A Long Way Gone Literary Analysis

Many children at the age of twelve do not encounter the horrors of war. For Ishmael Beah, a former child soldier, the horrors of war became a reality at this young age. In his memoir A Long Way Gone: Memoirs Of A Boy Soldier, Ishmael does everything he can to escape the sadness of old experiences that bloodshed has brought to him. The memories of violence and loss that plague Ishmael's mind burden him with pain throughout his journey.

Ishmael has very few ways he can cope with memories and exposure of warfare. The events of conflict are terrifying to the point that Ishmael has to go to sleep to suppress many of the painful memories he has lived through. The recollections of war and memories frighten him. Ishmael says “I was afraid to fall asleep, but staying awake also brought back painful memories. Memories I sometimes wish I could wash away, even though I am aware that they are an important part of what my …show more content…
As the Ishmael thinks about saidu’s death he is plagued with unhappiness and overwhelmed with sadness. “I [Ishmael] remembered a few weeks back when Saidu had spoken about parts of him slowly dying each passing day, as we carried on with our journey. Perhaps all of him had died that night when he spoke in that strange voice after we had survived that attack by men with machetes, axes, and spears”(87). Ishmael concluded that Saidu foreshadowed his own death, and Ishmael is burden by thinking of this aching memory.

The reminiscences of war and barbarity torture Ishmael during his path to safety. The recollections that burden him are Saidu’s story, and the emptiness of his mind before his death. These thoughts keep Ishmael awake at night; even when he wants to wash them all away, he cannot. War can be devastating on a person's mind, and can be even more painful than physical