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Analysis Of A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

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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.

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355 Words | 2 Pages

The book A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah is a memoir about himself involved in war as a child. War began happening in Ishmael’s hometown in Sierra Leone, which was Mogbwemo, so everyone broke apart and he lost his family, except for his brother. He had to start running away from the war to stay alive, so he went with some of his friends and his brother into different provinces of Sierra Leone. They went from village to village looking for food, shelter and safety. Ishmael was caught many times by the army and he thought he was stuck with them forever, but he escaped many different ways.

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1620 Words | 7 Pages

When he finally gets out and is with at least someone he is blood related to, then his uncle ends up dying and he runs away to try and get to America. A Long way Gone follows the pattern of Joseph Campbell’s monomyth, The Hero’s Journey. The Hero’s Journey of Ishmael Beah in A Long Way Gone starts off with the separation stage of the journey. This stage is about the separation of the hero from the normal world.

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486 Words | 2 Pages

Ishmael Beah was born in the village of Mogbwemo in Sierra Leone in 1980. The Civil War in Sierra Leone displaced Ishmael and resulted in him becoming a child soldier for the Sierra Leonean Armed Forces. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier chronicles the physical and psychological horrors of war and Ishmael’s subsequent return to society. While visiting a neighboring village with his brother and a group of friends, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) pillaged Mogbwemo.

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1585 Words | 7 Pages

When he was twelve, Beah was separated from his family when the rebels attacked his village. Beah’s journey to escape the rebel forces led him through areas where he witnessed the horrors of war and it led him to war as a child soldier. Life as a child soldier left a deep impact on Ishmael Beah. Although, he recovered physically and mentally as children often do, Beah’s writing shows his difficulty in expressing his emotions.

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857 Words | 4 Pages

Many people died during this tragic war. People want to escape the dangerous situation that war presents. Ishmael experiences the loss of friends and family, he is forced to ingest drugs including cocaine. Ishmael kills many innocent children and adults in the towns he invades. Ishmael is a victim on the fact that he was

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579 Words | 3 Pages

A Long Way Gone is a memoir written with Ishmael Beah’s memories of the civil war that happened in his hometown, Sierra Leone. Beah’s determination for survival and use of descriptive imagery of the war gives us a chance to feel like we’re actually in the war with him. Ishmael Beah was only a twelve year old boy when the war came to his village. Because he lost his family in the war, Ishmael had to learn how to survive on his own along with some other boys. Together, they took care and watched out for each other in the wilderness while trying to find a safe place to hide from the rebels, the people attacking their country.

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634 Words | 3 Pages

In hard times family should be there for one another; but not in his case. He was all alone. When his uncle came to take him back to his house to live, Beah was unsure and did not want to believe his uncles identity. His uncle then began crying and Ishmael was assured his uncle was telling the truth. In this case if they had read the whole memoir they would understand losing family would not be cool, nor would they want to experience that

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642 Words | 3 Pages

Ishmael Beah’s memoir, A Long Way Gone is appropriate for the Sterling High school English IV curriculum because of Beah’s knowledge that reveals real life events that have occurred in Sierra Leone. Also, the memoir makes the reader grateful for the life he or she has today. For instance, Beah illiterates that the rebels have no sympathy for innocent lives and did not care if they lived or died. Specifically, when the rebels captured Beah and his friends and threatened to kill innocent people in front of them; “We are going to initiate all of you by killing these people in front of you”(34).

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681 Words | 3 Pages

A Long Way Gone speaks of a child soldier who follows the idea of the word resume. Ishmael Beah's life went through a pause when he found himself surrounded by war. His book speaks of this pause in his life and how he resumed it. As a child in Sierra Leone, Beah had to face much more hardship than most anyone, but life can make anyone lose their way and put who they are on pause. However, Life may have a pause button, but it doesn’t rewind.

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426 Words | 2 Pages

A Long Way Gone is a memoir of a boy soldier in Sierra Leone, who struggles to keep his humanity. Ishmael Beah, the author, achieved success once he went off to speak at the United Nations conference and when he realized that he could not go back to the war. Beah achieved success when he went off to New York and spoke at the United Nations conference. As Beah sat around the conference listening to all the other children that represented their country, Beah sat proudly “behind the Sierra Leone name plaque..

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875 Words | 4 Pages

According to the novel “A Long Way Gone” Ishmael could not find any food that was substantial to eat and each day he was more and more hungry which caused his vision to blur (Beah, 2008). To try and obtain resources Ishamel and his friends decided to run back into their old town where war had hit to obtain money to buy food. Beah had to learn the survival techniques which means eat what available and eat to survive. Conflict theory also could be used to portray Ishmael due to him encountering war it caused him to have

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951 Words | 4 Pages

In the country Beah lived in, Sierra Leone, there was a large war going on for diamonds. The Rebels (RUF) were vicious and destroyed everything in their path to get to their goal. Unfortunately, Beah was one of the many people that suffered in the war. He ran for so long to get away and find safety, just to be caught up in it. Ishmael Beah went from an innocent child to a violent soldier.

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932 Words | 4 Pages

Ishmael also found himself in danger and never felt comfort or safety. Days at a time he would by running through the forest and slept in trees. There was a constant fear of death that surrounded him due to a lack of security and safety. During the time he spent in the war, he struggled to fulfill the most basic needs of human survival. Once he was admitted into the war he was able to receive these two things, as they provided food and shelter for him.

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682 Words | 3 Pages

But once they do, that person will have access to an entirely different method of self-expression. A method that can a source of joy and even as therapeutic alternative for psychological problems; much like what Ishmael had done during his time at the rehab center. Even before the war, it can be witnessed early in the book that just by simply writing song lyrics together “They were transfixed by the music and returned as often as possible to watch rap on the big television” (A Long Way Gone Chapter 1 Summary, 2017); thanks to the this, Ishmael and his friends were able to build a strong bond, whilst making unforgettable

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946 Words | 4 Pages

(1991-2002) Ishmael’s story solely focused on the years he was affected by the war. (1992-1997) The tale begins when with Beah, his brother, and a couple of his friends, heading to another village to put on a performance and while away, they catch wind that their village had been attacked by the RUF (Revolutionary United Front). The boys' having no home to go back to, wander from village to village looking for shelter and safety.

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