Evan Lessman Honors English IV Chestnut/Massey 29 February 2024 A Long Way Gone and Cars: Themes of Relationships and Assumptions. A ten-year-old African child is thrust out of the life he knew and into a raging war filled with death and loss. 15 years later, Owen Wilson’s red racecar alter-ego takes American cinema by storm. What common message could these two situations preach? In 2007, Ishmael Beah wrote a memoir titled A Long Way Gone about his experiences as a child in Sierra Leone during the civil war in the 1990’s. In 2006, Disney and Pixar premiered John Lasseter’s animated family blockbuster Cars and expanded the franchise with a series titled Mater’s Tall Tales in 2008. These vastly different stories, told through vastly different …show more content…
In chapter 7, this theme is portrayed when he leaves the forest and comes in contact with a family swimming in a river. Having been starved of social interaction for nearly a week, he attempts to greet the family and even speaks to them in multiple languages as an attempt to familiarize himself with them. Despite his effort and general positivity, the family is extremely skeptical and assumes that Ishmael’s intentions are not all good. They briefly exchange words and Ishmael tells them where he is from, but the family is still mistrusting. Ishmael quickly picks up on this, stating that “it was clear from the tone of his voice that he didn’t want me around and didn’t trust me” (48). Because of the trauma and confusion of war, especially a war involving many young male soldiers, the family has been conditioned to assume the worst of strangers as a way to protect themselves. In an environment without the inherent dangers of war, this family may have been eager to meet or even help a young refugee travelling alone, but they must prioritize their own wellbeing over empathy or relationships with others. This aligns well with the theme because the family’s assumptions, however justified they may be, are hindering their potential relationships with