Ishmael Beah

Imagine living in your neighborhood, when suddenly, a group of armed children with assault rifles begin destroying buildings and killing innocent people. This is the story of Ishmael Beah. The three most difficult aspects of ishmael’s journey was the constant hunger, use of drugs, and death. Ishmael's story begins in the war torn African country known as Sierra Leone.

The most consistent, overwhelming difficulty of ishmael's journey is hunger. Because Ishmael was constantly traveling, and villages were constantly being raided, finding food was a difficult endeavour. Ishmael's first encounter with hunger occurs on page 27 when he is traveling with a group of 6 friends. Ishmael remembers: “We got hungrier day after day, to the point that our stomachs were hurting and our visions were blurred.” In this passage, Ishmael struggles to continue walking such extreme distances on an

empty stomach. This struggle reveals that regardless of his pain and hunger, Ishmael had no choice but to continue walking if he wanted to survive.Another example of Ishmael’s hunger occurs on page 30 when Ishmael is experiencing the physical pain of starvation. The text says: “We were so hungry that it hurt to drink water and we felt cramps in our guts.” Again we see the immense struggle Ishmael endures on a daily basis. In order to overcome this difficulty, Ishmael had to ignore the pain and focus on his desire to find his family. Ultimately, this difficulty is significant because it reveals inner will; had he let the hunger overcome him, he would have dread he was 13.

Another consistent and overwhelming difficulty of Ishmael’s journey is a constant use of drugs. Ishmael first encounters drugs on page 121 when he is given brown, brown and cocaine by a soldier. Ishmael remembers “My body shook, my sight became blurred, and I lost hearing for several minutes. In this passage, Ishmael struggles to stay awake and focused.The drugs keep him up at night by giving him a large amount of energy. This makes it difficult to stay awake without the drugs. This struggle reveals the effects that drugs have on the brain and body. Another example can be found on pages 121-122 when Ishmael is watching the movie Rambo with his squad. “When we ran out of food, drugs and gasoline to watch films, we raided rebel camps, in towns, villages, and forests. Again we see the effects and stress that drugs put on a person's mind. In order to overcome this difficulty, Ishmael had to attend rehab and control his anger and urge to kill. Ultimately, this difficulty is significant because it reveals how doing drugs had pretty much completely turned Ishmael into a whole different person.

One more consistent and overwhelming aspect if Ishmael's journey is the constant feeling of being alone.

Ishmael’s first encounter with being alone begins on page 49 when Ishmael is walking on his own now. Ishmael remembers “I walked for two days without sleeping… Often my shadow would scare me and cause me to run for miles.” In this passage, Ishmael struggles to survive and stay sane on his own. This struggle reveals that even though Ishmael was alone for nearly a month straight with no idea of his whereabouts, he kept pushing forward. Another example can also be found on pages 50-51 when Ishmael is lost looking for something to eat. “Along the spring there were several trees with ripe fruit that i had never seen… I decided to try some of it, since it was the edible thing around. Again we see Ishmael trying his hardest to survive. In order to overcome this difficulty, Ishmael had to eat whatever he could and travel onward to find civilization. Ultimately, this difficulty is significant because it shows how much courage Ishmael had to leave his friends and wander out into the middle of

nowhere.

Overall, Ishmael had pushed himself insanely far. He had lost everything from his home, friends, family and even himself at one point. Ishmael really does have a ton of courage to get to where he is now, Even to this day he wonders why he was the one to live rather than anyone else he knew.