Ishmael Beah's A Long Way Gone: Memories Of A Boy Soldier

Title Throughout the course we have read several books related to war from various authors. These authors wrote their works in a multitude of ways. The time periods at which these authors wrote differed immensely. One author wrote at the time of the civil war, others during the Vietnam War, and another during World War II. The style at which they wrote was anything but similar. The variance of literature was as great as their time difference. Some expressed their writings in a way of short stories, poems, novels, science fiction war novels, and memoirs. Some had joined the military out of honor and glory for their country, while others were forced into battle as a necessity to live, although none of them were in the same place or shared the …show more content…
Ishmael’s story was one of the worst war experiences we read through the class. He was not a trained soldier, but forced into the violence of war when his country was ripped apart during war. He was a young child who’s family was murdered and village taken from him, forcing Ishmael to resort to acts of desperation to stay alive. With his back was against the wall, he was forced to join the army and fight the rebels, stripping his childhood …show more content…
All three men are separated into different positions and units, thus employing them with different experiences. One of the village friends, Bien, is sent to the front lines to fight in grueling battles. It is not long before the stressors of war completely engulf Bien. In the dialog between the two friends Quan and Luong, they converse about the effects war is having on Bien. “Bien has gone crazy. They came to tell me yesterday.” (Huong 29). Bien could not escape the brutalities of war and it had wounded him to the point of