A Long Way Gone Character Analysis

In the wise words of Rita Brown “good judgment comes from experience and often experience comes from bad judgment”. Often gaining wisdom or having good judgment comes from misfortune or hardship. In Ishmael Beah’s story he changes as a character because of his experiences. Ishmael gains wisdom through his experience at the UNICEF rehabilitation camp for boy soldiers after being a part of the Sierra Leone civil war. He shares his journey in his memoir A Long Way Gone. First, Ishmael changed a lot as a person throughout his journey. Before the civil war, Ishmael was a troublesome boy who enjoyed rapping and dancing with his brother and his friends. He was touched by the war at the age of twelve. After witnessing the village that his family was in get attacked by the rebels, he became vindictive. Ishmael joined the government army. There he learns that he is capable of terrible acts such as cutting people’s heads off and raiding villages. Ishmael did all this without fear because he was under the influence
of drugs. After three years in the army he was removed from fighting. Ishmael was placed in a UNICEF rehabilitation camp for boy soldiers. During his time at the camp, he slowly reconnects with his old self and gains wisdom that helped him later on in his life. Ishmael had a tough childhood because of all the things that he was a victim of and the things that he was a part of. One example of how Ishmael gains wisdom is through his experience at the rehabilitation camp. During his time at the camp, Ishmael meets a caring nurse by the name of Esther. Esther never judged Ishmael. She helped him heal by repetitively telling him “It was not his fault”. She never gave up on Ishmael even when he was acting stubborn. Esther gave Ishmael time to forgive himself, trust other and regain humanity. Esther did this by reconnecting Ishmael to things that he enjoyed before becoming a boy soldier, like music. She gave him a walkman that he could listen to during their therapy sessions. She also became a friend to Ishmael. She sung with Ishmael and went for walks in the city with him. Ishmael said that she looked at him with eyes that said that he was a child. He was no longer vindictive. Ishmael’s change is shown at the end of the book where he explains and answers a tale from his childhood. He answers the tale by saying he would sacrifice his mother so no one else would have to sacrifice any of their parents. His answer to the tale shows wisdom through his experience. Before being treated at the camp, he murdered people to get revenge for the death of his parents. Ishmael gained wisdom through his experience because he learned to forgive himself and trust others, something that would be impossible without the help of the people at the camp specially Esther. Additionally, change in character such as gaining wisdom is important to books, it is important because it reinforces theme and characterization.
In this case, Ishmael’s experience at the UNICEF rehabilitation camp allowed him to gain wisdom and grow as a character. His wisdom is meaningful to the book because it creates characterization. Ishmael’s changes allow readers to further understand his journey and the hardship he had to overcome. It is significant that readers understand Ishmael’s change because it creates interest which pushes the reader to continue reading. Ishmael’s experiences reinforce the theme of revenge. His answer to the tale from his childhood show how far he has come. He changed from murdering people to get revenge for the lost of his family, to saying that he would sacrifice his mother so no one else would have to. Ishmael’s gain of wisdom ties the whole book together and helps readers to understand Ishmael as a
character. All in all, in his memoir, A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah becomes a wiser boy because of his experiences at the UNICEF rehabilitation camp for boy soldiers. Before Ishmael was touched by the war, he enjoyed his life. During the war he loses his family and becomes vindictive, he joined the government army. After three years of fighting he goes to a rehabilitation camp for boy soldiers. There he gains wisdom and changes his view on life. Ishmael’s gain of wisdom reinforced theme and characterization and it helped readers to connect to Ishmael. Ishmael’s story show us that there is always hope for a better future, if you allow people into your and trust them to not judge you for your past.