The quote “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass it’s about learning how to dance in the rain” means that we should learn how to our lives even at struggling times of our lives. There are times when we are feeling down or going through tough times. Weather it’s bad grades or a tragic event.
Language is the most favoured way of communication to other human beings. It is the fuel used to emancipate our passions. Language has colossal power and its effect solely relies on how we control and use it. Because words are frequently used subconsciously, people never realise how big of an impact words can be. This excellent novel, Don’t call me Ishmael, narrates a story about a boy, named Ishmael, who builds up both emotionally and physically as many barriers, trials and temptations come his way. Ishmael has acquired this great power through one of his classmates, James Scobie, who inspired him to develop this strength through debating. In this amazing book, Bauer displays the great power of language as some kind of invisible force that can turn a normal boy’s life into a complete imbecile. Many people say, ‘Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me’. In this essay, I will present to you how this saying is completely wrong.
The use of children in the Sierra Leone Civil War was widespread, with up to 10,000 children taking part in the conflict and up to eighty percent of RUF forces between the ages of seven and fourteen. Ishmael is one of these children. In his memoir, A Long Way Gone, Lieutenant Jabati and his men exploit several techniques to transform these frightened children into ruthless killing machines. They do this through the use of drugs, pop culture, as well as character and emotional manipulation. Tactics like these create habits and addictions that are almost impossible to break.
Symbolism is used to help you not only understand the characters but also helps develop a coherent theme. In the long way gone the symbol used to help explain Ishmael’s struggles comes straight from his own pocket in the form of a beat-up cassette. It follows him along on the journey and with its demise you also see the tragic end of the childhood it has represented.
Nineteen Minutes is Jodi Picoult’s staggering and heartbreaking story about the devastating aftermath of a small town tragedy. The story begins in the town of Sterling, New Hampshire, following the lives of the citizens on an ordinary day. That all changes when there is a shooting at Sterling High. Throughout the story, there are flashbacks to before and after the killings and the reader learns about the history of each of the characters, and how that has influenced their journey throughout the novel. We are shown the once close relationship between Josie and Peter, and also about Peter’s rocky home life where Peter is often outshined by his older brother whose death creates a rift that puts him even farther from his parents. . The jumps back in
The book “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier” is an autobiography about a boy named Ishmael who went through so much at a young age. This book should be read because it’s a story you could relate to and give you a perspective of how society is today than it was before and how it has affected people across the world. On the (front cover of the book) Carolyn See from the Washington Post says “Everyone in the world should read this book…We should read It to learn about the world and about what it means to be human.” She’s right, reading this book will provide you with facts you never known and could change the way you see things today.
Ishmael has accept the fact that the war has ruined his enjoyment of meeting new people. Because of him going into villages and being chased out because they believed he was a rebel, Or having to go through other villages because he knew nobody there and he knew what was coming to their village and he did not want to stay had ruined the experience for him until later on in his life. Ishmael's experiences force him to deny his emotional side in order to survive. His flight from RUF attacks on the various villages in Sierra Leone requires him to let go of attachments to family and friends. Although he holds out hope to see his family, he has no choice but to close off himself to the world. Emotional attachment can be weakness, and weakness can
Where the Wild Things are by Maurice Sendak is an interesting children’s picture book. The main character is a little boy named Max, who has a wild imagination. He uses all five senses as well as thought and his actions to express his personality as well as how he reacts and interacts with his surroundings. Max’s id, ego and super-ego are greatly shown in this book through the way that the author has portrayed him. Not only is this book a children’s story, but it can also be perceived as a life lesson. Many people go through times in their lives when they make drastic decisions right away, such as leaving home. One may enjoy it for the rest of their lives or only for a little while, just like Max who felt lonely after having fun with the monsters. In this case, people end up going home to be with their family where they are not lonely, and can have more time before making a final decision of what should happen next in their life. Id, ego and super- ego is greatly portrayed in this
Many times, others view unknown situations or topics as “cool”. Many times, they fail to realize the hardships others face. In “A Long Way Gone”, Beah’s friends had thought his experiences were cool but they would not feel the same way if they had read the memoir and understood the emotions and situations he had faced. Ishmael Beah’s memoir goes on to explain all the reasons why his experiences were not nearly cool.
The first most important moment in “A long way home” is when ishmael was alone in the jungle with
Family; a blessing, or a curse? In the book Night, Elie Wiesel offers many significant themes, but the question, “is family a blessing or a curse,” is one of the most prevalent and begging themes in the novel. During the novel, Wiesel often questions if he should try and keep his father around, or if life would just be better without him in the picture. “‘Don’t let me find him! If only I could get rid of this dead weight, so that I could use all my strength to struggle for my own survival, and only worry about myself,’ I immediately felt ashamed of myself, ashamed forever,” (Wiesel, 111). This is just one example of the internal conflict going on endlessly within himself.
The theme of this book is to never give up on hope. Hope is what everybody should believe in and have because hope occurred in the past and will be there in the future. The author uses a lot of imagery, symbol, and builds a connection with the readers.
What is the meaning of adversity? Adversity is the difficulties, misfortunes, and sometimes even trials one must face in order to jump over an obstacle. WWll, holocaust, Racism are all adversities that pertain to individuals and events in the past and the present. One of the events that happened was in Sierra Leone and it was a Civil war between different African tribes. This event is explained through the eyes of the main character in the book “A Long Way Gone”, and his name is Ishmael Beah. How does one react to facing adversity, well that answer can be found in the book as Ishmael Beah progresses and get older and his actions and thoughts start to gradually change as he gets acclimated to the life of a boy soldier. The actions that Ishmael take throughout the story shape the person who he becomes who overtakes adversity itself. Ishmael and his friends traveled long roads and rivers but along
Desire is the need for an object, a feeling or a person. One can have a desire for something that is essential for survival, such as water or food, but desire could be used to harm others or oneself. Through A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, Ishmael’s perspective of desire was altered dramatically. These desires were changed from his surroundings or events that were taking place. In the book, Ishmael was easily manipulated by his desires. As the story progresses, the reader sees that desires become a more important role in Ishmael’s life and it made him from being an innocent child into a bloodthirsty soldier only looking for something to slaughter. From these transitioning desires Ishmael becomes less and less stable, making him easily
Ishmael suffered loss of a place to call home multiple times which caused him to lose his hope for a better tomorrow ,"One of the unsettling things about my journey, mentally, physically, and emotionally, was that I wasn't sure when or where it was going to end. I didn't know what I was going to do with my life. I felt that I was starting over and over again." (Beah 69) Beah's memoir sheds light on the multifaceted damage done by civil war and terrorism which directly affected the loss of home. As a victim of the violence, a young man who has lost his family he suffers more than simple physical pain, he feels the loss of home. The anguish of losing his family and home is compounded by the uncertainty each day brings. Although they attempt to find a safe haven, the boys know from bitter experience that no such place seems to exist in Sierra Leone.