The Human Condition In Ishmael's A Long Way Gone

Throughout the course of A Long Way Gone, we see Ishmael going through a number of hardships. Many people would consider these difficulties overwhelming, and near impossible to overcome. However, Ishmael shows resilience and overcomes hardships all through the book and displays the human condition through these complications in his life.

The first example of Ishmael expressing the human condition in A Long Way Gone is seen when we looked at what Ishmael survived. The first event that we see Ishmael overcome is being separated from his family. Near the beginning of the book, Ishmael talks about how the rebels came to his home unexpectedly and started to cause chaos. This, resulted in Ishmael and his family getting separated for the first dozen

Ishmael also survives another dreadful event when he goes through the war. While trying to find refuge from the war, Ishmael and his friends ironically end up joining the army, to fight against the rebels. Over the course of his time in the war, Ishmael would be exposed to unparalleled violence day in and day out. During these times Ishmael says “Sometimes we were asked to leave for war in the middle of a movie. We would come back hours later after killing many people and continue the movie as if we had just returned from intermission. We were always either at the front lines, watching a movie, or doing drugs. There was no time to be alone or to think” (p. 124). This quote perfectly sums up the danger that Ishmael experienced during the war. Most of this danger however, was not the fact that he was likely to be injured or killed. Granted, he was on the front lines numerous days a week and snuck behind enemy lines frequently, both tasks which could have resulted in an injury, or worse, death, but the real dangers he faced during these times were dehumanization he faced constantly. Everyday, he either went out into the

During the war, there were two prevalent groups. These were the army and the rebels, both of which offered Ishmael a questionable future. As we know, Ishmael ended up joining the army. About his experience in the army, Ishmael says “I had my gun now, and as the corporal always said “This gun is your source of power in these times.It will protect you and provide you all you need, if you know how to use it well.”” (p.124). This type of thinking is in short, self-destructive to Ishmael. It would mean that he would either end up dead during the war, or if he was to survive, it would be very unlikely for him to be rehabilitated because he had been so reliant on his gun during the war. In addition to this, it would leave Ishmael in a precarious state when the war ended if he had not been rehabilitated, since the only thing he knew to do for years was to kill. However, since he was able to be rehabilitated, he was able to conform to society once more. This, unfortunately, could have been prompted once again near the end of the book when history repeats itself when the AFRC took over Sierra Leone. “The entire nation crumbled into a state of lawlessness. I hated what was happening. I couldn’t return to my previous live.”. Once again, war comes knocking on Ishmael’s front door, and this time around Ishmael knows what war is like and what he is going to experience again. Ishmael was