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.