The major theme in the story A Long Way Gone is that with family and love a person can make it through anything . Overall Ishmael’s story is a very powerful, eye opening read; it informs people on a subject that some know little to nothing about, the civil war in Sierra Leone.
What does A Long Way Gone teach us?
Full of fear, suffering, and hope for redemption, Ishmael Beah’s memoir A Long Way Gone will introduce students to the life of a child soldier during the civil war in Sierra Leone .
What is Ishmael’s belief about survival?
” Ishmael’s decision to survive by becoming a soldier comes at a price . He has to dehumanize other people, including other children, and kill them. Further, he remains emotionless while watching his friends die.
What does the return of the moon symbolize in A Long Way Gone?
For Ishmael and his family, the moon is a symbol of goodness and joy . ... The moon is constantly looking over Ishmael’s shoulder reminding him of his life before the war and his connection to the people he loves. Even after the war, whenever Ishmael sees the moon, he remembers the happier times of his childhood.
What is the turning point in A Long Way Gone?
The turning point is when Ishmael joins the army . This event caused him to start losing focus on reality and turned him into a savage.
What is the main conflict in A Long Way Gone?
This true story involves the life of Ishmael Beah who lives a fairly happy life in Sierra Leone until civil war breaks out . Then, like other civilians, he is forced to run for his life, becoming separated from his family and later losing them to murder by the rebels.
Is A Long Way Gone a true story?
A Long Way Gone is the true story of Ishmael Beah , who becomes an unwilling boy soldier during a civil war in Sierra Leone. When he is twelve years old, Beah’s village is attacked while he is away performing in a rap group with friends.
Why is Ishmael a child soldier?
In 1991, the Sierra Leone Civil War started. Rebels invaded Beah’s hometown, Mogbwemo, located in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone, and he was forced to flee. Separated from his family, he spent months wandering south with a group of other boys. At the age of 13, he was forced to become a child soldier.
Why did Ishmael Beah write his memoir A Long Way Gone?
First, he wanted to expose how children are subjected to indoctrination as they are recruited to fight in conflicts around the world. The act of brainwashing a child who is looking for a place to belong is a powerful draw. He said he also wrote the book to educate people about Sierra Leone and its struggles .
Did Ishmael Beah find his family?
In A Long Way Gone, Ishmael is separated from his family by the war in Sierra Leone and doesn’t ever find them again . ... Eventually he’s adopted by an American woman who he connected with during a visit to New York, but he never forgets the family he’s lost.
How does Ishmael keep his emotions and faith up so that he does not lose hope?
Kamator, the village Ishmael, Junior, and their friends are hiding in, is attacked late one night without warning. Most of the villagers are at evening prayer when the rebels invade. Ishmael manages to escape, but he is separated from his brother and friends . ...
What does the moon personify in A Long Way Gone?
Personification and Meaning
She described the moon as something that inspired or encouraged joy in others; she said Beah should be on his best behavior to do the same. When the moon comes up later in the novel, we can see how it becomes a symbol of goodness.
Why is the moon important to Ishmael?
In Beah’s memoir, his grandmother teaches him to be like the moon, for it is a model of good behavior, of innocence, strength and integrity. in war, the moon becomes a guiding figure , reminding Ishmael of all he has lost, and warning him of all that still poses a threat.
Why is farming so difficult for Ishmael?
Why is farming so difficult for Ishmael? After Kamator has been attacked , and the two boys have been cut off from the others in fleeing, Ishmael and Kaloko sneak out of the bush and back into Kamator, bringing along brooms every time. ... The most difficult part of being in the forest for Ishmael was the loneliness.
What is the significance of the ending of A Long Way Gone?
Ishmael’s story concludes with his metaphorical decision to kill the monkey so that future hunters don’t face the same dilemma . As it relates to war-torn Sierra Leone, Ishmael would risk his own family if it meant future families wouldn’t have to make the same choice.
How does Ishmael change throughout the book?
Ishmael’s story is one of personal transformation and survival. Before the war, he enjoys a happy childhood in his village. During the war, he becomes a killing machine capable of horrible acts of violence. When UNICEF rescues the boy soldiers from the front lines of war, Ishmael is rehabilitated .
What happens at the end of Ishmael?
The narrator comes up with a plan to rescue Ishmael from the circus by buying him from the circus’s owner. By the time he gets the cash together, however, Ishmael has died from pneumonia .
How many brothers does Ishmael have in A Long Way Gone?
Junior. Junior, Ishmael’s older brother, sets out with him to Mattru Jong, which is why both boys are spared during the attack on Mogbwemo. The two brothers look out for each other. But in the end, they’re separated when rebels raid the village they’re staying in.
How many different civil wars are mentioned in the memoir Long Way Gone?
In the more than fifty conflicts going on worldwide, it is estimated that there are some 300,000 child soldiers.
What is the resolution in the book A Long Way Gone?
Resolution. Ishmael eventually ends up in the United States where he is adopted by Laura Simms and everything ends happily .
WHO adopted Ishmael Beah?
Laura Simms , a member of the UN, eventually adopted Beah as her son. In 1998, Beah moved to New York City with Simms. Beah is a graduate of the United Nations International School and Oberlin College.
