The human condition is full of paradoxes and double meanings. We can commit the most shocking and terrible acts, but we can complete the most virtuous and honorable feats. Ishmael Beah describes the appalling and violent behavior he and other children exhibited toward the human life during his time in the Sierra Leonean civil war in his memoir, A Long Way Gone. Beah also details the forgiveness and kindness of complete strangers that helped him become the man that fate meant him to be. Homo sapiens are complex creatures brimming with irony and surprises. Paradoxes are not only shown in A Long Way Gone, but also illustrated in other pieces of literature such as short stories, essays, and articles. Tim O’Brien had a wife and at least one child …show more content…
There was no sense of morality or politics or duty. Tim completed what he was trained to do, and that was to defend the camp against the enemy. The lone soldier was the enemy. Later Tim views his actions as impulsive and regrets throwing the grenade, despite his peers’ support. Tim declares, “Sometimes I forgive myself, sometimes I don’t. In the ordinary hours of life I try not to dwell on it, but now and then, when I’m reading a newspaper or just sitting alone in a room, I’ll look up and see the young man coming out of the morning fog” (Ambush). Tim O’Brien was a father, a son, and a husband, yet he was also able to kill without giving thought to the action. Afterwards, however, when presented with his family, friends, and other civilians, Tim realized the gravity of the deaths he caused. Another example of paradox was the murder that in Queens, New York, around the same period as the Vietnam War. A criminal stabbed a woman outside her home, and out of the thirty-eight people in the neighborhood, zero people called the police or helped the woman. One man called out the window for the criminal to leave the woman alone, but to no avail. “From one of the upper windows of the apartment house, a man called down: ‘Let that girl alone!’… Lights
When Beah first became a soldier, he had already faced immense suffering. He had seen people from both the army and the rebels destroy families and towns. He had lost his brother and friends along his journey. However, he lost the most important thing when he himself became that monster. He had paused his humanity.
As Ishmael Beah becomes accustomed to the cruel life during war in Sierra Leone, Ishmael learns that ensuring trust within the companions he meets on the battlefield keeps him “human” throughout the duration of the war against the rebels, as is displayed in A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. After Ishmael and his brother, Junior escape from a village Junior whispers quietly, “I do not think that this madness will last ... he looked at me as if to assure me that we would soon go home” (Beah 15).
In “ A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier,” written by Ishmael Beah, Ishmael recalls moments in his life where he experienced servere pain, felt distress and depression. The book expresses many themes including: “war is terrible” and “there is always love and friendship”. Ishmael stuggled to gain back his childhood, which was now filled with war memories, in hopes of starting a new life away from the war. Ishmael thought to himself “This was one of the consequences of the civil war. People stopped trusting each other, and every stranger became an enemy”(37).
Tim says that he was guilty of killing the man just by being there, but since he cannot remember if he actually threw the bomb, he cannot move on from this moment. The instant that he threw the grenade, he would throw himself into a spiral of
Ishmael Beah, recalls his time as an orphaned child soldier, in Sierra leone, in his memoir A long way gone. Amongst those who were moved by the memorable piece of literature, there are those who quarrel with the idea that it is a completely factual account of the events that took place in Sierra Leone and the details regarding the physical wounds he obtained. While some of the claims made against its accuracy made are valid, It does not diminish the merit of the memoir. Beah’s escapade as a child soldier, his rehabilitation and the universal themes contribute to the immense worth of the novel, and allow the reader to walk away enlightened.
Most people assume that their lives are constant from day to day, the same routine goes to school or work, some afternoon activities and so on. But what most of us don’t imagine is that we are so close to the edge, tragedies that seem foreign to us appear from nowhere and turn our lives upside down. In long way gone, a story of a child soldier named Ishmael Beah, many tragedies, events has bestowed upon him, and he to choose to die or survive. These tragedies have transformed him from innocent child to ruthless child soldier to rehabilitate adult with the scars of war that destroyed his country.
Not experiencing war is a luxury many people unfortunately do not get; however, Ishmael Beah, the author of A Long Way Gone, lives and survives the war, though not without heartache. With war there is always fear, death, and hell. Ishmael Beah proves war is hell through the killing of civilians, the distrust, and the after effects of the war. Ishmael proves war is hell through the killing of civilians. Many innocent bystanders of the war are forced out of their homes, made to run for their lives.
In the book An Invisible Thread, the author often provides examples of parents that have a poor quality of parenting. First there is Laura’s father Nunziato Carino, who’s a bartender. After he is done with his shift, he would often come home drunk and yell at his son, Frank who is Five. Frank will quickly hide under his bed sheet as his father dammed his name again and again. This happened frequently and every one would hide in their rooms as unfortunate Frank takes his father’s heavy word beating each night.
Authors of the 20th century, such as Russell Banks and Tim O’Brien, have taken the traditional elements of fiction and created an updated version. The wave of modernism has affected many elements such as point of view, characterization, and the passage of time. Setting and themes have also been affected by these new writings. Traditionally, the point of view of the story was based on a single narrator, such as in Poe’s stories.
Tim’s expectations were not the case; instead Sam dies by being accused incorrectly of stealing his own cattle to teach other troops a lesson about how serious war is. The unecessary death of Sam inspires Tim to go neutral because Sam was not rewarded for valor and had no glory to his name. Tim doesn’t like that or want that so he chooses neither side of the
It was not Tim’s sense of nationalist loyalties that caved him; rather, it was helplessness and his reputation that was at risk. Tim O’Brien longed to be that “secret hero” or “Lone Ranger” in order to impress those around him. However, he ends up learning that courage does not come in finite quantities. He finds himself resenting authority, “If you support a war, if you think it’s worth the price, that’s fine, but you have to put your own precious fluids on the line”. No matter how much he may find the law cruel and inhuman, he has is too prideful and decides to comply with the rules.
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.
This quote from the short story illustrates how Tim felt about leaving for the war. He knew that it was against his beliefs for him to leave. He eventually left for the war, still not believing in what he was fighting for which resulted in Tim losing sight of who he was. He allowed the pressures of society to influence him and morph his character into one resemblant of the popular belief of the time. In the story of The Book Thief, Hans Hubermann experiences a similar situation to Tim.
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner In the excerpt from William Faulkner’s Southern novel, As I Lay Dying the author structures his novel through the use of literary features such as allusion, similes a belittling yet humorous tone, concrete imagery and a stream of consciousness style in the passage. Faulkner throughout the passage not only describes Cash’s reserved character and Darls perspective imagination but he also foreshadows the struggle the Bundren’s will go through as they prepare to go on the journey of burying Addie. First, Faulkner has the speaker Darl create a gloomy mood by using similes to display the ambiance in the room. Then Faulkner alludes to the bible and uses concrete imagery to illustrate both the surroundings and Cash’s concentration and determination as he makes his mother’s coffin.
Additional Activity 1 In the book, A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, the reader can gather certain information about the story he told. The point of view of his story truly affects the reader’s understanding. Also, Beah included details that defined his experience and changed his life. He also wrote his memoir with an emotion that drove the story.