A Long Way Gone Character Analysis

In the wise words of Rita Brown “good judgment comes from experience and often experience comes from bad judgment”. Often gaining wisdom or having good judgment comes from misfortune or hardship. In Ishmael Beah’s story he changes as a character because of his experiences. Ishmael gains wisdom through his experience at the UNICEF rehabilitation camp for boy soldiers after being a part of the Sierra Leone civil war. He shares his journey in his memoir A Long Way Gone. First, Ishmael changed a lot as a person throughout his journey. Before the civil war, Ishmael was a troublesome boy who enjoyed rapping and dancing with his brother and his friends. He was touched by the war at the age of twelve. After witnessing the village that his family was in get attacked by the rebels, he became vindictive. Ishmael joined the government army. There he learns that he is capable of terrible acts such as cutting people’s heads off and raiding villages. Ishmael did all this without fear because he was under the influence
In this case, Ishmael’s experience at the UNICEF rehabilitation camp allowed him to gain wisdom and grow as a character. His wisdom is meaningful to the book because it creates characterization. Ishmael’s changes allow readers to further understand his journey and the hardship he had to overcome. It is significant that readers understand Ishmael’s change because it creates interest which pushes the reader to continue reading. Ishmael’s experiences reinforce the theme of revenge. His answer to the tale from his childhood show how far he has come. He changed from murdering people to get revenge for the lost of his family, to saying that he would sacrifice his mother so no one else would have to. Ishmael’s gain of wisdom ties the whole book together and helps readers to understand Ishmael as a