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A Long Way Gone: Memoirs Of A Boy Soldier By Ishmael Beah

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A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah was published by Sarah Crichton Books in New York on February 13th, 2007. In the memoir, Beah describes his terrifying experiences as a child soldier in Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa, during the Sierra Leone Civil War that took place during the 1990s and early 2000s. Despite a confusing, unclear end to the story, the main idea of the account on how war can damage and alter an individual and country in ways never thought possible before is effectively revealed through Beah’s strong, detailed descriptions of war in Sierra Leone, along with genuine and unforgettable words that make you wonder how you could ever complain about your childhood again.
While reading Ishmael Beah’s story, it became quite apparent to me that the main point for writing his powerful memoir was for his audience to discover how war can damage and forever change a human being, as well as a country as a whole in the most unimaginable ways. Within the narrative, there are five major highlights that incorporate Beah’s main idea, as well as its progression throughout the story. The first important passage from the text comes right away, from pages 5-8, where we learn what Beah’s life was like …show more content…

Throughout these pages, Beah discusses his journey into becoming a soldier for the Sierra Leone Army. Within a very short time of being exposed to war, Beah had been brainwashed to kill all rebels, raided villages, become addicted to drugs, suffered from insomnia, lost all sense of reality, and described killing as “as easy as drinking water” (Beah 122). I think it is safe to say that war certainly wrecked and altered Beah's life in unimaginable ways, as it turned a gentle, innocent, rap-loving boy into a brainwashed, drug-addicted, killing

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The impact of war can have very harmful effects on people, especially children. In “A Long Way Gone” by Ishmael Beah, he explains the war of Sierra Leone from his point of view. The tragedy of losing his family, becoming a boy soldier, and the effects of war is said throughout the book, making it an interesting story to read. But, while Ishmael explains what he went through, it is hidden that other people were affected by the actions he took. Although Ishmael did play a victimizer, he was also a victim at the same time.

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In the novel, “A Long Way Gone,” Ishmael Beah suffers from PTSD due to the exposure to war at such a young age and the rehabilitation process. Ishmael was exposed to guns, drugs and other types of violent acts due to the war at the age of 12. As time went by, Ishmael lost his family and slowly his friends too. Ishmael was traumatized from all the violence he experienced due to the war approaching his village. He had been forced by the Sierra Leone Armed Forces to serve as a child soldier during a civil war and “It was not easy being a soldier, but we just had to do it.

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A Long Way Gone Memoirs of a boy soldier is a memoir written by Ishmael Beah. This novel is about Ishmael's first hand experience of the Civil war in sierra leone between Mar 23, 1991 to Jan 18, 2002 .I feel  the book gave a genuine glimpse of war and how Ishmael stayed alive as a refugee and showed what he had to do in order to survive in this war. The memoir also showed the corruption of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) who with the support of the Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia, attempted to overthrow the government. However, a messenger from the RUF said that they were on their side and would like to be welcomed.

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Babes in Arms is a story written by Boyd that explains Beah’s life and horror. With all the violence Beah witnessed, the evidence in A Long Way Gone proves the war in Sierra Leone impacted Beah’s life in several ways. For starters, Beah was an orphan at twelve years old after he was separated from his family and never felt safe throughout this “journey”. It is stated that, “...in Beah’s case the arrival of the rebels in his small town meant sudden separation from his parents….”(Boyd 302)

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This is by drugs and brainwashing from his superiors, but also by missing his family and wanting revenge. Beah went into the army with bad intentions but found the truth in retrospect saying, “I joined the army to avenge the deaths of my family and to survive, but I've come to learn that if I am going to take revenge, in that process I will kill another person whose family will want revenge; then revenge and revenge and revenge will never come to an end...”(Beah 199). Beah loves his family so much that he will kill to avenge them. His love of family, even if this is not morally right, makes him want to stay alive and kill everyone that is relatively related to the deaths of his family. Even though killing people isn't the best way to go about revenge, it shows how far

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The 6-year war in Sierra Leone captured 10,000 to 14,000 child soldiers and left them displaced after the war with no family and no childhood left. A long way gone by Ishmael Beah gives us a unique perspective of what child soldiers have to go through and what they have survived. Resourcefulness was one of the various skills that Ishmael used to survive well being part of the Sierra Leone war. Ishmael's resourcefulness helped him in many ways to survive well in war. The first piece of evidence that supports that Ishmael is resourceful is, "I learned about this grass during one of the summers when I visited my grandmother.

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Not experiencing war is a luxury many people unfortunately do not get; however, Ishmael Beah, the author of A Long Way Gone, lives and survives the war, though not without heartache. With war there is always fear, death, and hell. Ishmael Beah proves war is hell through the killing of civilians, the distrust, and the after effects of the war. Ishmael proves war is hell through the killing of civilians. Many innocent bystanders of the war are forced out of their homes, made to run for their lives.

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At the age of 13 till the age of 16 the author, Ishmael Beah, pulls himself through many terrible conflicts in Sierra Leone. The author uses conflict to show his readers the realism of his story. By using conflict in many different ways, it allows readers to gain an understanding of how Ishmael struggles changed his life for worse and for better. By using person vs person, person vs society, person vs self, and person vs nature conflict the author is opening doors allowing readers to get a full understanding of Ishmael 's challenges of a life in war. The most commonly seen conflict in ‘A Long Way Gone’ is person vs society.

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The reader learn certain information based on Beah’s first person point of view. Next, he highlighted facts about his life that could not be left out of his story. He implied emotion through his diction he chose to write with. My response the book was incredible satisfaction that Beah was able to escape the horrific war and migrate to another country where he would be safe from the dangers of Sierra

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This happens until he ends up on an army bace of the Serra Leone National Army. Beah, subsequently becomes a child soldier and starts his experience fighting a war at only thirteen years old. Ishmael Beah, experiences the loss of innocence throughout his memoir, A Long Way Gone which leads him to a troubling and traumatic childhood. Beah experiences loss of innocence through death at a very young age.

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The major theme in the story A Long Way Gone is that with family and love a person can make it through anything. Overall Ishmael’s story is a very powerful, eye opening read; it informs people on a subject that some know little to nothing about, the civil war in Sierra Leone. Beah uses the theme of family and love, along with the use of symbolism and other literary devices, to inform a larger audience of the issues that he and others had to face while trying to survive in a war zone. A Long Way Gone, an autobiographical memoir, written by Ishmael Beah, takes place in Sierra Leone during the time of their civil war.

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