ipl-logo

Analysis Of A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

464 Words2 Pages

The definition of 'home' is different for many people. Some people have no place to call home. To some, home is the place where family is at. To others, home is a state of mind, something completely resting on the beliefs or thoughts of the individual. The general idea of home is a place of safety and stability. In A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, Ishmael's idea of home is crucial because he connects family to home and belonging. It continues to be relevant because Ishmael, although he does not have an actual place to call home, his home is his stability and his common ground which he stays sane throughout the book. Beah illuminates the idea of home to the idea of hope, and combines them forming an concept that home is hope to Ishmael throughout the book. Home is significant to Ishmael seeing that it …show more content…

Ishmael suffered loss of a place to call home multiple times which caused him to lose his hope for a better tomorrow ,"One of the unsettling things about my journey, mentally, physically, and emotionally, was that I wasn't sure when or where it was going to end. I didn't know what I was going to do with my life. I felt that I was starting over and over again." (Beah 69) Beah's memoir sheds light on the multifaceted damage done by civil war and terrorism which directly affected the loss of home. As a victim of the violence, a young man who has lost his family he suffers more than simple physical pain, he feels the loss of home. The anguish of losing his family and home is compounded by the uncertainty each day brings. Although they attempt to find a safe haven, the boys know from bitter experience that no such place seems to exist in Sierra Leone.

Open Document