Analysis Of A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

Rationale:
This written task relates to the memoir A Long Way Gone written by Ishmael Beah, and in particular, is a diary by Lieutenant Jabati, Ishmael’s commanding officer during his time as a child solider in Sierra Leone. The diary describes events that occur during this timeframe while expanding on Jabati’s feelings and thoughts. I chose a diary because I felt it could best illustrate how Ishmael was viewed by his peers as a child soldier while elaborating on the gruesomeness of the war and how it affects people’s thoughts. I chose to write the diary from the perspective of Lieutenant Jabati because he is a character that gets little development or background in the story; I thought that explaining his perspective would add a new level of understanding to the book for interested readers. …show more content…
Additionally, I tried to make the diary span the time of Ishmael’s service, matching the timeframe as close as possible with that of the book. This lets me expand on a few major points during the war, such as Ishmael’s first battle in war, from the Lieutenant’s perspective afterwards involving his mental and emotional states. Finally, I created a background story for Jabati in a few lines to show how he related to his soldiers and how being in war is a horrible experience. By explaining his perspective, background, thoughts, and emotions in this way, I feel that I have accomplished the purpose of the