How Does Ishmael Beah Lose Innocence

Ishmael Beah did lose his innocence because he had to watch so many love ones die, he did not have a problem killing people, and he got addicted to drugs. First off, he had to watch so many love ones die. The boys were walking to try to find a village to stay at. They met a man named Gasemu and helped him carry bananas. Gasemu said their families were in the next village, so they decided to go there. Once they got there, they flames everywhere and the rebels shooting people. Ishmael cried, “If we had not stopped to rest on that hill, if we had not run into Gasemu, I would have seen my family, I thought. My head was burning as if on fire. I put my hands on both ears and squeeze them in vain,”(Beah 95). This proves the main idea because he was so excited to see his family when he got to the village, and then they were dead. …show more content…
He now has experience with the worst things that can happen in life, and he is blaming others for what happened. In addition, Ishmael did not have a problem killing people. The lieutenant gave a speech telling five soldiers to kill the prisoners by slicing their throats. The winner would become junior lieutenant and Ishmael was one of the five chosen. He was very happy and was ready to kill his prisoner the fastest. Ishmael states, “I did not feel a thing for him, did not think much about what I was doing. I just waited for the corporal’s order. The prisoner was simply another rebel who was responsible for the death of my family, as I had come to truly believe,”(Beah 124). This proves the main idea because he is not free of evil and guilt anymore. He used to be a little kid who loved playing and hanging out with friends and would have never thought of killing someone. During the war, he started to love killing people and did not think anything about it. Finally, Ishmael got addicted to