A Long Way Gone Essay
Matthew Morgan
Prof. Carey “On Democracy”
Due: 02/27/08
For the “Everybody Reads” assignment I choose to attend the Central library book group discussion. When I first got there I was really surprised because I thought it was going to be a bigger event than what it was. There was only about 10 people total, and 5 of us were students who were there for this exact assignment. It was a really interesting discussion because half of the people that attended were my age and the other half was about two generations older, so there was a very diverse pool of perspectives and opinions. But because there was a large generation gap it was a bit more difficult for me to share my views, so I mainly listened and observed other people’s thoughts. The discussion itself was very helpful because of the different views people had about the memoir.
One of the themes of A Long Way Gone that we discussed was the importance of hope. We mainly talked about how this theme was not constant throughout the memoir and that it changed with time. For example one person brought up how at first Ishmael’s only motivator was the hope of his parents being alive, then when he realized that he would never be reunited with them he had lost his hope. It was only when he remembered what his father had said about a person only lives if they have something to live for which gave him his hope back. As far as themes that’s really the only one that we discussed, but we did discuss a lot of other interesting aspects of the memoir. We discussed the validity of Ishmael’s timeframes given within the memoir and talked about the criticism that A Long Way Gone has received. Most people in the group thought that even if the times were off it is insignificant with regards to what he’s been through as a child soldier and the main message that he’s trying to project through this memoir. We also listened to stories from the older discussion participants about their experiences of family members being in wars and how it affected everyone around them. This was especially interesting to me because I could see personally how war affected these people directly and indirectly instead of just reading about it. Overall I found the discussion really helpful because of the variety of opinions but at the same time I thought it was difficult to voice my own opinions because of that very reason. I learned a lot from the whole experience and I would be more open to going to a book group discussion on my own in the future.
The theme from A Long Way Gone which I chose to discuss is the loss of innocence. I feel that this theme is especially important because it strongly ties to Ishmael’s cause of trying to rehabilitate child soldiers and to regain their humanity. This theme mainly appeals to me because I have an interest in personal identification and a person’s relationship with their identity. I’ve always found it intriguing how it can take years for one to find their identity and only a second for one to loose it. But what I find even more interesting are the steps involved in recovering one’s identity, and Ishmael’s memoir demonstrates all of these aspects of personal identity.
This theme starts to become increasingly evident the more Ishmael’s story progresses, although it can be seen from the very beginning. Ishmael’s loss of innocence begins with desensitization to violence, which in this case was caused by the overexposure to violence. The first major event, that stands out in my mind, which marks the beginning of Ishmael’s desensitization to violence, is when the boys witnessed a horrific scene of a mother and her dead baby after running away from their home village. “The last casualty we saw that evening was a woman who carried her baby on her back… Her child had been shot dead as she ran for her life… The image of that woman and her baby plagued my mind as we walked back to Mattru Jong… I didn’t want to go back to where that woman was from; it was clear in the eyes of the baby that all had been lost” (Beah, 13-14). It was this overexposure to violence and gore that began his loss of innocence because it was powerful enough to diminish his hopes of returning to his home, forcing him to continue moving without guidance.
An example of when Ishmael’s changing identity becomes evident is when he encounters one of his fellow villagers who remembered him as a child and remarks how he has changed. “I see that you look very sad. Your forehead used to glow naturally when you were just a child. Your parents and I used to discuss how unusual that was… And here you are, it isn’t shining anymore” (Beah, 92). Ishmael’s glowing head is somewhat of a literal symbol of innocence, and he has lost innocence due to the desensitizing effects of war and violence.
The point where Ishmael begins to regain his innocence is when he is being rehabilitated, but he struggles because he has been desensitized to almost an irreparable level. During an interview with John Stewart on The Daily Show, Ishmael states, “I was only able to return to being a human because of all the help I received from others... They persisted to help me even when I refused to obey. I am amazed with their persistence, without them I would not be here today.” This statement is significant because it demonstrates how humans can repair their actions and that innocence can be recovered through the right steps and enough effort. Again, I chose this theme because I have a fascination with personal identity. From discovering it, to loosing it, and regaining it all over, I feel that Ishmael Beah’s A Long Way Gone is a perfect example of one’s conflict with their personal identity.
Beah, I (2007). A Long Way Gone. New York, New York: Sarah Crichton Books.