A Long Way Gone Essay
Alyda Mahachay
Mrs. Barret
English 9
Period 3
October 15Th, 2014
A Long Way Gone
“One of the unsettling things about my journey, mentally, physically, and emotionally, was that I wasn’t sure when or where it was going to end. I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life, I felt that I was starting over and over again.”
Ishmael Beah
A Long Way Gone written by Ishmael Beah is a memoir of a boy soldier and the experiences he has endured during the occurrence of the Sierra Leone Civil War. Ishmael’s experiences physically, mentally and emotionally have altered the person he is and has become. Physically he is ambitious and loyal, and mentally he is immensely intelligent and logical, and emotionally and culturally he is intellectual and resilient.
Being and becoming ambitious and loyal is not effortless. Ishmael has acquired these traits from the various experiences he endured during the occurrence of the war. One of the vast amounts of experiences and occurrences that transpired was when Ishmael’s friend, Saidu passes out and the group of boys are unsure if he’s alive or not. “We will have to carry him to the next village, however far that might be” (Beah 83) Even though Ishmael possessed an insufficient amount of knowledge of these boys than his other group they have associated and have bonded with each other through the occurrences of events. Not only Ishmael, but also the group have implemented and represented how ambitious and loyal they are. The second example, Ishmael portrays loyalty when he first arrives at the rehabilitation center and they are implanted with the enemy, the rebels (Beah 135). He is portraying loyalty to the army, who he has fought for the past year. When the boys extract a fight with the rebels, Ishmael fights along side of his army combatants. The final example occurs when Ishmael is chosen to be a spokesperson for the rehabilitation center. Ishmael states, “we can be rehabilitated” (Beah 175) this is demonstrating how ambitious
Mrs. Barret
English 9
Period 3
October 15Th, 2014
A Long Way Gone
“One of the unsettling things about my journey, mentally, physically, and emotionally, was that I wasn’t sure when or where it was going to end. I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life, I felt that I was starting over and over again.”
Ishmael Beah
A Long Way Gone written by Ishmael Beah is a memoir of a boy soldier and the experiences he has endured during the occurrence of the Sierra Leone Civil War. Ishmael’s experiences physically, mentally and emotionally have altered the person he is and has become. Physically he is ambitious and loyal, and mentally he is immensely intelligent and logical, and emotionally and culturally he is intellectual and resilient.
Being and becoming ambitious and loyal is not effortless. Ishmael has acquired these traits from the various experiences he endured during the occurrence of the war. One of the vast amounts of experiences and occurrences that transpired was when Ishmael’s friend, Saidu passes out and the group of boys are unsure if he’s alive or not. “We will have to carry him to the next village, however far that might be” (Beah 83) Even though Ishmael possessed an insufficient amount of knowledge of these boys than his other group they have associated and have bonded with each other through the occurrences of events. Not only Ishmael, but also the group have implemented and represented how ambitious and loyal they are. The second example, Ishmael portrays loyalty when he first arrives at the rehabilitation center and they are implanted with the enemy, the rebels (Beah 135). He is portraying loyalty to the army, who he has fought for the past year. When the boys extract a fight with the rebels, Ishmael fights along side of his army combatants. The final example occurs when Ishmael is chosen to be a spokesperson for the rehabilitation center. Ishmael states, “we can be rehabilitated” (Beah 175) this is demonstrating how ambitious