Sierra Leone Civil War

America. There are many life lessons that A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah can teach the reader. Ishmael Beah, at first started out as an innocent young boy living a normal life, yet his innocence was torn from him when he was entered into war. In the beginning of the book he states," to go to the town of Mattru Jong to participate in our friend's talent show" (Beah 6) . This quote shows the times of when he was free and enjoyed time with friends. Then, desperate enough to do things such…

11/25 I stopped my reading for one day to relax my mind; I was unconsciously effected by the war Ishmael was in. I detested the rebel who killed his family, friends, and country. The war between the government and the rebels ruined the citizens peaceful lives. Families were separated, and children were brought to fright against their friend in different sides. Most children who became a soldier were either killed others or be killed by others, for most of them turned to be indifference, addicted…

A Ugandan warlord abducts children and forces them to join the military. Invisible Children, a US organization, created a YouTube video called Kony 2012 opposing the actions of Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army. John Naughton wrote an editorial praising Kony 2012 in the Observer in March 2012. Children from other countries are compelled to enlist in the military as well. Ishmael Beah became a soldier when he was young. He wrote a book, A Long Way Gone, detailing his…

Burke, Jason, and Phil Hatcher-Moore. “’If you are old enough to carry a gun, you are old enough to be a soldier’”. The Guardian, July 24, 2017. Accessed October 22, 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/jul/24/south-sudan-child-soldiers This article provides a qualitative narrative of the child soldier conflict in South Sudan and the experiences that they have. This article follows several child soldiers, such as David Zelu, a fifteen-year old from South Sudan, who is a…

while he’s at school and he has to go out into the “bush” alone and survive through all his hardships throughout this novel. It changes his struggle by having to cope with his friends and family dying and also getting to refugee camps.In this time of war, Salva has to keep dealing his group leaving him twice and on his third group having his only people he’s close to being killed. Nya. She is a girl also in Southern Sudan but, she is in the Nuer tribe and also she lives in a different…

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…

‘Don’t Call me Ishmael is a young adult genre book which is written by author Michael Gerard Bauer. It is a fictional novel written in a journal diary style and in the perspective of a 14 year old boy, Ishmael Leseur. He was named after the narrator in Herman Merville’s infamous book, Moby Dick. Ishmael is continuously being verbally bullied for his name throughout his entire highschool life, which caused him to have a low self-image of himself and completely lacking in confidence. However with…

I feel that the theme of the book is survival. At first Beah didn’t even believe that the war would reach Mattru Jong which was where he was staying. Once the war hit where he was, his life changed completely. He knows that if the rebels catch him it will not be a good outcome so he runs and hides for his life. A young, innocent boys life is completely turned around due to this tragic war. He becomes used to seeing blood and death every day of his life and at one point is seconds away from…

In chapters 12-15, Ishmael stops fighting for his life and starts fighting for his country. At the age of 12, he was trained to kill everyone and spare no one. Sierra Leone’s army focused on brainwashing kids to have lethal minds so they could expand their army and win the war. This caused so many children’s lives to be ruined by seeing things that cannot be unseen. They also became addicted to many different drugs/substances. Ishmael is once again is provided with new clothes at his army base.…

A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah follows Beah as he experiences the invasion of his home and his becoming of a child solider. In the memoir, chapter four and five sees Ishmael go retreat back to his home with his brothers as he has nothing else to live off of. As the boys walk through their hometown, they witness the carnage and aftermath of the rebel attack. They are unable to put words to their shared horror, and they are unsure of what they can do for each other. However, their hunger is more…