Upon first glance, the title of the book “A Long Way Gone” appears to apply to the physical distance Ishmael Beah has travelled from his home town of Mogwembo since the attack on his hometown. Upon further analysis, it more accurately describes the emotional distance he has travelled. From losing his family and friends, fighting in the war, getting involved with drugs, and becoming a human rights activist, Beah faced unimaginable circumstances. Throughout his journey, he lost his innocence, became involved in fighting and drugs, and finally developed into someone who rose above his circumstances to advocate for others in his place. Ishmael Beah was once an innocent child, who grew up in a relatively happy family. A few months after Beah got caught up in the war, Gasemu, a family friend, told Beah, “You look very sad now. Your forehead used to glow naturally when you were just a child” (Beah,92). Beah’s natural glow symbolized his happiness when he was younger, but when his town was attacked and he got involved in the war, his glow started slipping away. He faced unimaginable circumstances such as losing his family in a rebel attack and had to adapt to survive through such a tough time. Beah not only lost his innocence and positivity as he sought a safe place to stay, but he and the other children performed actions they never would have before such as attacking a little boy for …show more content…
He became numb and even said “killing had become a daily activity…it was as if my heart had frozen” (Beah, 162). His circumstances forced him to choose to either kill the rebels or be killed, and he decided to kill. Eventually he had become numb to the act of killing, under the influence of drugs. While the old Ishmael Beah could never have hurt anyone, the new Beah got satisfaction from the death of the rebels as he believed he was getting revenge for what they had dome to him and his