What Is The Theme Of Along Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

Along Way Gone is heartbreaking biography written by Ishmael Beah. The book takes place in Sierra Leona during the time of the civil war. The war was fought over economic profit, rather than political and social pandemonium. There were 2 sides to this war, the RUF and the Government. The RUF was an organized rebel army. They fought the war to gain control of the country’s diamond investment. While the Government fought the war to defend the country, as well as to stop the petulant outbreaks and chaos the rebels were causing throughout the land. Many people were inflicted by this war. Families were destroyed, child were forced to join the army for protection and starvation. No one was safe, everything was changing so quickly. Life was hard,

Throughout chapter 1 we learn in-depth information about Ishmael’s passion for music. On page 6 it describes Ishmael and his friends’ first time encountering rap music, at one of their visits to Mobimbi an “American company” were his fathered lived. Ishmael and his friends were in the pool watching TV when all of a sudden there were “a bunch of young black fellows talking really fast… The four of us sat there mesmerized by the song, trying to understand what the black fellows” were saying. Thus began their passion for music. Day after day the boys would meet up to practice some rap music and dance moves that Junior would learn from a group of guys at

Ishmael is now alone, before he knows it he is abducted by army soldiers. Ishmael is given two abstruse choices to pick from. He can either walk away, but risk the chance of getting shot. Or he can serve for the army and gain the privileges of shelter, food, and safety. On page 87, Ishmael describes himself feeling dejected and downgraded. He no longer feels as if he has control of his future. Right now he is compelled to do anything possible to survive. Like most children Ishmael is afraid to run away, he decides to join the army. When Ishmael first started off in the war as a solider he felt traumatized, disgusted, and horrified by his experiences. On page 100 Ishmael encounters several dead bodies, it was such a traumatizing experience for him; he felt like he was going to throw up. In return, one of the soldier’s that was Ishmaels traveling companion smiled and told him he would eventually get over the dead bodies. This is one of the hardest aspects of the war for a solider to overcome. The main motive for Ishmael’s character change would be the death of his parents. Ever since they died Ishmael has felt dejected, and thought that by joining the war he would pay them back and get revenge for their death. On page 199 Ishmael states that his main aim for joining the army was because the loss of his family and he was need of shelter and food. Like most children in his situation he thought by