Analysis Of A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

During a devastating civil war between RUF (Revolutionary United Front) and the government, many people had suffered and had great loses. In the book A Long Way Gone, written by Ishmael Beah, it demonstrates what happened in Sierra Leone when his nightmare because a reality. In the war, the government and RUF would recruit young boys to help fight in this civil war. Ishmael, a 12 year old boy who was a young soldier himself, paints a picture of himself and the effects the war has caused him. He was one of the many child soldiers who was also a victim and a victimizer because of the war. Being apart of this war caused him to undergo tragedy and to cause even more catastrophes like losing his family. Ishmael had become a victim and a victimizer due to his experience with being in the war. …show more content…
Ishmael was talking to a man and has come across the thought that “Even a twelve-year old couldn’t be trusted” (Beah 48). People viewed Ishmael as a boy soldier because of his age, which caused him not to be trusted. When Ishmael was not trusted by other civilians, it made it difficult for him. It became harder for him by people not trusting him because of the possibility of him being a boy soldier. When Ishmael was fighting and sees a rebel, he has come to the conclusion that “Whenever I look at rebels during raids, I get angrier because they look like the rebels who were playing cards in the ruins of the village where I had lost my family” ( Beah 122). When he saw the rebels kill his family it causes him to get angry and frustrated anytime he sees a rebel. The war has made Ishmael a victim because of the position the war has put him