A Long Way Gone Analysis

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Family can drive you insane. Families have certain qualifications and characteristics that define them. In A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah, “The Best Locker Room Speeches of Week 17”, and in “My Gang, My Family” Rowenna Davis all show and explain these things. The characteristics of a family are people who complete hardships together, gives safety for one another, and they share the same pride.

In “My Gang My Family” the author Rowenna Davis gives countless examples of how families and gangs share the same characteristics such as safety. Davis writes, “Gangs, like families, provide units of security in a world too dangerous for individuals” (paragraph 2). This quote expresses how families and gangs are not so different from each other.
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In A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah there are plenty of examples of how hard ships create a bond. Beah writes, “My squad was my family, my gun was my provider and protector, and my rule was to kill or be killed. The extent of my thoughts didn't go much beyond that. We had been fighting for over two years, and killing had become a daily activity. I felt no pity for anyone”(page 126 Source A). This quote shows that since Ishmael was going through a hard time during the war, his squad became his family. This quote is important because it shows the reader that since he lost his parents and his brother, he looked for a new family that took him under his wing. Also from the novel, “The problem that is affecting us children is the war that forces us to run away from our homes, lose our families, and aimlessly roams the forests. As a result, we get involved in the conflict as soldiers, carriers of loads, and in many other difficult tasks” (page 199 Source A). This quote shows how the loss of family is what pushed young boys to become soldiers and form a bond. This is important because it shows the process of how the hardships faced brings people

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