A long Way Gone Essay P3
Saria Lingar
Mr. Bertsch
English II, Period 3
15 May 2015
Soldier to Author
Experiencing a traumatic occurrence can scar individuals for the rest of their lives. At age
12 through 16, Ishmael Beah, a survivor of war, lost family, friends, and most of his country,
Sierra Leone, in an unexpected, brutal war. In his novel
A Long Way Gone
, Beah takes readers on a lifechanging journey as he unfolds the tragedy of life during war and life as a child soldier.
He reveals the suffering, anger and violence he encountered while he watched his loved ones, buildings and towns slowly be obliterated. For three years Ishmael was forced to be a child soldier. He was given drugs, forced to handle weapons heavier than him and trained to kill innocent people. After being released from war, going through rehabilitation and moving into
New York City where it is safer than being in Sierra Leone, Ishmael is still very much affected socially, mentally and emotionally from the excruciating war memories, making
A Long Way
Gone a prime example of how prolonged exposure to violence can have many long lasting effects. Often times, individuals who return from extreme violence have a hard time recovering mentally. Being introduced to war at such a young age left harsh mental images that will forever impact Ishmael’s life. Beah wrote, “Sometimes I closed my eyes hard to avoid thinking, but the eye of the mind refused to be closed and continued to plague me with images,” (Beah). For
Ishmael, it did not just stop at memories, it was also gruesome flashbacks and nightmares, they
became an everyday thing for him. In chapter 2, Beah takes readers on a scene of horror when he describes an unforgettable nightmare he had while in New York, where he had been living for over a month. “Their arms and legs are missing; their intestines spill out through the bullet holes in their stomachs; brain matter comes out of their noses and ears,” (Beah 18). Throughout the
rest
Mr. Bertsch
English II, Period 3
15 May 2015
Soldier to Author
Experiencing a traumatic occurrence can scar individuals for the rest of their lives. At age
12 through 16, Ishmael Beah, a survivor of war, lost family, friends, and most of his country,
Sierra Leone, in an unexpected, brutal war. In his novel
A Long Way Gone
, Beah takes readers on a lifechanging journey as he unfolds the tragedy of life during war and life as a child soldier.
He reveals the suffering, anger and violence he encountered while he watched his loved ones, buildings and towns slowly be obliterated. For three years Ishmael was forced to be a child soldier. He was given drugs, forced to handle weapons heavier than him and trained to kill innocent people. After being released from war, going through rehabilitation and moving into
New York City where it is safer than being in Sierra Leone, Ishmael is still very much affected socially, mentally and emotionally from the excruciating war memories, making
A Long Way
Gone a prime example of how prolonged exposure to violence can have many long lasting effects. Often times, individuals who return from extreme violence have a hard time recovering mentally. Being introduced to war at such a young age left harsh mental images that will forever impact Ishmael’s life. Beah wrote, “Sometimes I closed my eyes hard to avoid thinking, but the eye of the mind refused to be closed and continued to plague me with images,” (Beah). For
Ishmael, it did not just stop at memories, it was also gruesome flashbacks and nightmares, they
became an everyday thing for him. In chapter 2, Beah takes readers on a scene of horror when he describes an unforgettable nightmare he had while in New York, where he had been living for over a month. “Their arms and legs are missing; their intestines spill out through the bullet holes in their stomachs; brain matter comes out of their noses and ears,” (Beah 18). Throughout the
rest