What chapter does Ishmael become a soldier?
Becoming a Soldier
In chapter 14 , his anger, stoked by a combination of drugs, continues to fuel his new existence as a solder. Let’s find out more about Ishmael’s life as he becomes more and more of a child soldier.
Is Ishmael Beah a refugee?
Beah wandered as a refugee from place to place for nearly a year, both alone and with a small group of boys who included his older brother. Shortly after his brother was killed, Beah was recruited as a child soldier in the Sierra Leonean government army when he was just thirteen years old.
How many people has Ishmael killed?
The civil war in Sierra Leone lasted 11 years, killing over 50,000 people and forever marking the lives of thousands of children. In 1991, like many other children, Ishmael lost his immediate family – both his parents and his brothers.
How does Ishmael change in A Long Way Gone?
Throughout A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah shares several accounts of his time as a soldier, such as the one included above. He was transformed from a child into a killing machine through a toxic combination of drugs, propaganda, and psychological manipulation .
How does Ishmael lose his humanity?
Killing became a way of life for Ishmael Beah when he was only 13. ... For Beah, losing his humanity came easy. By the time he was wielding an AK-47 and “killing too many people to count,” he had already lost so much: his brothers, mother, father and grandmother had all been murdered by rebel forces .
Why does Ishmael have a bad relationship with his dad?
Ishmael’s relationship with his father was inconsistent . They would get along, then a step mother would interfere and destroy the relationship. According to Ishmael, why was the war going on in Sierra Leone? According to his father, there was rotten politics in Sierra Leone.
When was Ishmael first touched war?
The first time that I was touched by war I was twelve . It was in January of 1993. I left home with Junior, my older brother, and our friend Talloi, both a year older than I, to go to the town of Mattru Jong, to participate in our friends’ talent show.
What did the old man in kabati mean when he said?
‘ An old man in Kabati repeated this sentence often... the adage served to remind people to always be on their best behavior and to be good to others. [S]he said that people complain when there is too much sun and it gets unbearably hot, and also when it rains too much or when it is cold .
What does Unicef stand for in A Long Way Gone?
UNICEF stands for United Nations Children’s Fund .
How is family a theme in A Long Way Gone?
In A Long Way Gone, he tells his story of losing his family to the rebel army, being brainwashed as a child soldier, and his rehabilitation from the war . Family is an important theme in the book since Ishmael suffers the loss of his family, and then after the UN rescues him, he is adopted by his Uncle Tommy.
What happens to Beah’s uncle?
His kindness is quite foreign to Beah, but he ultimately comes to trust and rely on him. Ultimately Beah’s uncle dies when Freetown descends into civil war , and he is unable to get to a doctor despite a serious illness.
Why has Ishmael remembered this saying ever since childhood What does it mean to him?
She also says it reminds people to always be on their best behavior. Ishmael remembered this saying ever since childhood because he still admires the moon and it means a lot to him because it is one of the only good memories he has from his childhood.
What question does Ishmael ask himself as he faces the horrors of the war and is separated from his family?
“Is there an end to this madness, and is there any future for him beyond the bushes?” (pg. 45; Ishmael asks himself this question as he faces the horrors of war and is separated from his family.)
What do the villagers take from Ishmael and his friends?
They find a cassette tape of rap music in Ishmael’s pocket and play it for the council. The foreignness of the song makes them even more suspicious of the group. They are saved when a young boy from Mattru Jong remembers their rap group’s performance and is able to name Ishmael, Junior, and their friends.
Why does Ishmael set out on his own?
Because he took it upon himself to closely observe the moon . He wanted to find out why it was so appealing and likable. It pleases him to know that part of his childhood is still in-beaded in him. As Chapter 2 begins, we flash forward to Ishmael’s new life in New York City.
What literary devices are used in A Long Way Gone?
The book’s tone. Examples of irony, hyperbole and figurative language from A Long Way Gone. The book’s use of onomatopoeia, imagery and personification.
How is imagery used in A Long Way Gone?
Imagery is used in A Long Way Gone to vividly describe horrific war scenes that Ishmael experienced as a child in Sierra Leone . The scene where Ishmael sees a mother fleeing a rebel attack in which her child is shot while strapped to her back combines kinesthetic, organic, and visual imagery.
What are examples of personification?
- Lightning danced across the sky.
- The wind howled in the night.
- The car complained as the key was roughly turned in its ignition.
- Rita heard the last piece of pie calling her name.
- My alarm clock yells at me to get out of bed every morning.
What did Ishmael realize about what gives a town life?
What did Ishmael realize about what gives a town life? The people and their spirits give a town life . How did the rebels attack Mattru Jong? They announced they wanted a welcome but did not arrive on that date the town relaxed and when they weren’t expecting it they attacked.
Why did Ishmael and his friends return to Mattru Jong after the village is invaded?
The villagers say that the attack was too sudden and that, in the chaos, everyone ran in different directions to save their own lives. Ishmael, Junior, and Talloi decide they must return to their village and find their families.
When was the last time Ishmael saw his brother Junior?
During the rebel attack , Ishmael gets separated from his brother Junior. “It was during that attack in the village of Kamator that my friends and I separated. It was the last tme I saw Junior, my older brother” (43).
