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Long Way Gone Rehabilitation

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A Long Way Gone: War and Rehabilitation Following the life of Ishmael Beah in his autobiography, A Long Way Gone, readers experience how a young boy adjusted to drastic changes in lifestyles. The first- and perhaps more marked- change in lifestyle was when he became a child soldier in the Sierra Leone Army. The second was when he was taken away to be rehabilitated by UNICEF. Although there are several important components in both Ishmael’s life at war and his life during rehabilitation, it is his relationship with fear, how he deals with trauma, and his character in general which significantly share resemblances in each of the two mentioned lifestyles. While these changes might seem otherworldly when juxtaposed, there actually are many similarities …show more content…

Each circumstance was forced upon him, separating him from the routine of how he was living beforehand. The army ripped him away from his life of running away from violence, forcing him to face it head on. Here, his fear manifested with obvious signs, whether it was trembling upon holding a gun or going into a state of shock when thrusted into a battlefield. Ironically, the transition from escaping violence to becoming a part of the army was much simpler than the transition into rehabilitation. The author mentioned it only took two more battles in the first week of his first kill to be comfortable shooting a gun (120). However, while his initial attitude towards the army was more of a reluctant acceptance, Beah actively resisted rehabilitation. His fear with rehabilitation was less apparent, taking the form of aggression and hostility, yet it still resembled his fear going into the army. Beah was once again forced in an unfamiliar setting which acted against what he considered his state of normalcy and safety. The same confusion of what to do on the battlefield was echoed in what to do when faced with …show more content…

It may seem to be an understatement to say the child soldier underwent significant changes during each period. The war molded him into a hardened killer, and rehabilitation shaped him back into a functional member of society. However, what is astounding is that Beah came out of both experiences with traits of leadership. Granted, his use of those traits served two widely different purposes. As a soldier, Beah built up skill and experience with combat, allowing him to gain higher rankings and respect from those who fought with him. He cooperated well with his fellow soldiers, working with their plans and directing his own. Beah even remarked he felt better about being a soldier as a result of his successes (124). By the time he was put into rehabilitation, though he lost what he gained as a soldier, he later gained the proficiency of speaking about his experiences. Through his connections with others from rehabilitation, he climbed up so he could eventually speak on the war and raise awareness about Sierra Leone’s child soldiers (198). Being a soldier and being a speaker as a survivor showcased Beah’s incredible

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I began to feel my ribs when I touched my sides” (Beah 30). From this the average human could comprehend that Beah is starving. Also that he has not drunken water for a while. Which would result in his parched lips. Beah is now getting to know what the war is doing to him.

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As a result, they went out to fight and were not fazed by the killing of other human beings. He feels as he is invincible and not capable of death and suddenly is no longer afraid of the idea of dying. The drugs made him angry undemandingly, so he went out to fight and did his utmost to settle the army leaders. These drugs basically numb them to the violent acts they are about to pursue to make them

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This is seen throughout the symbolism of the novel. Firstly, the first symbol that symbolizes Beah’s loss of innocence is the AK-47. The AK-47 symbolizes in the novel the loss of innocence and provides confidence and a sense of security. We can see his loss of innocence on page 19, “I saw myself holding an AK-47 and walking through a coffee farm with a squad that consisted of many boys and a few adults.

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1538 Words | 7 Pages

Consider all sides of the situation and understand what a person has been through to take them to that point. Beah himself acknowledges that he would have never thought himself capable of committing the acts he did before his experiences in the army. He explains, "It's strange how easy it is to hate and kill when you're not thinking about it"

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His story offers a powerful example of the importance of resilience and hopes in overcoming hurdles in one's situation. Ishamel’s bravery as a child soldier also brings attention to the damaging impacts of war on children and the need for more empathy and understanding for those affected by it. This is important for the story because, in the end, Beah's resilience serves as an inspiration to everyone who has faced adversity by showing that even the most difficult obstacles can be overcome with the proper mindset and

