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. Other lines from the song that contributes to the memoir is, “Ended up on a crossroad Try to figure out which way to go. It's like you're stuck on a treadmill. Running in the same place” These lines can relate …show more content…
to the book due to the fact that Ishmael was lost. He didn’t where he was and he didn’t know where he was going. Ishmael was stuck in a deserted place where almost everyone is killed by the soldiers. His hope was low and he was getting tired. Ishmael was starving; no food and no water. He wants to go to Sierra Leone, he went through deserts, forests, cities, etc. However, at the end he ended up in Sierra Leone through a myriad of trouble. The lines, “ You got your hazard lights on now.
Hoping that somebody would slow down. Praying for a miracle. Who'll show you grace?. Had a couple dollars..” These lines relate to the story by it indicates how careful Ishmael Beah was and he was praying and wishing for some good luck and hope would have happened. Ishmael may have sometimes wished that he would see some of his old friends or even people somewhat is age to help him out. Go on this journey to Sierra Leone together. Not just him going by himself. According to the text, he states, “One thing about being lonesome is that you think too much, especially when there isn’t much else you can do. I didn’t like this and I tried to stop myself from thinking, but nothing seemed to work. I decided to just ignore every thought that came to my head, because it brought too much sadness.” He states that him being by himself for a while makes him think something sad that would bring his hopes down. Ishmael Beah also was moneyless. He didn’t have much money, maybe only a few coins. But, you wouldn’t be able to buy anything due to the fact that there was nothing to
buy. Another line are “God sent an angel to help us out, yeah.He gave us direction, showed us how to make it last. For that long journey ahead.” These lines also relates with the story by when Ishmael met some of his old friends from his school ( God sent an angel to help us out. He gave us direction ) that helped him not be so lonely and lost. This can be seen when it states, “ There were six boys, and three of them, Alhaji, Musa, and Kanei, had attended Centennial Secondary School with me in Mattru Jong.” All 7 of the kids didn’t have to be lonely anymore when they have each other. They help each other get to their places where it is safe. The song, “Life is Worth Living”, by Justin Bieber gives a strong meaning to the book, “A Long Way Gone”, by Ishmael Beah and to me. The reason for that is because this song tells me that we shouldn’t give up on life that fast. Sometimes if somebody made a mistake, we should always give that person a second chance. Also, this song makes me realize that what I have right now, not everybody has. I should be grateful and appreciate what I have.
What can you predict about the story from the back and front cover of the book?
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.
The book is based on actual events and is expressed through a personal point of view. Ishmael wrote a memoir that tells the story of a young boy who is torn from his peaceful life, and then forced into a frightening world of drugs and slavery. In writing about his experiences, he has made the decision to present his experiences in a particular way by missing out details and recounting others. This along with the language used and the order, in which the events are disclosed, all serve to create a particular interpretation and to guide the reader to respond in a particular way.
As a child, Ishmael Beah seemed like he was playful, curious, and adventurous. He had a family that loved him, and he had friends that supported him. Before the war, Ishmael had a childhood that was similar to most of the children in the United States. Unfortunately, the love and support Ishmael grew accustom to quickly vanished. His childhood and his innocence abruptly ended when he was forced to grow up due to the Sierra Leone Civil War. In 1991, Ishmael thought about survival rather than trivial things. Where was he going to go? What was he going to eat? Was he going to make it out of the war alive? The former questions were the thoughts that occupied Ishmaels mind. Despite his efforts, Ishmael became an unwilling participant in the war. At the age of thirteen, he became a
Ishmael was taken from Africa at a young age and was sold to a zoo then a traveling carnival. Ishmael was bought by Walter Sokolow, a Jewish man whom had lost his family during the Holocaust. Not long after being purchased Ishmael learned to telepathically communicate with Walter. Mr. Sokolow brought Ishmael many books so he would be able to educate himself. Ishmael’s studies began with captivity but soon he became more interested in human nature. Upon Mr. Sokolow’s death Ishmael lived mostly independently in the city, with the help of the late Mr. Sokolow’s butler, Mr. Partridge. After all Ishmael has learned through his readings he seeks out students to help spread his knowledge. (Quinn, 1995)
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
“I can sing a true song about myself, tell of my travels” (Line 1-2) and in this lyric poem
Throughout the course of A Long Way Gone, we see Ishmael going through a number of hardships. Many people would consider these difficulties overwhelming, and near impossible to overcome. However, Ishmael shows resilience and overcomes hardships all through the book and displays the human condition through these complications in his life.
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.
Life is made up of decisions and choices. Every single day, people make numerous decisions, some big and some small. Many choices can impact your entire life while others, like what you eat for breakfast, aren’t as important. However, all of your choices build the track for your life and make you who you are. The choices you make can be greatly impacted by your surroundings and environment. They are also made based on your values and beliefs. In the memoir A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, Ishmael is a young fourteen year old boy thrown in the middle of Sierra Leone's civil war. During the war, Ishmael is given a series of obstacles where he is required to make important life choices that would impact his life greatly. At one part of Ishmael's
In language of the sort one might expect from a well educated man speaking with a friend, Ishmael told Quinn the story of his life. A large portion of it was spent in captivity, before a wealthy elderly man befriended and educated him. At the end of Ishmael's tale, Quinn was still somewhat befuddled.
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.
The rap music cassettes Ishmael treasures throughout his journey symbolize the freedom he enjoyed as a child and reclaims after his escape from the war.
Child Soldiers, a major problem in Africa with an estimate of 120,000 children that are currently used as combatants or support personnel to this day. Africa has the highest rate of child soldier use and those enlisted ages are also decreasing, army groups in Africa are manipulating children to be part of a relentless army slowly taking away their childhood after each day. Two stories tell a tale of a child soldier, Ishmael Beah, the writer of the memoir “A Long Way Gone” tells a story of his time as a child soldier and the Netflix Original film and War film Beasts of No Nation tells a story of a young child named Agu becomes a child soldier. These two stories will tell a similar tale of a child’s experience in the war and how it has slowly