A Long Way Gone Literary Analysis

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Society constantly allows the use of child soldiers. Through the enthralling writing in A Long Way Gone Ishmael Beah achieves his purpose of persuading society to put an end to child soldiery by using imagery and logos to appeal to each individual reader to realize how horrible child soldiery is. Through imagery in the book A Long Way Gone, Beah can connect with the audience, and make the reader see what Beah saw. A recollection of one of Beah’s memories vilifies his point: “One of them carried the head of a man, which he held by the hair. The head looked as if it was still feeling it’s hair being pulled. Blood dripped from where the neck had once been” (Beah 96). Through this style of writing the reader can actually visualize a head that had just been cut off a body, or even the removal of a head itself. Picturing this horror will make the reader question why people are letting such young humans witness such horrible things, and realize that what these children are experiencing shouldn’t be experienced at …show more content…

Beah uses the logic of readers to his advantage when he lionizes why the use of child soldiers should come to a halt. When Beah was talking about his life as a child soldier he said, “The idea of death didn’t cross my mind at all and killing had become as easy as drinking water” (Beah 112). At any time in society, in the past and in the future, it is not logical for killing to be easy, especially as a child. Beah includes this quote to help the reader understand the effects of child soldiery. It demonstrates child soldiery can take the children into the dark depths of despair, and make it hard for them to escape from this horror. Beah wants to compel the reader to think and question this statement, because every reader in their right mind would know that killing should not be easy. Through the reader’s logic, Beah can prove to them why the use of child soldiers is

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