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Analysis Of A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

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Ishmael Beah’s Memoir, A Long Way Gone is appropriate for Sterling High School’s English IV curriculum because the memoir makes connections to the real world and readers can relate to the content of the story. A big part of teaching is making students aware of what is going on in the world around them. A Long Way Gone introduces students to a glimpse of what it is like surviving in a war during teenage years. Many readers have not been through war and don’t believe it is happening unless it is right in front of their faces. Beah reacts to the war in the same way any other teenager would: “At times I thought that some of the stories the passersby told were exaggerated. The only wars I knew of were those that I had read about in books or seen …show more content…

As stated before, no matter where you grow up during your teenage years, you will go through the same awkward situations as any other teen. Beah tells readers about an awkward moment when he meets Esther: “She was tall had big brown eyes that were kind and inviting. She handed me a bottle of Coca-Cola. ‘Come and see me whenever you feel like it,’ she said, smiling, as she walked away… ‘She likes you,’ Alhaji teased me” (152). Beah goes on after this and describes how Alhaji keeps teasing him. Teen’s friends do this kind of thing all the time, so a reader could relate to the uncomfortable situation he just went through. Later on in the memoir, readers learn that Beah had created a stereotype for New York City in his head that was influenced by rap music he listens to. Beah arrives in New York City and describes to the readers what his first thought was: “My Conception of New York City came from rap music. I envisioned it as a place where people shot each other on the street and got away with it; no one walked on the streets, rather people drove in their sports cars looking for nightclubs and for violence” (193). Beah, by describing what he thought New York City was going to be like, goes to show that every person stereotypes something; Whether it be a group of people or a city. Beah creates a stereotype about New York City from seeing images on the television like Americans do about Africa. It just shows readers no matter where you live you have an idea of the world around you, but your idea isn’t always

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Compare And Contrast A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

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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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Summary Of A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

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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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Analysis Of A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

1585 Words | 7 Pages

The influence of war on his inner turmoil is exhibited when he encounters the wounded family in the van. This was his first real exposure to the casualties of war. He personifies the ground he stood on. He writes that he felt the ground moving beneath his feet (13). Beah feels as if he no longer stands on solid ground because the world he firmly knew has shifted, leaving him dazed and confused.

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Summary Of A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

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Yafet Mebrahtu P.4 The author of A Long Way Gone is Ishmael Beah. This book is about his life in Sierra Leone during the civil war. He tells how he suffered from hunger and fear,eventually this lead him to becoming a killer and joining a group of people that kill anyone on sight called the rebels. The rebels are killers that burn villages,kill anyone in sight and recruit child soldiers.

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Analysis Of A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

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In the memoir, A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, as the war progresses, the absence of the moon becomes a symbol of the lack of protection and peace in the boys’ world. For instance, Ishmael is so wrapped up in the war he does not take a moment to relax or be at peace in the war. When Ishmael is in the war he does not see the moon as we see in this quote, “Some nights the sky wept stars that quickly floated and disappeared into the darkness before our wishes could meet them”(Beah pg.80). Ishmael is recalling the memories of the war. He recalls that the moon is a sign of hope and peace in this world but during the war he does not see the moon.

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Analysis Of A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

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A long way gone is a memoir about a young boy named Ishmael Beah whose village was overturned by refugees and had to experience the civil war first hand. A statement that caught my attention on an opininair was “Children have the right to a carefree childhood”. This statement is true because growing up in the United States, most children have fairly common childhoods, school, sports, maybe work but nothing to major. Beah and his friends went through many obstacles to try and avoid the refugees without any lessons or training on how to do so alone. They overcame things that many adults aren’t physically or mentally prepared for.

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Analysis Of A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

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There are many reasons English teachers should select material to teach important concepts. English is a much more loosely structured class than Calculus or Physics, so there is a great deal of controversy when choosing books for students. While some titles can hold topics that resemble taboos, the experiences of the protagonists in stories of violence, poverty, and extreme struggle can encourage growth of students as learners, thinkers, and human beings. Ishmael Beah’s memoir A Long Way Gone is appropriate for the Sterling High School English IV curriculum because it contains honest and detailed imagery, and because it sparks a reader’s awareness of tragedies that are being forced upon their peers across the globe.

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A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah Sparknotes

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Hunter Davis Mr.Werley English lll 9 March 2023 Unusual Normalites Ishmael Beah reflects on his experience as a former child soldier in Sierra Leone and his societal challenges after the war. Ishmael describes the difficulty of readjusting to normal life and the struggle to find a sense of belonging and purpose in the world. Beah begins by describing the unreal experience of returning to his village after the war. He says, "Everything seemed so normal, yet it was all real." (8)Beah had spent years as a child soldier, forced to commit acts of violence and witness unspeakable atrocities.

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A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah Character Analysis

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What is the meaning of adversity? Adversity is the difficulties, misfortunes, and sometimes even trials one must face in order to jump over an obstacle. WWll, holocaust, Racism are all adversities that pertain to individuals and events in the past and the present. One of the events that happened was in Sierra Leone and it was a Civil war between different African tribes. This event is explained through the eyes of the main character in the book “A Long Way Gone”, and his name is Ishmael Beah.

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

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War, a state of armed conflict between different nations, states, or groups. Although small, this three letter word signifies so much more than a conflict for those involved. It symbolizes the loss of hope, faith, family, a home, someone’s childhood, and most importantly the feeling of safety. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah, is an eye opener to those who have been lucky enough to escape the clutches of war. The book describes Beah’s struggle during the war in Sierra Leone, where at the age of twelve he joined the “army”.

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Changes In A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

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Day by day, children are facing acts of inhumanity that are occurring around the world. This causes these kids to become different people who change in negative ways. Such acts are being mentioned in the books Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick and A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. Never Fall Down is about a boy named Arn who survives the Cambodian genocide, and A Long Way Gone is about the author’s experience as a child soldier fighting in the Sierra Leone Civil War for three years.

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A Long Way Gone Analysis

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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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The Significance Of My Creative Title A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

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In the book, A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, Ishmael experiences the war age of twelve and travels to find safer place from war. We encounter the changes in Ishmael’s identities as a boy, a soldier, and a civilian boy throughout

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A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

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In A Long Way Gone, “he writes one of the unsettling things about my journey, mentally, physically, and emotionally, was that I was not 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, Ishmael 69). Beah's memoir sheds light on the multifaceted damage done by civil war and terrorism. As a victim of the violence, a young man who has lost his family and way of life and is in turn considered dangerous by most of the civilians he encounters, Beah suffers more than simiple physical pain.

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Reflection On A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

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Additional Activity 1 In the book, A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, the reader can gather certain information about the story he told. The point of view of his story truly affects the reader’s understanding. Also, Beah included details that defined his experience and changed his life. He also wrote his memoir with an emotion that drove the story.

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