Preview

Commentary On The Book 'A Long Way Gone'

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
549 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Commentary On The Book 'A Long Way Gone'
A Long Way Gone “I was not afraid of these lifeless bodies. I despised them and kicked them to flip them.” This is what Ishmael was saying at the end first war day they had. It had only been the first time when Ishmael and his friends went to war and by the end of it he had already shot someone. At the beginning when they started training he was afraid to hold the gun, and now that the day has come where he actually needed to shot, he had no problem with it. 2 of his friends died that day, Musa and Josiah. Hearing stories that my grandpa told when I was younger of how they used to live back in the days and things that he had been through I already thought It was crazy and could never get worse. No reading this book and the descriptions …show more content…
When they first met each other there reaction towards one another surprised me because right away, without even knowing them they were mean and talking in rude language. Even though they were out of the war zone, when they found out that the other group of boys was on the RUF side they started a fight. Without asking any questions they got out there Bayonet out, grenades and what not else they had. 6 people were killed that day and they hadn’t even been fighting that long yet. It took me by surprise to see the reaction of these kids and that right away without hesitating they started shooting, cutting and trying to kill each other. Right away you can see the extreme damage that the war has done, and how the lives of these boys had changed forever. They could now kill anybody without even thinking about it, and when they had done so they didn’t feel anything else towards the dead people. They didn’t think about how it would change their lives. It’s sad to read that these young boys could now shot, slice and kill people just like that. The they have no respect towards older or other people in general, and most of all that they all smoke and do drugs

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    I believe Ishmael’s level of resilience throughout the story was immensely high considering the age he was during the war. One example, was when Ishmael first experiences the war and loses all of his family except his brother, Junior. Ishmael does not complain about walking miles and miles all day long in the scorching sun, when many kids his age would start complaining after fifteen minutes on a nice breezy day. As well as, when Ishmael was all alone in the forest he did not act crazy about the freedom he had, but instead was orderly and still did day to day necessary activities while remaining calm. He always shows that even in the toughest situations he acts just like an adult and is always in control, when kids his age lost their cool and acted crazy leading them to die. Last but not least, when Ishmael was at the rehabilitation center he did act agitated, but recovers from the worst thing a child could be during the war, a child soldier. He acts insane and puts his life at risk when he is a soldier because he did drugs everyday and killed hundreds of people for years, and all it takes for him to recover to be a normal child again is eight months.…

    • 1111 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Linda Sue Park’s inspiring novella A Long Walk to Water recounts the treacherous journey of young Sudanese boy forced to flee his war-ravaged home in search of safety and refuge. Salva Dut, a positive and energetic boy, transforms from fearful and inexperienced adolescent to strong and willful adult as he overcomes countless obstacles during his grave expedition to find sanctuary during the First Sudanese Civil War. Despite his perilous predicament, Salva’s steadfast perseverance enables him to surmount innumerable hardships during his ominous plight.…

    • 340 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The play away by Michael Gow is a story of three Australian families going on holidays. It is set in the summer of 1967-68 during Christmas and the New Year. There are many sub-themes in away such as death/loss, change, moving on with life, and forgiveness.…

    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ishmael gives an example of the repeated mistrust he encounters saying “Many times during our journey we were surrounded by muscular men with machetes who almost killed us before they realized we were just children running away from the war”. A repose old man in a village once told Ishmael and his friends, “My children this country has lost its good heart. People don’t trust each other anymore” explaining just how much trust had been destroyed and replaced with fear and accusation. Because of the continuous mistrust in the country when Ishmael has any contact with a new person they automatically suspect each other, and things become very tense.…

    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “To discover is to gain sight or knowledge of something.” How have ideas about discovery been shown in Away and The Book Thief…

    • 939 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    War has existed since the dawn of time and, since the beginning, has impacted humanity in various ways. While wars do mold and transform nations, more importantly, wars have had and will have a great impact on soldiers, those willing to sacrifice their lives for their country. The novels A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway and The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien give us a glimpse into how war has impacted soldiers and those close to them. The novel A Farewell to Arms talks of a man who falls in love with a woman he works with, a nurse in the hospital, Catherine Barkley. The narrator, Frederic Henry, meets the nurse while he is working in the army.…

    • 1242 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When Ishmael first encounters government soldiers, he sees a horrific scene. While on a boat after being picked up by soldiers Ishmael’s “eyes caught…

