ipl-logo

Nature In A Long Way Gone

664 Words3 Pages

The Natural World
Nature gives a deep understanding of one's past and present, but it also provides a look into the future. For Ishmael Beah, in his memoir A Long Way Gone nature's omniscient power is stark throughout his journey in his teenage years. Later on, nature’s presence is able to provide him with a sense of clarity and help him through his healing journey. The natural world creates a sense of foreshadowing for Ishmael. Landscapes and natural elements such as animals and plants provide him with a driving force to continue his journey.
After traveling with a group of boys for days on end, Ishmael reaches what appears to be the Atlantic Ocean. It’s clear and blue and seems to go on for miles. It excites the boys and appears to …show more content…

He is stationed there alone for two months. Within these months, Ishmael finds himself living off the land and creating a makeshift home of his own. He uses sticks to create the perimeter of his new home and finds himself positioned next to his “new neighbor, the snake” (Beah 50). He sleeps in trees and eats the plentiful fruit from the trees. He befriends the small wild animals that roam the jungle as well. Without the nature and pieces of earth that surrounded him at this time, Ishmael's life could very well have been over. The fruit, which could have been poisonous, provided him with sustenance during his stay in the patch of woods. He noted that even “birds came to eat this strange fruit” every morning. Without this fruit, Ishmael would’ve starved. The sounds of nature help Ishmael cope with the loneliness and his terrifying memories of what he had experienced before. One day while Ishmael is staying in his place, he has a run-in with a pack of wild pigs. This scares Ishmael out of his makeshift home and he returns to the path. This is where he finds yet another group of boys to traverse with and is no longer alone with his thoughts. The solace he found in his patch in the forest eventually brings him out to discover he is not truly alone in his journey or his battle. The kindness the forest brought him foreshadows the kindness the group of boys

Show More
Related

  • Summary Of A Long Way Home By Ishmael Beah

    489 Words  | 2 Pages

    And went all over the world to tell people how bad the world is then what other people think. and this place has bad shelter and the people sufer bad and i think it said that is were he is from that is how the lived so he is telling people that its a bad world out there. Ishmael has a mother and her name is laura simms and his brother name is junior Beah and his spouse is priscillia kounkou. he started writing books ever seince he was 12 years old.

    Read More

  • Book Report On A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

    486 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ishmael Beah being number one for he is the author and narrator of this account. He retells his journey, fighting to run from war and battle with internal struggles. After being captured, brainwashed and beaten Ishmael is finally given a break. He has the chance to recovery and is reunited with his Uncle Lennie. Lennie assists Ishmael in his recovery and helps him to remember the happy times with his loved ones.

    Read More

  • Ishmael Dialectical Journal Essay

    319 Words  | 2 Pages

    3. His temporary journey in this world had ended. pg 88 This quote explained that in Ishmael’s culture, things like the afterlife do exist, although I don’t know if it relates to their religion. How does this help Ishmael continue on his journey.

    Read More

  • A Long Way Gone: Memoirs Of A Boy Soldier By Ishmael Beah

    501 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ishmael is chosen to meet and speak with the UN about his experiences as a child in the war. While he’s there he meets Laura Simms, a good role model for him. After he returns to Sierra Leone he escapes and catches a flight to America, where he is adopted and lives with Laura.

    Read More

  • Daniel Quinn's Ishmael

    1531 Words  | 7 Pages

    In addition, Ishmael uses ancient maps to drive this point home. He shows that early on agriculture is small, but as time goes on, the agricultural group drives out the pastoral group. Thus, a comparison could easily be made that the agricultural group is trying to kill the pastoral group. In addition, Ishmael draws upon the history of the United States as well to explain this. As the colonists arrived from Europe, the native people of the continent were shoved out to make room for the “Takers.”

    Read More

  • Ishmael Is Resourceful In A Long Way Gone

    507 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ishmael's great ability to notice his surroundings and use what he has around him is a huge reason he was able to survive. If he wasn’t perceptive during the times he spent alone, he would not have survived. Also, Ishmael used the branches from the trees to keep him safe. One way it kept him safe was by keeping him from predators, and he was able to eat the fruit from the tree. The last quote that shows Ishmael is resourceful is, ¨We loaded the supplies in plastic bags, and the six of us went to the nearest market, where we sold them to a vendor¨ (Beah 145).

