A Long Way Gone
Throughout media, war is portrayed as a number. Graphs, statistics, and kill counts are often directly related to war; but, war is much more than a number. War is and emotional event. Rarely, individuals see accurate representations of the emotional brutality of war. However, Ismael Beah`s experiences, explained in chapters 1-7 of his book, “A Long Way Gone”, display the emotional hardships that caused Ishmael to grow up quickly.
Due to the war, 12 year-old Ishmael is forced to grow up rapidly. Unaffected by war, Ishmael`s young mind was unable to grasp the horrid reality of warfare; thus, explaining that he “thought the stories of the passerby were exaggerated” (page 5). During this time in Ishmael`s life, any story he heard about the ongoing war was only a story. Prior to being “touched by war”, Ishmael focused on his rapping and dancing group (page 6). Similar to any boy at his age, Ishmael`s worries were extremely minimal. Ishmael enjoyed his childhood up until the rebel`s attacks affected his own life.
Furthermore, Ishmael began to see first-hand representations of the violent acts of war which resulted in his rapid development. These violent events began with an encounter Ishmael had with a dying family attacked by the rebels. While witnessing this event, “people covered the eyes of their children”; however, despite Ishmael also being a child, no one was able to cover his eyes, forcing him to see the true brutality of the rebels (page 12). A few days following this incident, Ishmael was forced to lose his sense of compassion. While running from the rebels Ishmael had to run “past handicapped people…for anyone who stopped to do so was risking his own life” (page 24). From this day forward, Ishmael knew he could no longer think about others and it was necessary that he focused on his survival.
Eventually, Ishmael was left alone to fend for himself; therefore, he was forced to become his own parent. After Ishmael and his friends were separated, he
Due to the war, 12 year-old Ishmael is forced to grow up rapidly. Unaffected by war, Ishmael`s young mind was unable to grasp the horrid reality of warfare; thus, explaining that he “thought the stories of the passerby were exaggerated” (page 5). During this time in Ishmael`s life, any story he heard about the ongoing war was only a story. Prior to being “touched by war”, Ishmael focused on his rapping and dancing group (page 6). Similar to any boy at his age, Ishmael`s worries were extremely minimal. Ishmael enjoyed his childhood up until the rebel`s attacks affected his own life.
Furthermore, Ishmael began to see first-hand representations of the violent acts of war which resulted in his rapid development. These violent events began with an encounter Ishmael had with a dying family attacked by the rebels. While witnessing this event, “people covered the eyes of their children”; however, despite Ishmael also being a child, no one was able to cover his eyes, forcing him to see the true brutality of the rebels (page 12). A few days following this incident, Ishmael was forced to lose his sense of compassion. While running from the rebels Ishmael had to run “past handicapped people…for anyone who stopped to do so was risking his own life” (page 24). From this day forward, Ishmael knew he could no longer think about others and it was necessary that he focused on his survival.
Eventually, Ishmael was left alone to fend for himself; therefore, he was forced to become his own parent. After Ishmael and his friends were separated, he