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Ishmael Beah's Struggles During War

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The Struggles During Wartime
The sierra Leone child soldier survivor Ishmael Beah. He had to deal with the separation of his family at twelve-years old, exposure to guns, violence and starvation,but, the worst of all was when he had to become a killer.
One of the many struggles Beah had to deal with when he was a little kid was the exposure to gun and violence. In the book review the author said, “Given rudimentary training, Beah seems then to have gone on a two-year mind-bending killing spree…”(Boyd 303).. The “Two year killing spree” were the results of the gruesome life Beah has been living. Not only was his life gruesome it was also unfair. Beah’s life was unfair because of the way he had to grow up as a kid. His childhood, family and freedom was taken away. As an exposure to guns and violence as a young child, Beah seems to still be haunted by his childhood. Not only because he had to decide between killing or being killed but, because, he had to become a killer to survive. …show more content…

“....and in Beah’s case the arrival of the rebels in his small town meant sudden separation from his parents…”(Boyd 302). The quote above shows how barbaric Sierra Leone is by taking all these kids away from their parents, without their parents having a say in it. Also, its really hard for them to survive because they’ve never been alone and are “Terrified” (Boyd 302). So they had to make a decision fast and go to “Rudimentary training” to not be suspected and killed. Other reasons why Sierra Leone is a bloodthirsty is when Ishmael Beah went on an interview about what he had to deal with in his life, he stated that they made take drugs and that they had more drugs and gun ammo than actual

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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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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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A Long Way Gone is Ishmael Beah’s memoir. It retracts all of the tragic events Ishmeal endured while the Sierra Leone civil war occurred. Ishmael was a child who lived an ordinary life until rebels infiltrated his village which left him and others with no choice, but to flee. He was then forced to become a child soldier. This book shows the physical and mental torture Beah had to go through while has was a child soldier.

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Many times, others view unknown situations or topics as “cool”. Many times, they fail to realize the hardships others face. In “A Long Way Gone”, Beah’s friends had thought his experiences were cool but they would not feel the same way if they had read the memoir and understood the emotions and situations he had faced. Ishmael Beah’s memoir goes on to explain all the reasons why his experiences were not nearly cool.

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Beah was exposed to and committed many offenses such as killing, stealing, and many forms of trauma. After a few long years, sixteen-year-old Beah is taken out of the war by UNICEF and sent to a rehabilitation center. Eventually, Beah is helped to find

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