Morality In A Long Way Gone

Doing something that you might consider morally bad might be the only option for you. The text A Long Way Gone follows the author's life, and his experiences in the 1991-2002 Sierra Leonean war. Beah shows his claim by describing his journey through the Sierra Leonean war from an innocent child loving rap music and reggae to his time as a boy soldier killing with the army fighting against the rebels in the war, and finally to his recovery in a rehabilitation centre that allows him to regain a regular family and even talk about his experiences at a UN conference. This rehabilitation ends with the army attacking his city, his uncle is killed by sickness and loss of hope, and because of a fear instilled in him, he is forced to flee. In A Long

In the chaos and violence of war, the lines between right and wrong become blurred. Beah at the beginning found violence and specifically death disgusting and repulsive but as the novel progresses he turns into a killing machine. Beah’s ability to judge something as morally bad or good was blurred or completely eliminated. What may have been considered immoral in peacetime may be seen as necessary for survival in a warzone. Beah was forced into a position where it was either kill or be killed, he wanted to survive so he killed. There was a moment in which a switch flicked after his first kill and killing became a lot easier. While in the army Beah was on many drugs including the Zaza, Brown Brown (Nose candy mixed with boom boom powder), and Pookie. Furthermore, Beah's narrative shows that moral judgments cannot always be made from an outside perspective. Those who have yet to experience war may not fully understand the ethical complexities that arise in such situations. Sympathy is very important when it comes to making moral assessments of others. 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"