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A LONG WAY GONE BY ISHMAEL BEAH: STUDY GUIDE
LITERARY ELEMENTS
SETTING
Sierra Leone, 1993-1997
New York City, 1998
CHARACTER LIST
Major Characters
Ishmael Beah
The narrator of this true story, Ishmael, is a boy soldier who
finds a way to escape the horrors of war and go on to counsel others who
are only looking for a way to live in peace.
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Esther
She is a nurse at Benin House where Ishmael is taken for rehabilitation.
She befriends him and helps him to find himself again.
Alhaji
He is a young man whom Ishmael befriends when they are both part
of the soldiers fighting the rebels. He is as strong and cold as Ishmael
in battle, but just as in need of re-finding his childhood.
Uncle Tommy
He takes Ishmael in after he is found in Freetown. Ishmael cannot
stay at Benin House forever and he needs family to love him. He lucks
out with Uncle Tommy, because the man truly loves Ishmael and helps him
leave behind the horrors or war.
The Lieutenant
He is the father figure when Ishmael goes into battle. His words
motivate the young boys to be willing to give their lives against the
rebels.
Minor Characters
Junior Beah
Ishmael’s brother, his companionship and love for Ishmael are
some of the memories that help rehabilitate Ishmael. They escaped the
initial rebel attacks together and then lost each other in the confusion
that followed days later. He goes in search of Ishmael when they are separated
and dies never knowing that Ishmael had found his family only minutes
before they were burned alive by the rebels.
Laura Simms
She is the woman Ishmael meets in New York City who helps children
of war by being a storyteller, a cultural aspect of Sierra Leonean society.
Ishmael is drawn to her because of this and she takes him under her wing
while he is in America. Later, when he is able to escape Sierra Leone,
she helps him get to America and becomes his mother.
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