    • 534 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although I read the horrifying facts about all the terrible things the victims had to go through, I can't imagine what it was like to actually had went through it. To watch your family be ripped apart, and then be separated and killed according to importance is something unthinkable. The process of dehumanization is so abundantly clear. Although it isn't spoken about very freely, it happened with everybody that went through the…

    • 811 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A Long Way Gone tells the true story of Ishmael Beah, a boy turned child soldier during a civil war in Sierra Leone. The violence and hardships of war throw Ishmael and a group of his friends in a struggle for survival, committing acts that they never knew they were capable of. Ishmael and his friends are transformed into violent, brainwashed soldiers to kill rebels. After some time, they are taken by UNICEF to a rehabilitation center where the boys are treated for their traumatic experiences. Ishmael is invited to New York to speak in front of the UN, but upon returning to Sierra Leone, the war catches up with Ishmael once again. He flees to Guinea and makes a new life in the US.…

    • 457 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On A Long Way Gone

    • 745 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Ishmael and his friends were ushered out to the middle of the village to listen to the lieutenant speak. He mostly talked about how they are running out of soldiers and they need more people to fight and protect the village. The lieutenant was standing on several bricks and stated, “I am sorry to show you these gruesome bodies, especially with your children present. But then again, all of us here have seen death or even shaken hands with it.” He then pointed to two bodies bleeding out, “This man and this child decided to leave this morning even though I had told them it was dangerous. The man insisted that he didn't want to be a part of our war, so I gave him his wish and let him go. Look what happened”(Page 107). There was a choice to join or not to join but, if the choice not to join was picked, Ishmael and his friends would have to leave the village and be off on their own again. Alhaji, one of Ishmael’s friends from his former village said to Ishmael, “We had no choice. Leaving the village was as good as being dead”(Page…

    • 745 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Long Way Gone Analysis

    • 1068 Words
    • 5 Pages

    To me this was one of the more disturbing aspects of the war; even if you were to make it out of your village alive, there was a very slim chance that you would ever find your family. Ishmael was a twelve year old boy when his village was taken over by the rebels and from then on he never saw his family again. The traumatizing effect that the loneliness alone would implement on someone of that age is…

    • 1068 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Beast Of No Nation

    • 580 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The women are raped and beaten and the young children are forced to kill with no remorse. How there is no laws that help protect the children from being taken into these rebel groups. It showed, how the children get brainwashed into thinking that what they are doing is acceptable and they are helping their country. It also showed how men are the only ones in the rebel groups or in any of the military groups.…

    • 580 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Just War Theory

    • 1946 Words
    • 8 Pages

    These victims of acts of aggression provide evidence for the importance of a clear understanding of just cause for battle. The ethics of war are deep arguments that originate at the dawn of humanity. At our core, all humans share a desire to live, thrive, and above all maintain a certain sense of morality. To determine the answers to the questions of what justifies war, who justifies it, and why we as human beings feel the need to fight, one must understand the purpose of war, and with that, the conviction of the human soul. At the end of the day, there is no victory in killing, no matter the success that it may lead to. War, in my opinion, must be fought for peace and peace alone. We are one species, who share many ideas, beliefs, cultures, and systems of thought. In order to progress and reach our full potential as humans, we must see that we will never fully understand the ethics behind war, because there is no “right” answer. What we can do, however, is justify how we act during war by demonstrating a clear comprehension of our actions and accepting the repercussions…

    • 1946 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Long Way Gone Identity

    • 456 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Additionally, Ishmael identity was shaped by war. Being in the army made him not scared of the rebels because he was part of a larger group going after rebel bases. Ishmael was thinking about his new life in the army and what he was doing. Ishmael said “ My childhood had gone by without my knowing and it seemed as if my heart had frozen” (126). Suffering from the loss of his family at a young age plus living life with the daily fear of being killed by rebels that caused him to suppress his feelings. When he suppressed his feeling he started to go crazy and thinking about how his parents died.…

    • 456 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Page 95 “Trotter comes in, fully dressed for the line” to page 98 “Mason following from behind”. Explore the ways in which Sherriff makes this a dramatic and revealing moment in the play. (Trotter, Raleigh and Hibbert leaving for the attack)…

    • 444 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics