The Journey of Becoming a Hero
Maria Nemeth once said, “Every time you are willing to say ‘Yes’ to everything on your path, you express the hero inside of you.” Ishmael Beah has his fair share of “yes” in his life, whether the yes was intentional or not. Beah was born in Sierra Leone in 1980. At the age of twelve he experienced the Civil War that was taking place for the first time. The Civil War lasted from March of 1991 to January of 2002 (BBC News). During this time period the government decided to use the kids in Sierra Leone to help fight the war. During the war kids have been forced to grow up and go through some parts of the Hero’s Journey. The Hero’s Journey is made up of three parts: separation, fulfillment, and the return. In A Long …show more content…
Throughout his journey he leaves his home to try to get away from the war. When the war breaks out in his hometown for the first time Beah is with his friends and his brother, Junior, a town over: “Gibrilla explained that the teachers had told them that the rebels had attacked Mogbwemo, our home. School had been canceled until further notice. We stopped what we were doing” (Beah 9). At that point in time Beah knew that most of his family was at home when the attack happened. He does not know if his family is safe or not, so they decide to return to Mogbwemo: “Junior, Talloi, and I looked at each other and knew that we must return to Mattru Jong, because we had seen that Mogbwemo was no longer a place to call home and that our parents could not possibly be there anymore” ( 13-14). Ishmael Beah goes through the first part of The Hero’s Journey, separation. Separation is the part where the character is taken out of his “normal” life. The people he knows and loves are no longer there. Ishmael Beah meets new people as he begins the first stage of The Hero’s Journey: “It was clear from the tone of his voice that he did not want me around and did not trust me. I looked at the curious and skeptical faces of the children and the woman. I was glad to see other faces and at the same time disappointed that the war had destroyed the enjoyment of the very experience of meeting people” (48). They have made it so that people in the country of Sierra Leone do not trust a boy that is twelve years old. He is separated from society and no longer has friends and family. He cannot make new friends very easily. He is lonely even with people next to him. In this stage of The Hero’s Journey Ishmael is separated from
Maria Nemeth once said, “Every time you are willing to say ‘Yes’ to everything on your path, you express the hero inside of you.” Ishmael Beah has his fair share of “yes” in his life, whether the yes was intentional or not. Beah was born in Sierra Leone in 1980. At the age of twelve he experienced the Civil War that was taking place for the first time. The Civil War lasted from March of 1991 to January of 2002 (BBC News). During this time period the government decided to use the kids in Sierra Leone to help fight the war. During the war kids have been forced to grow up and go through some parts of the Hero’s Journey. The Hero’s Journey is made up of three parts: separation, fulfillment, and the return. In A Long …show more content…
Throughout his journey he leaves his home to try to get away from the war. When the war breaks out in his hometown for the first time Beah is with his friends and his brother, Junior, a town over: “Gibrilla explained that the teachers had told them that the rebels had attacked Mogbwemo, our home. School had been canceled until further notice. We stopped what we were doing” (Beah 9). At that point in time Beah knew that most of his family was at home when the attack happened. He does not know if his family is safe or not, so they decide to return to Mogbwemo: “Junior, Talloi, and I looked at each other and knew that we must return to Mattru Jong, because we had seen that Mogbwemo was no longer a place to call home and that our parents could not possibly be there anymore” ( 13-14). Ishmael Beah goes through the first part of The Hero’s Journey, separation. Separation is the part where the character is taken out of his “normal” life. The people he knows and loves are no longer there. Ishmael Beah meets new people as he begins the first stage of The Hero’s Journey: “It was clear from the tone of his voice that he did not want me around and did not trust me. I looked at the curious and skeptical faces of the children and the woman. I was glad to see other faces and at the same time disappointed that the war had destroyed the enjoyment of the very experience of meeting people” (48). They have made it so that people in the country of Sierra Leone do not trust a boy that is twelve years old. He is separated from society and no longer has friends and family. He cannot make new friends very easily. He is lonely even with people next to him. In this stage of The Hero’s Journey Ishmael is separated from