    Read More

  • What Are The Similarities Between Night And A Long Way Gone

    822 Words  | 4 Pages

    Towards the beginning, Ishmael was always on the run. He was running and hiding to survive. On page 69 Ishmael says, “...I was starting over and over. I was always on the move, always going somewhere.” If Ishmael wanted to survive, he had to keep moving.

    Read More

  • The Theme Of Captivity In Ishmael By Daniel Quinn

    538 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ishmael's captivity has led him to question the human concept of captivity and the impact it has on the natural world. As Ishmael says, "In your captivity narrative, the conqueror is always God, and the conquered are always the Devil and his minions" (Quinn 69). Ishmael's observation shows that humans have created a narrative in which they are superior to nature and have the right to exploit

    Read More

  • Loss Of Innocence In A Long Way Gone

    1508 Words  | 7 Pages

    But, this character development was hinted at throughout the story, through the horror and fighting, the reader has been able to see that he is human. The first example of this is later in the book when Ishmael sees the true horror of war and is stunned. Ishmael describes, “I lay there with my gun pointed in front of me, unable to shoot. My index finger had become numb. The forest had begun to spin.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Walden

    441 Words  | 2 Pages

    But, nature does not exclude humans, human excludes themselves from nature. Within the “mists of [the] chopping sea of civilized life, such are the clouds and storms and quicksands and thousand and one items to be allowed for”(277). He uses clouds and storms and quicksands to convey that civilized life includes the same negativity included in the connotation of those conditions, but nonetheless, those too are apart of nature. The purpose of utilizing imagery is so evoke images people already have to connect with them on that level to make them understand that they must find a harmony and balance in the world. So, in order to restore order within one’s individual life, one must defy the social norms that distance themselves from nature to find harmony with it.

    Read More

  • Ishmael Beah's Memories

    775 Words  | 4 Pages

    Through this quote you are able to see just how much memories of his life have affected his journey through it and how he thinks tom his family for guidance and help in the hard and sad times of his life. In conclusion you see how memories both hindered and helped Ishmael on his journey of life by himself. In that some of them made him more sad and distracted him from what 's happening in his life now. And others helped him stay motivated and kept him on his journey.

    Read More

  • Into The Woods ': Symbolism In Into The Woods'

    933 Words  | 4 Pages

    Once these characters are in the woods working on accomplishing their goals, they each face challenges that set them back. For example, Red is stopped by the wolf and later eaten, Jack is attacked by the giant, Cinderella is internally struggling with how to tell the prince who she truly is, and the Baker and his wife lose the cow. These challenges they face throughout their journey through the “woods”, all symbolize the obstacles we face everyday when we are working towards our ambitions. To go along with the setbacks, we also watch Red, Cinderella, and the Baker and his wife get lost in the “woods”. This issue of getting lost correlates with the idea that we get distracted or lost along the way while trying to achieve what we wish for.

    Read More

  • Summary Of The Republic Of Nature By Mark Feiige

    1475 Words  | 6 Pages

    Nature is not only the trees, leaves, and, soil but, it encompasses a wide variety of things that cover both physical, mental, and even spiritual elements. Most important to Feige is that “Nature is infinitely large and varied”, omnipresent throughout the world (9). Nature can not be confined to a single presence but underlies in everything in the world. By Feige’s definition of nature “A body’s flesh blood and bone” also fall into the natural order of the world which expands nature’s reach to all of mankind. The main idea Feige stresses to the reader about nature, is that everything from a wooden farm to the American Republic is rooted in the natural order of things.

    Read More

  • The Symbolism Of The Whale In Moby Dick

    1731 Words  | 7 Pages

    Ishmael view on whales contradicts Ahab’s perspective, which can indicate how different Ishmael is compared to the rest of the characters. Ishmael’s main reason to go on a ship and set sail was to escape from the world, “But even so, amid the tornadoed Atlantic of my being, do I myself still for ever centrally disport in mute calm…there I still bathe me in eternal mildness of joy” (Melville 433). Ishmael can find peace and joy in the middle of the ocean, even in the midst of chaos, he enjoys being out in nature. This can be a reason why Ishmael can see the tranquility in whales

    Read More

  • Importance Of Nature In Literature

    959 Words  | 4 Pages

    He forgets all his inevitable and depressing and sorrowful conditions in the delightful company of nature. It also developed man’s sense of beauty. It fills man’s heart with heavenly pleasure with he can’t get anywhere under the sun. In the presence of nature a wild delight runs through the man, in spite of real sorrows. Every bit of alternation in the atmosphere in nature gives man happiness.

    Read More

More about Nature In A Long Way Gone

Open Document