Imagine yourself in the shoes of a twelve year old boy who vigorously fought through blood and death, seeking for survival and hope during a Civil War in Sierra Leone. The novel, A Long Way Gone, tells the story of, Ishmael Beah, a young boy who experienced the mental and physical battle of reluctantly becoming a soldier. Today, majority of us can relate to Ishmael’s unfortunate circumstances through his life because it is something that we have all been affected by individually in areas all across the world. Beah’s memoirs as a boy soldier instantly caught my attention from beginning to end because of his clear, apprehensible voice and ability to draw readers into the action. Throughout this book, Ishmael focused most on very descriptive details (Imagery), flashbacks, and how an individual can relate to the situation in order to connect to the big idea of survival.
Through these narrative techniques, A Long Way Gone was able to touch many readers’ heart. Before a civil war broke out in Sierra Leone in 1991, Ishmael had a normal life with his family in his hometown of Mogbwemo. When the war led by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) transpired, Ishmael and his older brother, Junior, along with their friends, were traveling to Mattru Jong to participate in a talent show. When the abominable news reached them, they traveled back to Mogbwemo just to witness the destruction and death. From this point onward, Ishmael and the other boys wandered from village to village, trying to avoid contact with the rebels. After being separated from the other boys in a rebel attack, Ishmael experienced diverse emotions of fear in a forest and learns that there is no such place to call home as it is already wiped out.
Ishmael’s hope to encounter hi. .y relate to because they can be homeless or in poverty and have nothing to eat. Everybody should be able to relate to this situation somehow because everybody felt hunger at some point. What do we do when we get hungry? We search for food. This is exactly what Ishmael and the other boys did.
They were so hungry that they stole corns from a little boy. Although there was explicit action throughout the book, A Long Way Gone proves itself to be one of the most salient war stories of our generation. Even though we were not in Ishmael’s shoes, we can quickly learn what it is like to be in a war by just reading this wonderful book. People who have no clue what it is like to be affected by a war should read this book and learn from it because it is exposes us to the firsthand tragic. Through the techniques of imagery, flashback, and connection, this book is one of a kind.