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A Psychoanalysis on The Wars In human history, war has greatly affected the lives of people in an extremely detrimental way which can be understood in Timothy Findley’s novel The Wars through a psychoanalytic approach in character development and their deterioration; the readers are able to identify the loss of innocence intertwined between characters, the search for self-identity in the symbolic and metaphorical aspect, as well as the essence of life. Those that are not able to overcome these mental challenges may develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or Rape trauma Syndrome, and sadly, some resort to suicide as the last option to escape their insecurities. However, soldiers are not the only ones affected by war; family members also face

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1110 Words | 5 Pages

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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1572 Words | 7 Pages

A Long Way Gone Forest fires engulf tall rows of trees, turning green leaves and the homes of animals into ashes. Although fires leave a destructive trail of darkened groves, they create a chance for new life to develop. Nutrients find their way through the ashes into new soil, a new life begins to flourish, and old wreckages create new homes. Ishmael Beah, the author of ‘A Long Way Gone’, tells his readers his story that one man could never forget; new opportunities and chances for a better life often flourish in the ashes created from past challenges. The book ‘a long way gone’ is based on true events experienced by the author.

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His journey has been long, dangerous and terrifying. He was forced to kill innocents as a child soldier by the RUF. But, thankfully for him UNICEF came in and rescued him and many other children and taught the how to function in society again. Transition to child soldier: PHYSICAL. Ishmael Beah was forced to go without sleep, forced drugs, made to walk without shoes when he had deep cuts in his feet.

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1035 Words | 5 Pages

Later, UNICEF came and decided to take Ishmael out of the war and put him in a rehabilitation center. In this part of the novel, the reader can see how his desire for killing has controlled him completely. By fighting and killing rebel members in the rehabilitation center and beating up the guards to force them into doing what the children wants to do, the reader can see that the war has changed their ways of life and thoughts. The army was able to change Ishmael 's desires and from that, he became a deadly

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In the book, A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, Ishmael becomes a child soldier at the age of 12 for the governmental team the National Patriotic Front of Liberia, in order to fight the Revolutionary United Front. Ishmael goes from being a regular kid who liked to spend time with his friends

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498 Words | 2 Pages

(Conclusion) Ishmael Beah narrated his personal experience from an honest point of view. By doing so, he enabled the reader to understand everything he chose to explain head on, with no barriers. The reader was able to know what Beah went through, in his own words. “I began to cry quietly and all of a sudden felt dizzy,” (Beah 34). The readers were able to understand how he felt in certain situations.

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672 Words | 3 Pages

The human condition is full of paradoxes and double meanings. We can commit the most shocking and terrible acts, but we can complete the most virtuous and honorable feats. Ishmael Beah describes the appalling and violent behavior he and other children exhibited toward the human life during his time in the Sierra Leonean civil war in his memoir, A Long Way Gone. Beah also details the forgiveness and kindness of complete strangers that helped him become the man that fate meant him to be. Homo sapiens are complex creatures brimming with irony and surprises.

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They may be victimized through false promises or abduction, and then forced to commit acts of violence such as murder or to fight under the influence of drugs and alcohol. These children are not willing participants in these activities, but rather are coerced or manipulated into them by armed groups or other parties. Ishmael Beah, a former child soldier in Sierra Leone's civil war, supplies an example of this in his memoir "A Long Way Gone" which raises awareness about the issue of child soldiers and their impact. Beah describes how he and other child soldiers were given drugs to make them more willing to fight and kill, and how the trauma of the war and the acts he was forced to commit affected him long after the conflict ended.

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946 Words | 4 Pages

The major theme in the story A Long Way Gone is that with family and love a person can make it through anything. Overall Ishmael’s story is a very powerful, eye opening read; it informs people on a subject that some know little to nothing about, the civil war in Sierra Leone. Beah uses the theme of family and love, along with the use of symbolism and other literary devices, to inform a larger audience of the issues that he and others had to face while trying to survive in a war zone. A Long Way Gone, an autobiographical memoir, written by Ishmael Beah, takes place in Sierra Leone during the time of their civil war.

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