Torn Childhood

770 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Drug abuse and its effect on adolescents

Even when war robbed Ishmael and Mariatu of their childhoods, they persevered. This was a grave difficulty for them because of all the violence they saw and had all the obstacles they had to overcome. Both wanted to give up at times, but managed to pull themselves together and get through their struggles and challenges. Ishmael and Mariatu lost their childhood as they both had problems growing up. Childhood was much more demanding for Ishmael than it was for Mariatu because Ishmael Beah experienced many traumatic events. Life for children in Sierra Leone was problematic. Days were long and nights were even longer. Losing one’s childhood would be difficult for anyone. Ishmael had a more demanding life than Mariatu because becoming a boy soldier is more strenuous on the mind and body. He had to go out every day and put his life on the line. Although Mariatu did have it tough, it was not anywhere near what Ishmael experienced. Ishmael saw things people could not even imagine. Mariatu dealt with losing her childhood very differently than Ishmael. Mariatu got though the days of war with self-pity and negativity. Ishmael used drugs to block the painful events that he lived through. They both lost their childhood, but their problems did not end when they were done with the war. Growing up without hands would be challenging, but growing up with post traumatic stress syndrome and drug abuse problems would be seemingly impossible. Although the book never said Ishmael had post traumatic stress, he did seek treatment in the rehabilitation centers. Mariatu did not have it easy without hands, but living without hands is possible. Mariatu was lucky to even live after the rebels ambushed her village. Thousands of people were killed and many ... ... middle of paper ... ...than others, such as witnessing their love ones die or becoming a child solider. Both miraculously lived to tell their story. It was not always easy for them, but they carried on. Ishmael and Mariatu have differences, but their lives turned out to be pretty similar. Ishmael and Mariatu each turned their tragic lives into productive, fulfilling ones because they were blessed that they both survived. Works Cited Beah, Ishmael. A Long Way Gone. New York: Sarah Crichton, 2007. Print. Healey, Christina. “Our World: Sierra Leone.” Country Report: 1-6. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 11 Nov. 2013. Kamara, Mariatu, and Susan McClelland. The Bite of the Mango. Buffalo: Annick Pres, 2008. Print. Umiltà, Maria Allessandra. "Impact of Civil War on Emotion Recognition: The Denial of Sadness in Sierra Leone." Frontiers in Psychology 4. MEDLINE. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.

Show More
Related

  • Character Analysis Of Ishmael's Lessons From 'Bra Spider'

    610 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the book the audience has seen Ishmael go through adventure and sorrow. In the novel Ishmael is forced to go to war at age thirteen, but what keeps him going were his grandmother's wise words. His grandmother was the one who told him powerful lessons that he could use in real life. These lesson that Ishmael is keeping him grounded is not only from his grandmother but also from his friends. Lessons that were seen by the readers are “wild pigs”, “Bra Spider”, and the story about the moon.

    Read More

  • Ishmael's Innocence In A Long Way Gone

    983 Words  | 2 Pages

    As a child, Ishmael Beah seemed like he was playful, curious, and adventurous. He had a family that loved him, and he had friends that supported him. Before the war, Ishmael had a childhood that was similar to most of the children in the United States. Unfortunately, the love and support Ishmael grew accustom to quickly vanished. His childhood and his innocence abruptly ended when he was forced to grow up due to the Sierra Leone Civil War. In 1991, Ishmael thought about survival rather than trivial things. Where was he going to go? What was he going to eat? Was he going to make it out of the war alive? The former questions were the thoughts that occupied Ishmaels mind. Despite his efforts, Ishmael became an unwilling participant in the war. At the age of thirteen, he became a

    Read More

  • Farewell To Manzanar Essay

    1314 Words  | 3 Pages

    “It is your reaction to adversity, not the adversity itself, that determines how you life’s story will develop” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf). Most people can deal with difficulties, but their reactions to the hardships are different. Only some people can manage their problems. We should try to manage our behaviors in tough situations. If we can deal with our situations, we can overcome difficulties easily. In the story of Farewell to Manzanar written by Jeanne Wakatsuki, the story shows how war can change humans, their life, and their ranks. Although all of the characters of her book face the same problems due to the war and the camps they had to live in, they responded to those situations differently. All of them presented

    Read More

  • Ishmael Beah's Recovery

    786 Words  | 2 Pages

    War has very serious side effects for all involved and definitely affects the way Israel views the world today. He endured and saw stuff that most people will never see in a lifetime, let alone as a young child. Ishmael was shaped by the forced use of drugs, the long road to recovery and the loss of innocence of his childhood.

