A LONG WAY GONE: LITERARY ANALYSIS - ISHMAEL BEAH

OVERALL ANALYSIS

CHARACTER ANALYSIS

Ishmael Beah

Ishmael is a wonderful young man who becomes a victim of a devastating civil war in Sierra Leone. Like most other civilians, he is a victim of a terror campaign on the part of both sides of the war. Millions of civilians die in this conflict and in that way, Ishmael is lucky, because he lives. However, he comes out of the experience as a boy soldier badly damaged. He has lost his family to the rebel atrocities just before he has the chance to be reunited. He sees friends and comrades die the most horrible deaths before his eyes, he lives in horrible conditions day in and day out, and most of the time, he sees little hope that his existence will ever change.

Fortunately, he is taken away to a rehabilitation center by UNICEF staffers who work with him relentlessly to help him find the true child he left behind. Of course, it is his own inner desire to be something more, to overcome the barriers placed in front of him that ultimately means the difference between returning to the war and finding a new home in New York City. He then uses his inner strength to finish his education and go to work at the UN as an advocate for other children forced to face the horrors of war.

Esther

She is the young nurse who works at Benin House where Ishmael enters rehabilitation. She sees something worth saving in all the boys who come there, but she sees something even more in Ishmael. She gradually works on him to become her friend and trust again. She recognizes that saving him may be through his beloved rap music and uses........

Alhaji

Although he is a war comrade, he becomes Ishmael’s family while they experience the horrors of the civil.........

Uncle Tommy

Although Ishmael never met his father’s brother; the man never hesitates when Ishmael needs a home after Benin House to open his door to his young nephew. He is always smiling and laughing, and he and his family offer more than just a roof over Ishmael’s head. They offer emotional sustenance that Ishmael sorely.........

The Lieutenant

Even though he is almost an evil character, this man had an obvious impact on Ishmael’s life. He..........

PLOT STRUCTURE ANALYSIS

This is a nonfiction work. As such the story is described in a largely chronological and normal order. The narrative opens with Ishmael in high..........

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A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah Free BookNotes Summary

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