A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah - Essay Example

A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah Chapter 7 begins with the story of the imam’s death followed by Ishmael’s recollections of his father and an elder blessing their home when they first moved to Mogbwemo. How do the concepts of faith and hope shift throughout the memoir? What sustains Ishmael emotionally and spiritually? Throughout the memoir, Ishmael is depicted as a hopeful person. When they had no food, he still hoped to find food. When he returns to the village and find it has been attacked, he kept going back to check on them because he hoped he would find them there. Even after being a brutal child soldier, Ishmael recalls the stories about the moon and spirituality that his grandmother had narrated to him (Beah 62-66). This shows that spirituality affected his though patterns. However, he at times thinks the stories were more of child’s fable especially when he acted as a child soldier where humans butchered others with no pity. He witnessed no spiritual intervention and all including the believers faced the same fate. Nevertheless, it was the little spiritual knowledge that kept him hopeful when things were uncertain. However, the reality of war clashes with Ishmael’s spirituality. Although the Imam refuses to leave the mosque before completing his prayers, the rebels do not spare him. Although the imam prays for Ishmael’s family to remain United, the war rips them apart. He thus fails to understand the significance or reliability of spiritual teachings. Although the happenings contradict his religious belief, Ishmael had strong faith that he would survive. 2) What did Ishmael’s parents teach him about being a man? How did he define Manhood once he began his long walk west? What general life lessons were his parents able to teach him that sustained him during brutal passage from boyhood and that he carries with him today? Although it is not clearly spelt in the book, Ishmael’s parents taught him that manhood entailed persevering. As a man, he was not supposed to give up no matter how bad the situation was. Additionally, his parents had taught him to fight for what he believed. When he becomes a child soldier, his definition of manhood is completely altered. He is brainwashed and become brutal irrespective of his beliefs that war was inappropriate. However, after his rehabilitation, he decides to assist in enlightening the world on the impacts of war. It was due to his parent’s teachings that he could overcome anything that he was able to outlive his painful experience as a child soldier (Beah7-11, 121-125). His parent’s lesson that he should keep going even when the going got tougher helped Ishmael overcome most of his problems. As a child solder he fought on since he hoped to get out of the war eventually. His determination helped him regain composure while at the rehab when he was traumatized by his role in the war and the effects of drugs. 3) What universal truths does Ishmael teach us about surviving loss and hunger and overcoming isolation? When Ishmael was a child, he was happy and enjoyed dancing and rapping. However, this is abruptly taken away from him when he is separated from his entire family and friends. He lives for days without food and still survives. He is isolated and forced to become a child soldier. He was easygoing which enabled him adapt to the rapid changes in his life. His parents and grandmother had taught him to persevere, which strengthened and encouraged him even in the hardest of the situations (Beah 9-13). The way Ishmael handles life teaches us some universal truths about surviving loss and hunger and overcoming isolation. One truth is that life comprises of challenges, which can make us succeed or fail depending on how we handle them. Ishmael was strong and tried to work his way out no matter the situation. Another universal truth that Ishmael teaches us is that isolation can change our perceptions. When Ishmael is separated from his family, he becomes a child soldier and he loses his perception about family. This affects him later when he became incapable of trusting people. However, this teaches us that determination is crucial. Although Ishmael had little to hope for, he kept fighting and managed to survive through the war until he was rescued. From the story of Ishmael, we can learn never to give up even when things fail to work out the way we want. It is upon us making something good out of bad situations (Beah 70-74). 4) How does Ishmael’s concept of family change throughout the memoir, from his early life in Mattru Jong to the uncle whom he is reunited to his American family with Laura? Ishmael’s concept of family changes throughout the book. This is because he lives in different family settings, which are structured differently from each other. While he was young, and before the war in Sierra Leon, Ishmael had a natural family even though his father and mother had separated. He would move back and forth from his mother’s house to his father’s house. He has an older brother and his father whom he considers his family (Beah 8-12). Additionally, he has caring grandparents to complete the joy of having a family. When rebels attack his village, he is separated from his father. He is first left with his brother and a group of boys whom he considers his family. As the war progresses, he is separated from his brother and is left all alone. He fully loses the concept of a family due to the loneliness he suffers. Later on, Ishmael meets a lieutenant in Sierra Leone