“I concluded to myself if I were the hunter, I would shoot the monkey so that it would no longer have the chance to put other hunters in the same predicament” (Beah 218) Ishmael said, thinking of his memories as a soldier. This quote is something that he has learned from being a soldier. In the memoir A Long Way Gone, by Ishmael Beah, Ishmael was a normal kid living in Mattru Jong. The RUF rebels attacked his village and he was separated for his family. Ishmael spent long months of fleeing from the rebels and looking for his family. He had made some new companions along the way, and he was reconnected with some old friends from Mattru Jong. The rebels had attacked the village Ishmaels family was staying at. Unfortunately, Ishmaels family was
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After Ishmael joined the government army, he started to notice other soldiers doing drugs, so Ishmael started doing drugs. The drugs altered his mind, he was numbed, and felt no pain. Ishmael said slowly, “But after several doses of these drugs, all I felt was numbness to everything.” (Beah 121) This quote explains how Ishmael felt while taking the drugs. He liked the feeling and he also continued to do drugs as his time as a soldier. During his time as a soldier Ishmael was exposed to many types of drugs and in the book, there are multiple sections throughout the book that shows how the drugs affected him. Ishmael was so numbed, during the war he never felt pain to the people he was killing. Ishmael said, “The idea of death didn’t cross my mind at all and killing had become as easy as drinking water.” (Beah 121) He was so numbed, he could kill and not feel guilty. This shows how bad the drugs were, he relied on the drugs to keep him numb. The drugs in sensitized Ishmael. Ishmael changes from a pure kid to a fierce army soldier because the lieutenant motivating him to kill and the drugs distressing his feelings. The lieutenant gives speeches about how killing the rebels is a good thing. The soldiers trusted him so they listened to everything the lieutenant said. The drugs altered his mind and he had no feeling whatsoever while killing. This matter because if it weren’t for the lieutenant and drugs, Ishmael would have never transitioned into a violent child
After Ishmael joined the government army, he started to notice other soldiers doing drugs, so Ishmael started doing drugs. The drugs altered his mind, he was numbed, and felt no pain. Ishmael said slowly, “But after several doses of these drugs, all I felt was numbness to everything.” (Beah 121) This quote explains how Ishmael felt while taking the drugs. He liked the feeling and he also continued to do drugs as his time as a soldier. During his time as a soldier Ishmael was exposed to many types of drugs and in the book, there are multiple sections throughout the book that shows how the drugs affected him. Ishmael was so numbed, during the war he never felt pain to the people he was killing. Ishmael said, “The idea of death didn’t cross my mind at all and killing had become as easy as drinking water.” (Beah 121) He was so numbed, he could kill and not feel guilty. This shows how bad the drugs were, he relied on the drugs to keep him numb. The drugs in sensitized Ishmael. Ishmael changes from a pure kid to a fierce army soldier because the lieutenant motivating him to kill and the drugs distressing his feelings. The lieutenant gives speeches about how killing the rebels is a good thing. The soldiers trusted him so they listened to everything the lieutenant said. The drugs altered his mind and he had no feeling whatsoever while killing. This matter because if it weren’t for the lieutenant and drugs, Ishmael would have never transitioned into a violent child