Analysis Of A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah is a true story of a young boy soldier’s life. Just at the age of twelve when he was away from home, his village had been attacked. When he returned with his brother and some friends there was confusion and violence that made them go from village to village in search for things for survival such as food. They also do many things in desperation that they may have never thought of doing. Later on Ishmael was taken in as a soldier by the army. He became brainwashed into believing should be his main priority. He, along with many young soldiers are forced into becoming addicted to drugs such as cocaine, marijuana, and "brown brown" (a mixture of cocaine and gunpowder). Furthermore into his life, Ishmael is taken to …show more content…
Currently, Beah lives his new life in the United States of America. There are many life lessons that A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah can teach the reader. Ishmael Beah, at first started out as an innocent young boy living a normal life, yet his innocence was torn from him when he was entered into war. In the beginning of the book he states," to go to the town of Mattru Jong to participate in our friend's talent show" (Beah 6) . This quote shows the times of when he was free and enjoyed time with friends. Then, desperate enough to do things such as "chased a little boy who was eating two boiled ears of corn by himself." (Beah 30). The reader can learn from this that good people even the most innocent amongst us, has the potential to be the reason of terrible things. Even after war and into rehab, in Ishmael's life many people who aren't necessarily family have helped him as though he is their own. Even though his actual family (Mom, dad and two brothers) were killed. This shows readers that the meaning of family stretches much farther than just being related …show more content…
The reason for this is that during the time of war the only people who were going through what he was going through were the people in the army. Also, since he had no other family the army was the only way of communicating with people. For Ishmael Beah, his ticket out of war was rehabilitation. There he met people who calmed him down and changed his life for the better. For example, Esther, his nurse at rehab, who had gained his trust and helped him through rehab. Beah states, "It was the genuine tone in Esther's voice that made the phrase finally sink in to my mind and heart" (Beah 165). This quote shows how Esther is gradually giving Ishmael Beah back his faith in himself. Also, when he states, "I asked her if I could stay with her if I made my way to New York City" (Beah 209) it shows that he was trying to escape and move on with his life rather than being forced back into war. The reader can learn from these few examples that life goes on even after the hardships. There are many life lessons that can be learned from A Long way Gone by Ishmael Beah, the true story of the hardships and life of a young boy soldier. Even though he faced so many obstacles Beah