Theme Of A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

The book, A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beth is based on a true story of the author's life, who became an reluctant boy soldier during a civil war in Sierra Leone. Beah is now twenty-five years old, tells a compelling story. When he was twelve years old, Beah's village was attacked while he was away practicing raps with friends. Among the confusion, violence, and uncertainty of the war, Ishmael, his brother, and his friends wandered from village to village in search of food and somewhere to stay. Their day-to-day experiences was a struggle of survival, and the boys find themselves committing acts they would never have believed themselves capable of, such becoming a soldier. “Theme is defined as a main idea or an underlying meaning of a literary work that may be stated directly or indirectly” and throughout

His mother, father, brother, grandmother and friends was usually always around. His brothers and friends had a rap group since they were young. Ishmael, Junior, Talloi, and Mohamed never missed a beat without each other. “Junior, Talloi, and I took our backpacks and headed to the wharf with our friends.” (Beah, pg. 8) He then becomes stranded due to the fact that rebels came and he could not make it back to his village for his family. “Every morning in Mattru Jong we would go down to the wharf for news from home.” (Beah, pg. 15) Ishmael and Junior’s bond deepens despite the tragedy of not being able to see their family. They try to protect each other to the best of their ability. While running from the rebels, Junior and Ishmael are separated. Months later, Ishmael learns that his brother escaped the attack and could be alive. When Ishmael finds the village where he believes his family is hiding, the rebels happen to attack again. Junior's body is never found but he is supposedly dead. When they became separated, Beah was unable to mourn his brother because he had to focus on