    Read More

  • Daniel Quinn's Ishmael

    1262 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ishmael was taken from the wild and held captive in a zoo, a circus, and a gazebo. During his time in various types of captivity, Ishmael was able to develop a sense of self and a better understanding of the world around him. Ishmael states that the narrator and those who share the same culture are “captives of a civilizational system that more or less compels you to go on destroying the world in order live” (Quinn, 15). He goes to explain that releasing humanity from captivity is crucial for survival, but humans are unable to see the bars of the cage. Using the cage as a metaphor, Quinn is referring to human culture and how they do not see the harm it’s causing. As the novel progresses, it elaborates on how culture came about and why certain people inherit certain cultures. Ishmael refers to a story as the explanation of the relationship between humans, the world and the gods. He defines to enact is to live as if the story is a reality. Ishmael suggest that humans are captives of story, comparing them to the people of Nazi Germany who were held captive by Hitler’s

    Read More

  • A Long Way Gone Quotes

    1090 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the book A Long Way Gone written by Ishmael Beah, Ishmael survives and describes his journey while at war. Ishmael was a 13 year old who is forced to become a child soldier. He struggles through a variety of problems. In his journey, he was separated from his family and mostly running for his life. Later on, he has no problem killing people and picking up his gun. In fact, anyone can be evil at any certain time with kids changing, getting drugged, and going back to war.

    Read More

  • Unequal Childhoods Chapter Summary

    1058 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life, Annette Lareau discussed the extensive amount of research she conducted employing observational and interview techniques. She collected data on the middle class, working class, and poor families. She was trying to understand the impact of a child’s early parental guidance on the child’s life. She was able to conduct this research with 12 families, all of whom had fourth graders. She gathered enough information to conclude the major differences in the parenting styles of each type of family, which was directly correlated to socioeconomic status. Annette Lareau opens her book with two chapters to give the reader an idea on what the examples she gives will detail.

    Read More

  • A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah

    1026 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ishmael starts his journey with a will to escape and survive the civil war of Sierra Leone in order to reunite with his mom, dad, and younger siblings, who fled their home when his village was attacked by rebels. Having only his older brother, who he escaped with, and a few friends by his side Ishmael is scared, but hopeful. When the brothers are captured by rebels, Ishmael’s belief in survival is small, as indicated by his fallible survival tactics when he “could hear the gunshots coming closer…[and] began to crawl farther into the bushes” (Beah 35). Ishmael wants to survive, but has little faith that he can. He is attempting to survive by hiding wherever he can- even where the rebels can easily find him. After escaping, Ishmael runs into a villager from his home tells him news on the whereabouts of his family. His optimism is high when the villager, Gasemu, tells Ishmael, “Your parents and brothers wil...

    Read More

  • A Long Way Gone Survival Essay

    531 Words  | 2 Pages

    Most people who Ishmael came in contact with and himself, had a conflict between trust and survival. This conflict became an effect of the war in which many people suffered because they chose to live over a possible death. Beah retells his traumatic experience that gives countless situations where survival is picked over trust. In a world without war trust and survival can be

    Read More

  • War and the Loss of Innocence

    1321 Words  | 3 Pages

    The transition of Ishmael Baeh, from innocent child to a soldier with the blood of his countrymen on his hands, is chronicled in his memoir through the usage of flashbacks that explain his memories. In the beginning of the memo...

    Read More

  • The Message of Quinn's Ishmael

    968 Words  | 2 Pages

    In language of the sort one might expect from a well educated man speaking with a friend, Ishmael told Quinn the story of his life. A large portion of it was spent in captivity, before a wealthy elderly man befriended and educated him. At the end of Ishmael's tale, Quinn was still somewhat befuddled.

    Read More

  • Hidden Childhood

    1656 Words  | 4 Pages

    On May 1940, German forced invaded France; by June 14th German troops successfully marched into Paris. The French government did not give into exile but rather signed an armistice agreement that allowed Germans to divide France into two parts: occupied zones and unoccupied zones. The French government was located in Vichy, France; leaders were subordinate to the German’s rule. Between September 1940 and June 1942, the German occupation of France caused the Vichy Government to pass many Anti- Jewish laws: including expanding the category of who is a Jew, forbidding free negotiation of Jewish-owned capital, confiscating radios in Jewish possession, executing and deporting Jewish members of the resistance movement, establishing a curfew, forbidding a change of residence, ordering all Jews to wear a yellow badge ( Star of David) and prohibiting access to public area. The role of the Vichy government during occupation left a lingering feeling of disloyalty of the government for the citizens of France.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

    1020 Words  | 3 Pages

    This is at core a pitiful story which encompasses of ruthlessness and miseries endured by Ishmael Beah. All the trials in this story are chronologically prescribed and heart sobbing, in which a person who reads can in time weep while interpreting.

    Read More

  • Inner Strength Of Women In A Thousand Splendid Suns By Khaled Hosseini

    1060 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, Mariam and Laila are constantly having their inner strength challenged from birth to death. They both had different lives growing up, but they both lived in the same society, meaning that they both dealt with the disrespect from the Afghani culture.

    Read More

  • A Long Way Gone Analysis

    808 Words  | 2 Pages

    In “A Long Way Gone”, we follow a twelve-year-old African boy, Ishmael Beah, who was in the midst, let alone survived a civil war in Sierra Leone, that turned his world upside down. Ishmael was a kind and innocent boy, who lived in a village where everybody knew each other and happiness was clearly vibrant amongst all the villagers. Throughout the novel, he describes the horrific scenes he encounters that would seem unreal and traumatizing to any reader. The main key to his survival is family, who swap out from being related to becoming non-blood related people who he journeys with and meets along his journey by chance.

    Read More

More about Torn Childhood

Open Document