Similarities Between A Long Way Gone And The Bite Of The Mango

In order to fully appreciate and comprehend the themes presented in a pair of novels, a reader must be able to interpret and present both the similarities and differences in each book. In this instance, the pair of novels that call for inspection are A Long Way Gone and The Bite of the Mango. Both novels present an obviously similar beginning setting; however, this does not limit the comparisons (as well as other similarities) that arise as each protagonist progressed through their harrowing experience. Therefore, further inspection of both A Long Way Gone and The Bite of the Mango proves not only the most important similarities present in each book, but also the notable differences.

Initially, the stark difference presented when examining both novels is the difference in genders. The author of A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah, is a boy born and raised in a remote, but thriving village, located within the Bonthe District in Sierra Leone (“A Former Child,” Par. 5). Among the confusion, violence, and uncertainty of the war, Beah as well as his friendly, boy companions find a great amount of hostility and mistrust when approaching other villages in hopes of food and shelter. Eventually, Beah and his companions and employed by the army, due to the shortage of able, grown men. This conscription would later change the boys into killing machines, capable of

committing and witnessing unspeakable atrocities.
Alternatively, the author of The Bite of the Mango, Mariatu Kamara, is a girl born in the village of Magborou, a quaint village located in Western Sierra Leone (Gardner, Par. 1). Due to her gender, Kamara suffers from a handicap early into her adventure. Falling within the dreadful category as a girl and a child, Kamara remained defenseless in the face of her antagonists. Such inability to protect herself would lead her to losing her hands, as well as being raped. These consequences would in turn play a major part in Kamara being considered a cast off.
Moreover, further reading surfaces the evident differences in roles each protagonist plays throughout the course of their survival. Ishmael Beah, playing the role of a boy soldier, enters the army as an anxious, petrified boy, much like his companions. However, upon receiving a hasty week of training, as well as a large supplement of various drugs, such as Marijuana and Cocaine, Beah finds himself more related that to a cruel and unruly beast than a boy. Instructed by his superiors, Beah becomes deft at the art of pillaging and massacring any rebel camp he or his companions find.
On the other hand, Mariatu Kamara finds herself playing a significantly different role within her disturbing adventure. Suffering from her loss of hands, as well as experience with rape, Kamara encounters innumerable challenges while attempting to locate refuge. Further discrimination due to her gender, as well as the absence of hands, leads her to many close encounters with hostile rebels and natives. Furthermore, difficulty still ensues Kamara after she ensures passage outside of Sierra Leone, due her inability to perform crucial tasks and a deprivation of education.
However, in spite of the key differences between each story, both protagonists manage to position themselves within the same occupation as United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) representatives.

Ishmael Beah first spoke of the horrors he had witnessed at the “1996 United Nations presentation of the Machel Report on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children” (“Advocate for Children,” Par. 3). This presentation focused on the devastating effects that war imparts on the children involved. Today, Beah continues to advocate and represent change for the countless number of children still involved in wars around the

world.
In addition, Mariatu Kamara is UNICEF Canada’s Special Representative for children involved in wars throughout the world (“UNICEF Canada,” Par. 4). Kamara is also the founder of the Mariatu Foundation, an organization that focuses on providing safety to woman and children living within Sierra Leone. Utilizing the experiences Mariatu had suffered through while surviving the civil war within Sierra Leone, as well as the available resources UNICEF has to present, seeks to promote awareness to the forgotten children and woman left to suffer from strives of war.
Regardless of their alike beginnings, A Long Way Gone and The Bite of the Mango contain an assortment of similarities and differences within the context of each story. In addition, further analysis of each novel not only supports the themes established within each experience, but also a superior familiarity and association with each of the characters personal, painstaking and subjective experience. Though both these novels are compelling in different ways, A Long Way Gone and The Bite of the Mango hold more similarities and differences than one may realize.