Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
Ishmael beah character traits
Ishmael beah character traits
Civil war in sierra leone
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Ishmael beah character traits
Ishmael beah character traits
Civil war in sierra leone
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah is the painfully true biography of Ishmael, his elder brother Junior, their friends and their journey to out run a war that is occurring in their hometown, Sierra Leone. The majority of the story takes place in Sierra Leon in between the years of 1993 and 1998. Ishmael’s journey begins the January of 1993 when he is the age of twelve. Individuals have begun to revolt which takes everything a turn for the worse. The rebels have struck the country with fear and caused complete chaos by killing families and destroying what they once called home.
A Long Way Gone is a book about the life of a boy living in Sierra Leone who takes part in the war that has been happening around him his whole life. This is a memoir written by Ishmael Beah on his life. This book was written to show how wars today are fought by children and how traumatizing it can be to a child. The book starts out with Ishmael living in Mogbwemo with his mother and brothers.
In Beah’s journey becoming a long way gone from himself and his home. He faced metal hardships of war and destruction. But also the physical and social hardships. But he demonstrates that his pliancy helped him overcome the hardship.
When Beah lost the tapes he and the other boys felt their childhood and innocence being taken away in just a few seconds. The tape’s presence in his life was very strong since they were given to him by his brother Junior. Ishameal used the tape's presence to escape from the reality of what was going on including the war, seeing the bodies, nightmares, headaches, and hopelessness he
(Beah 113) While the passage above is merely a thought, Beah, according to his story, has committed acts far more violent and gruesome. If accurate, his memoir would provide unprecedented insight into the life of a child solider. However, the validity of his claims has been challenged
The book that I finish reading is a called A long way gone: Memoirs of a boy soldier by Ishmael Beah. The setting take place in Sierra Leone, Africa. The characters from the story are Ismael a boy who is brave and a fighter trying to survive. Next is Alhaji a young man whom best friends with Ishmael both of them were a part of the army fighting the rebels and he is strong, cold in battle, and trying find hid childhood. Lastly is uncle Tommy he is a father to him and loves him so much.
Throughout these pages, Beah discusses his journey into becoming a soldier for the Sierra Leone Army. Within a very short time of being exposed to war, Beah had been brainwashed to kill all rebels, raided villages, become addicted to drugs, suffered from insomnia, lost all sense of reality, and described killing as “as easy as drinking water” (Beah 122). I think it is safe to say that war certainly wrecked and altered Beah's life in unimaginable ways, as it turned a gentle, innocent, rap-loving boy into a brainwashed, drug-addicted, killing
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.
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”.
This transformation from a playful child mind to savagery showcases humanity being detrimental to child soldiers. Lastly, Ishmael Beah’s post-war struggles of reintegrating into society showcase the permanent effects of the traumatic experiences he encountered, and that his innocence has vanished for good. During the last part of his memoir, Beah discusses the border, “I avoided eye contact, afraid that they might see in my eyes that I had once been a soldier in the war that I was now leaving behind” (Beah 219). This encapsulates the emotional turmoil that Ishamael must now go through as a result of his harsh experiences as a child soldier. Despite his newfound freedom, he still finds it difficult to grapple with the recent feelings of displacement in society, knowing that deep down he is a massively different person than he was prior.
Beah had to go through withdrawals that was caused by being a soldier. However Beah was able to be rehabilitated and live with his uncle and integrate back into life. “When the day of my repatriation finally came, I packed my few belongings in a plastic bag. I had a pair of sneakers, four T-shirts, three shorts, toothpaste..” (Beah 180)
He is an ocean away from Sierra Leone, but every aspect of his life is affected by what he went through in his youth. His memories from before the war influence the way he sees the world: “Whenever I get a chance to observe the moon now, I still see those same images I saw when I was six, and it pleases me to know that that part of my childhood is still embedded in me” (17). The memories from Beah’s early childhood may be overshadowed by his more traumatic ones, but they are
They see nothing wrong with what they do. In 2007, Ishmael Beah published a memoir called “A Long Way Gone” about his time as a child soldier in Sierra Leone. When he was twelve, the RUF (rebels) attacked his home village of Mogbwemo while he was in Mattru Jong with his older brother and their friends. The RUF then began to attack neighboring villages, sending Ishmael and his brother running.
The way Beah explained what happened to him, he did it in a sad way. My response to the writer is that I feel sorry for him. I cannot relate to him in any way since I have never been exposed to war and even been a soldier fighting in it. He was strong through the hardest part of his life; the actual war itself, rehabilitation, and ultimately escaping Freetown, Sierra Leone to eventually fly over to New York and start a new life. Ishmael Beah’s memoir, A Long Way Gone, replays a part of Beah’s life that will always be very vivid to him.
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.