Armed Forces whom he befriends and begins to consider him as part of his family. At this point in life, Ishmael views family to be anyone who could gain his trust and offer some love (Beah 23-27). He becomes a child soldier and fights alongside other child soldiers. The structured nature of the army gives him some form of security but he does not consider the army as part of his family since he thinks they killed his family. He is in the army because he does not have another option and he wants to survive. When UNICEF rescues him, he gets a foster family. Irrespective of the family being complete, he feels challenged since he has to live in a new culture. He feels isolated and does view himself as part of the new family. Later on, he reunites with his uncle in United States. However, he is reserved due to the effect of the war and does not associate with his uncle freely. However, he is glad to meet someone from his relations. When he lives with Laura, he feel very isolated and withdrawn and finds it hard to trust anyone enough to consider him or her part of family (Beah 228-233). 5) Discuss the role of American hip-hop culture in creating a “soundtrack” for Ishmael’s life. Why are rappers so appealing to him? American hip-hop played a major role in Ishmael’s life. From a young child, Ishmael loved American hip-hop and used it throughout his life to cope with different challenges. Although he did not understand the words or meaning of hip-hop, he together with his friends used it for their own entertainment. The rap music strengthened the relationship between Ishmael and his brother Junior, who used to teach him different concepts about hip-hop. When his village is attacked, he survives because he had gone for a talent show with his friend. He uses his talent in hip-hop to save his life on several occasions. What impressed him most about the hip-hop music was seeing black people speak English so fast (Beah7-12). The rappers appealed to him mainly because he could identify with them due to their skin color. Though listening and dancing to hip hop music was viewed as child’s pass time activity, it saved Ishmael and his friends on several occasions. Whenever confronted by chief or person who questioned them, he made use of hip-hop music to convince others that he was just a child and not heartless killer. However, some people started viewing him as a smuggler due to possession of foreign cassettes. By making use of the rap music, Ishmael was able to convince the chief who wanted them killed that they were innocent children. Rap music helps Ishmael and his friend who were child soldiers to cope with hard situations. While at the rehabilitation center, Ishmael listens to hip-hop, which acts as the only connection between his present and past that had not been severed by the war. It was through listening to hip-hop that he is able to shun hiss mind from his distressing past. This demonstrates that even after participating in the brutal killings, he was still the innocent child he had been before the war. It was due to lack of choice that he had participated in the war. For Ishmael, hip-hop is the only bridge to reality (Beah 198-204). 6) Storytelling is a powerful force in Ishmael’s life, even providing a connection to his future mother, Laura Simms. What traits make Ishmael a memorable and unique storyteller? How does his perspective compare to the perspectives of filmmakers, reporters, or other authors who have recently tried to portray Africa’s civil wars? Ishmael is an overwhelming storyteller, with an incredible voice. He gives vivid and gripping description of all his encounters in a way that makes the reader experience the disastrous consequences of civil war. A good example is his description of the long walks on hot sand, which covered and burned his feet (Beah 77-81). This narration was so vivid and at time, it felt like I was watching the whole scenario and not just reading. Ishmael is a unique storyteller since he does not just describe the events but he explains how they made him feel. He is persuasive and makes the reader empathize not just with him but all the victims of the civil war. His perspective compares to perspectives of filmmakers and other authors in that it gives an honest picture of the impacts of civil wars not just in Sierra Leon but in other parts of the world. Having participated in the war, his perspectives are similar to those of a film make since the author is able to witness the war through Ishmael’s eyes. By this, I mean that he gives a firsthand description of the war, which is better than that of filmmakers who observed the course of the war from outside. Ishmael appears to have a photographic memory by the way he recalls and describes all the events of the war creating an image on the readers’ mind. Like many authors and filmmakers, he draws the attention of the world to a vital issue. However, his description appears to have been exaggerated. Considering he participated in the war while still a child, his story is too detailed. However, he manages to capture the attention of the reader by being sensational. Though he writes the book while an adult, he manages to give an insight of how it was like to be a soldier child living in a war-torn Sierra Leon. However, his narration is dependable since he does not judge the actions of the rebel or the soldiers. He just narrates the story and leaves the readers to judge for themselves. Works Cited Beah, Ishmael. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. New York: Farrar, Stataus and Giroux, 2008. Print. Read More