The job of the memoirist is to choose a purpose and decide which details to include in the writing that best convey that purpose. Ishmael Beah’s purpose for writing A Long Way Gone was to dispel the notion that war and violence are romantic. In his vivid testament as a former child soldier, Beah examines how war erodes consideration and thoughtfulness for others. He examines a loss of innocence that hopefully the reader won’t have to experience. He describes a world in which adults pray on the weak and frightened. He de-romanticizes war and violence by providing another image to the reader. Beah portrays the destructiveness of war through his narrative style and use of literary elements. Beah uses a strong voice and interesting tactics of
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To understand Beah’s view, the reader must look at the pure and unadulterated text. In a world in which readers are inundated with visual narratives of all kinds and often judge a text solely on the story’s action, it is important to look beyond the plot and closely examine the language. One may first look at Beah’s writing as a bit clumsy and weak, but this narrative tactic helps him get his message across to the audience. This style makes his text very readable to a public audience. Beah does leave much to the imagination. In doing so, it is easier for the reader to put him or herself in Beah’s place, and that makes his situation less romantic. One comes to realize that the lack of description in some instances may be a form of self-protection for Beah. In fact, the raw description of violence becomes less and less as the text goes along. This technique helps the reader understand the effects of the war on Beah. For example, when Beah first describes his life as a child soldier, he deos not shy away from the …show more content…
His use of literary elements is structurally sound and shows how serious his message should be taken. One such literary device Beah uses to de-romanticize war and violence is symbolism. One symbol in the text is the cassettes. The cassette represented his past life and a piece of himself that he tried to hold on to. He carried his cassettes with him after leaving home, and kept them until he was recruited into the army. As soon as his cassettes were gone, a part of him died as well. Beah writes, “I took off my old pants, which contained the rap cassettes. As I was putting on my new army shorts, a soldier took my old pants and threw them into a blazing fire that had been set to burn our old belongings” (110). His old life and hope for something better was gone when the cassettes went up in flames. The stripping away of his life is not romantic.
One of the most recognizable symbols in the text is the moon. The moon is referenced several times and at first is a sign of hope for Beah. He is told to “strive to be like moon” and “A lot of happy things happen when the moon shines” (16-17). But as he is further pulled into the conflict, the moon cannot offer the hope it once stood for. The moon became dull as he fled the rebels and “hid behind clouds to avoid seeing what was happening” (80). Beah’s hope is hidden; his future is cloudy. The war has taken both from
To understand Beah’s view, the reader must look at the pure and unadulterated text. In a world in which readers are inundated with visual narratives of all kinds and often judge a text solely on the story’s action, it is important to look beyond the plot and closely examine the language. One may first look at Beah’s writing as a bit clumsy and weak, but this narrative tactic helps him get his message across to the audience. This style makes his text very readable to a public audience. Beah does leave much to the imagination. In doing so, it is easier for the reader to put him or herself in Beah’s place, and that makes his situation less romantic. One comes to realize that the lack of description in some instances may be a form of self-protection for Beah. In fact, the raw description of violence becomes less and less as the text goes along. This technique helps the reader understand the effects of the war on Beah. For example, when Beah first describes his life as a child soldier, he deos not shy away from the …show more content…
His use of literary elements is structurally sound and shows how serious his message should be taken. One such literary device Beah uses to de-romanticize war and violence is symbolism. One symbol in the text is the cassettes. The cassette represented his past life and a piece of himself that he tried to hold on to. He carried his cassettes with him after leaving home, and kept them until he was recruited into the army. As soon as his cassettes were gone, a part of him died as well. Beah writes, “I took off my old pants, which contained the rap cassettes. As I was putting on my new army shorts, a soldier took my old pants and threw them into a blazing fire that had been set to burn our old belongings” (110). His old life and hope for something better was gone when the cassettes went up in flames. The stripping away of his life is not romantic.
One of the most recognizable symbols in the text is the moon. The moon is referenced several times and at first is a sign of hope for Beah. He is told to “strive to be like moon” and “A lot of happy things happen when the moon shines” (16-17). But as he is further pulled into the conflict, the moon cannot offer the hope it once stood for. The moon became dull as he fled the rebels and “hid behind clouds to avoid seeing what was happening” (80). Beah’s hope is hidden; his future is cloudy. The war has taken both from