A Journal Response to ‘A Long Way Gone'

A Journal Response to ‘A Long Way Gone’

A Long Way Gone was a very different perspective of a child’s life as it does not deal with a blissful and innocent childhood an average child may have, but rather, the horrifyingly opposite. This memoir details Ishmael Beah’s life in the war-torn country of Sierra Leone. Ishmael tries to escape from village to village with various friends, including his brother, Junior. However, because of the war in Sierra Leone between the terrorist group, the RUF, and the government, he and his brother never saw each other again.

Ishmael’s perspectives at the beginning of the book were quite different compared to the later parts. At first, his overall attitude and knowledge of the war was very apathetic and ignorant. This is not surprising because of his age and lack of experience through the horrors of war. In fact, the first chapter clearly demonstrates his ignorance on the subject as he even admits he only knew about wars in movies, such as Rambo: First Blood. However, this childlike innocence of him quickly fades away as the horrors of the war come to him, Junior, and the other children. They immediately see the suffering of victims from neighbouring villages fleeing to theirs, and experienced these same sufferings for themselves. These sudden increasing descriptions of the bloody events he suffered made it very apparent that his personality would be changing from an innocent child into one who greatly understands that his fragile life may be cut short at any point. This rapid change of his personality seems to emphasize and support the general fact of how war can bring such a great deal of agony onto people.

Another interesting aspect of Ishmael is how he copes with the perpetual oncoming danger of the war. The constant scenes of dead bodies, the fear of dying, and the grief of his lost family has succumbed the boy into a depressed state in which he tries to cope with along with all of his other troubles. This sadness of Ishmael’s is clearly demonstrated when he was alone in the forest at one point. He talks about his desire to talk with another person so as to not indulge within his own thoughts on the frightening memories which has happened in such a brief period of time. To maintain his sanity, Ishmael tries to talk and play with the many children he encounters throughout his travels, despite the dark reality of their situation. These methods of how he struggled with these emotions in the time of a crisis have certainly helped him in his journey to survive this war.

These two prominent characteristics of Ishmael have helped me enjoy this book because they add insight to him – the main character. This certainly makes this book more interesting to read. The change in his personality quickly establishes a new dark mood for the book which makes you cling to each chapter and read on about the difficulties of the life in Sierra Leone for a child like Ishmael. In addition to that, the way he copes with this never-ending suffering he is forced to be put into is astonishing to say the least, because of the sheer quantity of these sufferings. Many people like me have never experienced such a hell as this boy did. Because of our lack of knowledge, this book entices you to read more and find out about just how this hell of his was like.

This memoir of Ishmael’s life surviving war is certainly a book that is well worth reading. It’s truthful and cruel reality of the conflict in Sierra Leone makes this a remarkable firsthand account of war. It gives an in depth perspective on these issues and emphasizes the effects that war has done to an innocent child. The reality of the memoir and the issues it pertains upon must be remembered for ages to come.