Flashback In A Long Way Gone

Memories have the to power to connect people to their past, which may be a distress for some. In A Long Way Gone, a recovering boy soldier named Ishmael Beah struggles to rehabilitate by overcoming his torn memories in order to remember his significant ones. Throughout this book, Ishmael has many flashbacks in the healing process that he eventually learns to cope with. One of the first flashbacks Ishmael has is when he revisits the time when he was a junior lieutenant. Weeks after being rescued by UNICEF and brought to a rehabilitation center, Ishmael woke up in the hospital after breaking windows with his hands. He noticed that there was a soldier in the room. He then realized it was a lieutenant city soldier and that he was there to check …show more content…
It starts off when Ishmael explains that after school the boys would have lunch then play tennis or soccer. But at night some of them would have nightmares. They would wake up and try to hurt and kill the others. That night Ishmael dreamt about a faceless gunman trying to slice his throat with a bayonet. After he woke up, he ran outside and tried to think about childhood memories but instead brought up another flashback. As they tried to find a new village, they walked through a rainforest, and were ambushed. Once they lost the attackers, they regrouped and counterattacked, because they knew attackers would lead them to their base. Once they got to the rebel’s base they killed their reinforcements. While relaxing in the just-captured village, the rebels started a second ambush. Once again, they killed them all. Afterwards, Alhaji and Ishmael were pointing out all the places where they were shot at and merely killed. Ishmael woke up to staff members wrapping blankets around him saying it was not his fault. The staff members of Benin Home helped Ishmael climb two steps up Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs by securing his safety and security, and love and belonging. It may not have happened instantly, but over the course of his stay there, he was repeatedly told it was not his fault. Over time, this made Ishmael feel safe and secure by acting like a family and giving him social support. Also, Ishmael might have felt as if he was an outcast and everything was his fault. While being wrapped in a blanket by staff members he may have felt affection and a sense of belonging. From the staff members, Ishmael feels like he is safe and cared