quickly learned how to shoot and kill. Murdering people and going on violent raids became second nature to Beah; he lived his life without much meaning other than to fight. Beah adjusted quickly; his mind became numb as he turned into his very own nightmare. He and many other boys also became addicted to drugs, they were given a constant supply to provide adrenaline and keep their minds occupied. Beah eventually came to be promoted to Junior Lieutenant because of his readiness and seasoned way of executing

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