A Long Way Gone Theme Essay

In literature, there are many different themes that appear repeatedly in novels people read. These themes can be seen in many works of literature, no matter the genre or topic. One of the most recurring themes seen in books is a character’s loss of innocence. Loss of innocence happens when a character is exposed to situations they had never been exposed to before such as war, death and violence. These are all things that most children are naive to and have never experienced in their life. However, when a child encounters situations similar to those mentioned, it causes them to grow up, sometimes earlier than they were supposed to. Their childhood innocence fades and causes them to see the evil and pain that is in the world, things that weren’t …show more content…
This theme begins developing at the beginning of the story when Ishmael first sees the horror and violence of war. Ishmael was introduced to war at age 12, after having led a sheltered life. When he sees the rebels drive everyone in his village out of their homes and hurt innocent people, Ishmael loses some of his childhood innocence. All of his innocence is completely lost when he is coerced into joining Sierra Leone’s army as a young boy. The army was able to quickly conscript Ishmael and other young boys because of their vulnerability and lack of family. There, young kids evolved from somewhat innocent teenagers into seasoned soldiers trained to kill. When all of the kids were handed a gun, they were given an opportunity to start a new life. In turn, they lost their old one and all of their innocence. In the face of the war, Ismael was forced to grow up quickly and had his childhood taken from him too soon. In the memoir A Long Way Gone, Ishmael's story is divided into two main parts; Ishmael's life before he is coerced into the army and his life after leaving the army and getting sent to a rehabilitation