In Ishmael Beah’s A Long Way Gone, it tells the story of a young boy who has experienced what no child should have lived or experienced, the life of a child soldier. He has dealt with many emotions such as anger and sadness that many of us have gone through whether or not it is the same circumstance. We, as humans, have the same ability to feel emotions. Ishmael and I have many things in common but we also have many differences that makes us so far apart. Our tradition, culture, and morals separates us from one another but the emotions and experiences that we both have, helps us connect to Ishmael in a way that other people may not have. Throughout his time during the war, he develops a way to suppress all of his feelings and emotions to survive. …show more content…
He shows how he felt when he says, “ I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life. I felt that I was starting over and over again. I was always on the move, always going somewhere. ”(69). This shows the endless cycle of feeling that there was nothing more than survival. I have felt that I have had the same experience. It was about the end of my freshman year in high school that I had felt like I didn’t know what I was doing with my life. I just went with everything, mindlessly, as if I was just a puppet that is being controlled by the expectations of others and consumed by the roles of an authority. I felt as if I had no choice but to follow and each time I had wanted to do something out of the norms, it just leads back to me restarting the whole cycle again, over and over. I also know that time will never stop and …show more content…
He didn’t think that there was any family members after the war which could have resulted to him being sent back to the field because of the actions he may have done if not for the feeling of comfort from his family and friends. My parents never were at home because of work shifts and growing up with that in mind, I didn’t really have a good connection with my family. I thought I didn’t have anyone to talk to nor did I have many friends to talk to. It left me confused and skeptical when someone had shown time after time again that they have been there for me, I didn’t know how to react. After getting used to the fact that there are people who will care and listen to me, I embraced it. I have always been an introvert but after sophomore year. I decided that it was okay to be who I am. It was okay to take risks. It was okay to show that I’m capable. It was okay to just be me. I never thought it was going to happen but it did because of the people that have been there by my side. It gave me the sense of comfort and happiness that I have longed for in a long time and made me feel at home just like Ishmael had felt when he was with his family eating at the
Throughout the book the audience has seen Ishmael go through adventure and sorrow. In the novel Ishmael is forced to go to war at age thirteen, but what keeps him going were his grandmother's wise words. His grandmother was the one who told him powerful lessons that he could use in real life. These lesson that Ishmael is keeping him grounded is not only from his grandmother but also from his friends. Lessons that were seen by the readers are “wild pigs”, “Bra Spider”, and the story about the moon.
Ishmael was a normal 12 year old boy in a small village in Sierra Leone when his life took a dramatic turn and he was forced into a war. War has very serious side effects for all involved and definitely affected the way Ishmael views the world today. He endured and saw stuff that most people will never see in a lifetime let alone as a young child. Ishmael was shaped between the forced use of drugs, the long road to recovery and the loss of innocence of his
Throughout the course of this novel, Ishmael Beah keeps the readers on the edge of their seat by incorporating interchanging tones. At the beginning of the novel, the tone can be depicted as naïve, for Beah was unaware to what was actually occurring with the rebels. Eventually, the tone shifts to being very cynical and dark when he depicts the fighting he has endured both physically and mentally. However, the most game changing tone is towards the end of the novel in chapters nineteen and twenty. His tone can be understood as independent or prevailing. It can be portrayed as independent because Beah learns how to survive on his own and to take care of himself. At the same time, it is perceived as prevailing and uplifting because Beah was able to demonstrate that there is hope. Later in the novel, Beah travels to
Ishmael was taken from the wild and held captive in a zoo, a circus, and a gazebo. During his time in various types of captivity, Ishmael was able to develop a sense of self and a better understanding of the world around him. Ishmael states that the narrator and those who share the same culture are “captives of a civilizational system that more or less compels you to go on destroying the world in order live” (Quinn, 15). He goes to explain that releasing humanity from captivity is crucial for survival, but humans are unable to see the bars of the cage. Using the cage as a metaphor, Quinn is referring to human culture and how they do not see the harm it’s causing. As the novel progresses, it elaborates on how culture came about and why certain people inherit certain cultures. Ishmael refers to a story as the explanation of the relationship between humans, the world and the gods. He defines to enact is to live as if the story is a reality. Ishmael suggest that humans are captives of story, comparing them to the people of Nazi Germany who were held captive by Hitler’s
In the book A Long Way Gone written by Ishmael Beah, Ishmael survives and describes his journey while at war. Ishmael was a 13 year old who is forced to become a child soldier. He struggles through a variety of problems. In his journey, he was separated from his family and mostly running for his life. Later on, he has no problem killing people and picking up his gun. In fact, anyone can be evil at any certain time with kids changing, getting drugged, and going back to war.
