Symbolism In A Long Way Gone

A Long Way Gone: inaugurates a world where young men, like Ishmael Beah, are forced to participate in the civil war of Sierra Leone causing them to lose their families. This book definitely outlines the importance of family through Ishmael’s experiences of adaptation, i s o l a t i o n , a n d m e m o r i e s o f h i s p a s t . A L o n g W a y G o n e t e a c h e s u s a l e s s o n t o a p p r e c i a t e t h e family we have, compared to the loneliness Ishmael once felt as a young

“My squad is my family, my gun is my provider and protector and my rule is to kill or be killed. ”(Ishmael Beah)”A long way gone”was written by Ishmael Beah and published in 2007. Ishmael Beah was very happy kid he was really close to his family but they were seperated when the war happened with the rebels, later on he was caught by the rebels but he was able to escape, the rebels killed all his family so he was recruited by the army, they gave him drugs so he wouldn’t feel anything he had no emotions. The three most important scenes in this story include when Ishmael was alone in the jungle, when Ishmael was in the army,and when Ishmael was NYC.

Dr. Cheryl Steele--A "Goddess" of Teaching In previous articles, I’ve written about the importance of connecting with teenagers long after they have been ‘officially’ yours. Perhaps they were in your charge when they were in middle school or junior high, and now, they are in senior high, they have graduated high school, or maybe have gone on to graduate college, get married and have children of their own. Regardless of any of those landmarks (as significant as they may be), still recognizing your kids from when they were early teenagers can be extremely empowering to them. I was blessed enough to have a PERFECT example of such an adult who was one of my mentors in my early adolescence.

The experiences of Beah Ishmael was anything but normal compared to our average American life. He was from Mattru Jong, an undeveloped area in southern Sierra Leone. From 1993 all the way to 2001, an enormous civil war broke out in northwest Africa. The war displaced 4.5 million people and recruited over 300,000 child soldiers. Beah was one of the children recruited to fight in the civil war.

Ishmael Beah is only twelve years­old when his village in Mattru Jong is attacked in January of 1993. He happened to be on his way to another village to perform a show with his brother, Junior and a few of his other friends at the time. That’s when his entire life is turned around. He has to travel from place to place, running from rebels (Revolutionary United Front), struggling to survive, losing his brother in the process. Eventually, he is alone and meets another group of boys that he recognized from his secondary school back in Mattru Jong.

An autobiography, of which Ishmael Beah unwillingly becomes a child solider due to a civil war that has arisen in Sierra Leone. Before the attacks had happen, Ishmael and his elder brother Junior had gone from home to perform Rap in Mattru Jong with their friends. Not long after their arrival, news of the rebels had come to their attention having raided their home town and no sign of their families being unscarred from the warfare. Ishmael, and his group of friends sought out to travel to each village seeking out their family. However trouble comes across due to the majority of RUF rebel attacks were caused by children around their age, many villagers had no trust for these kids.

Work: A Long Way Gone Thematic Subject: Survival In A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah presents the idea that the way to survival can be a long and rigorous journey of living each day to the next. Ishmael’s only way of getting through the war was to keep that mind set at such a desperate time. This is shown when Ishmael leaves Kaloko along with the others because he became “frustrated with living in fear” (Beah, 46). He leaves them, taking as many oranges as possible; like it’s his last.

What is it about African wars that is so disturbing? Ishmael Beah’s memoir “A Long Way Gone” can help you come to an understanding of what it means to be human living under those type conditions. Beah’s childhood was gone. His experiences in the war stripped him of his humanity.

In the poem, To This Day. Shane Koyczan uses symbolism in the poem to really get the reader to relate to his point of view. An example of symbolism that he used in his writing was comparing a boy to a broken branch, “he was a broken branch grafted onto a different family tree…” (Koyczan Part 4). This quote is representing that the boy is broken and lonely.

One of the most powerful techniques used in captivating stories is symbolism. Symbolism is using words that symbolize, or represent, something else.. This can cause the readers to become more drawn into the story. In George Orwell’s 1984, symbolism is used several key times to reach the readers of the novel and make them feel more connected to the work of literature. One of the largest uses of symbolism in this novel, was the glass paperweight.