A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

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…

These are the agonies of life in Sierra Leone. Two authors chronical their experiences in Sierra Leone to enlighten the world about the tragedies taking place there. A major component in Ishmael Beah’s, A Long Way Gone, is describing how difficult his rehabilitation was from being a child soldier while The Bite of the Mango, by Mariatu Kamara, highlights her resiliency as a victim of various violent crimes. Given the physical and mental components of Mariatu Kamara’s life in Sierra Leone before…

everywhere.” Martin Luther King's states that injustice, no matter where should not be allowed and should be repealed. By looking into injustice, you will see that it shapes a person and leads them to think in ways that are irrational. As shown in Ishmael Beah’s memoir A Long Way Gone, ishmael faces his injustice when he is forced upon a gun and drugs when all he wants is his family back. Similarly, in the book the absolutely true diary of a part time Indian, Arnold transfers to an all white…

Good people can do bad things Do you ever wonder why good people end up doing the bad things in life. Ishmael Beah’s life is a perfect example of how and why he was lead to do such bad things throughout his life. In A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah, the theme of “good people can be convinced to do horrible things” is very evident throughout the story. Good people may end up doing things in their life growing up they thought they would never do. Ishmael Beah was…

By 1865, Union soldiers perceived the bloodhound as a weapon by which the planter class oppressed not only slaves, but white unionists and captured Union soldiers. The savagery of the bloodhounds illustrated what Northerners considered to be the true brutality of the culture of the “Southern chivalry.” In the war’s second year, newspapers in Iowa began to discuss the new use of bloodhounds in the Southern states as literal instruments of control over Southern Unionists. The Confederate…

But Frederick does not let this stop him. Regardless of his obstacles he continues on his path to freedom, educating fellow slaves on the way. Frederick says, “I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and incur my own abhorrence.” He persisted on his road to freedom, and ended up having a master who let him save money…

By 1865, bloodhounds were seen as a weapon by which the planter class oppressed not only slaves, but white unionists and northern prisoners of war. The savagery of the bloodhounds illustrated what Northerners considered to be the true brutality of the culture of the Southern planter class. In the war’s second year, newspapers in Iowa began to discuss the new use of bloodhounds in the Southern states as literal instruments of control over Southern Unionists. Dogs were indeed deployed by the…

“Never shall I forget these moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God himself. Never.”(Elie Wiesel 1). He lost belief in everything and never forget what he went through. This describes what he felt during his time in the Holocaust. Elie Wiesel’s troubles childhood as a holocaust survivor has influenced him to write his famous book Night that describes his experiences in the holocaust.…