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 have an ability to move on and a will to survive that he lacks when he loses hope.
At the rehabilitation center, Ishmael hears that an uncle he never knew about has offered Ishmael a home with him in Freetown. There is Ishmael is welcomed by his uncle, his aunt and all of his cousins and then begins to adapt to finally having a family he cares about and being far away from the war. When living with his uncle, Ishmael makes another acquaintance, Laura Simms, when he goes to New York to speak about the problems child soldiers face. Shortly after returning to Sierra Leone, the civil war reaches Freetown. The entire town is in chaos and no one dares to venture out of their homes for fear the rebels or the military could kill them. It is at this time when Ishmael suffers another loss; the death of his uncle. After his uncle dies, Ishmael decides to escape Sierra Leone, in order to evade the military. If I was in this situation, I feel that I probably would have not left Sierra Leone as quickly as Ishmael did. Ishmael made an impulsive decision that I wouldn’t have made because I am not able to make choices quickly. Furthermore, in his situation, I feel that the thought of fleeing Sierra Leone would have been on my mind but I wouldn’t have had enough courage to go through with the plan. As a sixteen year old boy, I would have been to scared to try to escape the country illegally because of the repercussions I might face if I was caught. Even if I did leave the country, I wouldn’t have left my grieving aunt and cousins by themselves, right after they just lost one person. Ishmael made the choice to escape the country because he was too afraid that he was going to be found by someone who knew him when he was in the military. That would have been a big concern for me too, but I would also feel that I wouldn’t have the strength to leave the family that I had just recently gained. For me, family is
The transition of Ishmael Baeh, from innocent child to a soldier with the blood of his countrymen on his hands, is chronicled in his memoir through the usage of flashbacks that explain his memories. In the beginning of the memo...
This is at core a pitiful story which encompasses of ruthlessness and miseries endured by Ishmael Beah. All the trials in this story are chronologically prescribed and heart sobbing, in which a person who reads can in time weep while interpreting.
“His life was not confining and the delight he took in this observation could not be explained.” (Cheever 216) He had a perfect family, high social status and very few problems in his life, or so he thought. His life is so wonderful that anything objectionable is repressed. Not until he takes the “journey” into realization, where he learns through others that his life has fallen apart.
In the book “A long way gone” written by Ishamel Beah, the main character transforms from being an innocent child into a hungry and thirsty survivalist that is capable of more than one could imagine. This highlights one of the biggest fears assumed with the war. No matter how innocent and gentle a person can be, once he is placed in the context of a war, his mind can completely switch to being a survivalist and that often leads to a transformation into a very brutal person that bases his life around basic survival needs. One of the examples of the transformation could be traced in the part when Ishamel end up being alone because he was split up from his friend and realises that isolation from people would make him safer however isolation also
The book, “ A Long Way Gone”, by Ishmael Beah, music played an important role in Ishmael's life. One song that I can relate to this book is “Life is Worth Living” by Justin Bieber. Some of the lyrics in their somewhat contributes to parts of Ishmael’s life. Justin Bieber’s song indicates that your life isn’t that bad and you should have hope. You should not give up continue on even though you have made a silly mistake today. “People make mistakes, doesn't mean you have to give in. Life is worth living again.” In the book, Ishmael tries to continue even though every day he fears of being killed or dying of starvation. Yet, Ishmael still continues.
He feels like he is the only person who questions life and knows that it was not meant to be this way. Also, this quote sets a dark setting which then gives the reader an ominous feeling that is present throughout the novel. This also is related to the dark and dismal lives that everyone lives during this time. Finally, the main character describes his surroundings as a prison, or that it gives a prison-like feel. This also is related to how he feels different and trapped in this way of life.
...is interactions with his wife are filled with tension and he is saddened when he reflects upon the men lost during war and the death of his brother.
"Different emotions battled for dominance in his mind and heart. Confusion. Curiosity. Panic. Fear. But laced through it all was the dark feeling of utter hopelessness..."(Dashner, page #(chapter 2 paragraph 11)