Summary Of A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

This book, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmeal Beah, is an insider

look at how the Civil War in Sierra Leone affected refugees and also delves into foreign

affairs of the United States. I think this book would be beneficial to a scholar or student

because the way the book is written is both informative and gripping. This book is a

recount of a former child soldier’s experience in his war-stricken country. The author

puts a face on the issue of child warfare in third-world countries.

The Author

Ishmael Beah is a native of Sierra Leone, which is located in Northern Africa. He was a

teenage Ambassador in the United Nations First International Children’s Parliament

(Ishmaelbeah.com 2). This conference was full of children from

many different foreign
countries. Lebanon, Brazil, India, and Malawi were among some of the countries
represented.

The children were brought to New York to speak to diplomats at the UN

Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). He was first introduced to the civil war when

victims from other parts of the country sought refuge in their neighboring village (A Long

Way Gone 21). He soon found out that his parents were killed. Beah was a

characteristically gentle child. He became a child soldier in the army to save himself

from succumbing to murder or starvation. He wrote this book to inform readers about

the conditions that many children had to endure and to tell the public that children have

the ability to grow past their troubles given the opportunity (6). The author argues for the

rights of children affected by war stricken countries. He speaks about how he was

denied a childhood due to a travesty in his country. He is a member of the United

Nation’s Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF). He has written another book related to

the Sierra Leone Civil War called a Radiance of Tomorrow (6).

Story Summary

Ishmael Beah was twelve years old when his village was ravaged by war while he was

away preforming his with his beloved rap group (A Long Way Gone 21). After he

realized that his family was killed in battle, him and his friends became wanderers

(37).
After he came upon a war camp, he was forced to fight for the government army. He
went through extremely tragic and traumatizing events (136). After an injury, he was
enrolled in a rehab where he met a Nurse named Esther that made him realize that he
was victimized and that he did what he did to survive (159). After which he was invited
to speak in the United Nations First International Children’s Parliament where he met
his future foster mother (193). After that conference, he went back to his home in Sierra
Leone where he lost his uncle (208). He returned to the United States after to live with
his foster mother (Ishmaelbeah.com 5).
Story Purpose
This story is a narrative that personifies social commentaries like child soldiers,
international affairs, and drug abuse. Beah became a child soldier when he realized that
almost all of his immediate family was gone. “I joined the army to avenge the deaths of
my family and to survive…(Ishmaelbeah.com 2)” He describes how he became
dehumanized and unremorseful. This is an opposition to his overall thesis that children
can be rehabilitated after tragic circumstances. He makes sure to reinforce the fact that
his killings felt out of body. They watched movies centered on combat like Rambo: First
Blood. He received his first gun, an AK-47, after seeking refuge in the “good” army’s
camp (A Long Way Gone 109). I think naming the gun he received gives the reader the
ability to visualize the dichotomy of an innocent child and a lethal assault rifle. During
this time, the author also starts abusing drugs, which is a universal social and political
dispute. “Brown Brown”, a mix of cocaine and gun powder, was among the most
dangerous drugs of choice Beah abused (121). Marijuana and cocaine are familiar
drugs that are also very prevalent in the United States. When he went to New York, he
participated in conference regarding international affairs.

The United Nations’ is the

authority on international relations. Overall, I think the author wrote this story to convey

that third world countries deal with similar areas of concern as people in more

developed countries like drug abuse and international relations.

Factuality and Organization

The author does not use any outside data or logical points in this story. It makes this

story almost completely opinionated and biased. The story is just about all recounted

experiences. That makes the analysis of this story harder because it is not cemented by

statistics or precedents. Ishmael Beah wrote this book in a first person point of view, so

there is no opposing view point because we are only allowed to hear his thoughts. The

only real evidence to support his thesis is his own memories, which is not a credible

source of information. The book is well organized because it is written in chronological

order. This is typically how a biography is written, but the author focuses on a particular

point in time. This book, however, does have factual influences. The United States will

probably always be involved in foreign affairs. The United Nations is always

conducting
meetings, conferences and such to maintain positive relations with other countries
(google). UNICEF is a globally recognized organization that is mentioned in the novel.
There are approximately 300,000 child soldiers around the world (alongwaygone.com).
Conclusion
This book has been a very beneficial read for me. I think that Ishmael Beah has made
me believe that children are the most resilient people on the planet. He wr ites based
solely on his memory which is amazing considering the depth of detail he uses
throughout the book. The Sierra Leone war ended in 2001, and this book was published
in 2007. I would definitely recommend this book to my peers, family, and teachers. It is
an exhilarating read that left me very satisfied. This book is an important book for today
and will likely be relevant for many years to come.