A Long Way Gone Analysis Essay

A Long Way Gone is a novel written in first person point of view by Ishmael Beah, as a child soldier who learned how to survive independently. The author uses figurative language and detailed descriptions to create realistic images, using the five senses. Ishmael’s use of words creates a vivid picture in the reader’s mind, so they can see and feel what Ishmael experienced.
Ishmael is a young boy who lives in Mogbwemo, Sierra Leone and loves rap music. However, the peace didn't last, a war broke out unexpectedly in his village and was led by the rebels. Therefore, Ishmael, his brother, and his friends had to find a way to escape from the rebels. Unfortunately, he lost his family and friends along the way. Since Ishmael experienced many difficulties as he learned how to be independent. As a result, he became a soldier in an army to avenge for his family and friends by being brainwashed rebel-killing machine on drugs. In Ishmael’s perspective, being a soldier for a few years felt like forever. In his thoughts, the army was like his family until he was sent to a rehabilitation in Freetown. Initially, he struggled to get over the drugs and horrible nightmares, but with

the help of Esther, his friends, and Uncle Tommy, he began to slowly regain his normal self. After an interview in New York, he returns to Freetown to notice that the war had also reached the city. Ishmael then, fear of becoming a soldier again and being killed by his former army friends, refused and took a leave to Guinea.
When Ishmael visited his family in Mattru Jong, he described the horrific scenes that caught his attention through figurative language. Ishmael’s experience of the war was scary as he described, “At that instant several gunshots, which sounded like thunder striking the tin-roofed houses, took over the town. The sounds of the guns was so terrifying it confused everyone..In a matter of seconds, people started screaming and running in different directions, pushing and trampling on whoever had fallen on the ground” (Beah 23). This quote refers to Ishmael when he had first seen the war, which it was terrifying to him. For example, when the Rwandan war began, many didn’t expect for it to happen, but had to run in order to stay alive, hoping to see that their families are safe. The same goes for Ishmael, we can imagine how hard it was for him to accept the war.
As the story progressed, Ishmael used details to describe his experience of survival. Fortunately, he ran into his old friends, whom he had met in secondary school and decided to stick together as a group in order to survive. Ishmael and his friends were punished by unknown villagers, due to fear that they were rebels. Not for long, their feet ached due to barefoot walking through the hot, burning sand, and he fussed, “I felt the sand particles digging into my bleeding soles..Hesitantly, I looked under my feet. Peeled flesh hung down and congealed blocks of blood and particles of sand clung to each hanging bit of skin. It looked as if someone had literally used a blade to cut the flesh under my feet from the heels to the toes (Beah 61). As much as I love A Long Way Gone, Ishmael is very detailed about what he experienced. The descriptions seem like it was to come alive as you repeatedly read it over again and again. I too, could feel the pain he had if I were him.
As Ishmael and his friends continued, they witnessed an awful scenery, which is described through the author’s word choice. Along the way, they met Gasemu who led the young teens into the village where their families could be found. As they came closer, they noticed the village was being attacked by the rebels. Ishmael described the scene stating, “Part of me was on the way to the village, the other patiently waited on the hill..A thick smoke started rising from the village. At the top of it, sparks of flames leapt up into the air. The children wailed, men screamed at high pitches that pierced through the forest and covered the shrieks of women. The gunshots finally ceased, and the world was very quiet, as if it were listening (Beah 93). Beah’s word choice is quite unique because when I first read these lines, I could see the horrible experience that he sees as if I was there with him. Finally. Beah’s story concludes that he is safe and he's in New York, freely from the long experiences of the war.
Overall, A Long Way Gone is a novel that includes a variety of descriptive imagery, which a reader can picture it as they read along.

This novel not just only uses figurative language to let the reader’s mind imagine, but it also includes strong word choice. In other words, I would recommend this novel to everyone with any interest because this book allows the audience to sympathize with the author as they read along. Survival, revenge, and family were important to Ishmael. Personally, I would have agreed to take the same actions as Ishmael did and you would too. No matter what choices you choose in life, it's up to you. Like one had said, “If you want to succeed as much as you want to breathe, you'll succeed.” Without the experiences and failures, there's no success, which Ishmael

accomplised.