LOSS OF INNOCENCE

INTRODUCTION

• In the book "A Long Way Gone" by Ishmael Beah, Beah lost his innocence at 12
• Beah was left to find food and shelter for himself during the extreme Civil War of Sierra Leone for quite some time.
• Beah was later recruited by the Rebels. The Rebels started the civil war, recruited several young boys, killed thousands, and left plenty to suffer.

INTRODUCTION CONT.

• In the end Beah and several other boy soldiers were rescued by soldiers and many were taken to America.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

• The author of "A Long Way Gone", Ishmael Beah, is the main character of the story
• When Beah was 12 a civil war broke out in Sierra Leone when
• The war was "a liberation of the people from corrupt government" (Beah 27).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR CONT.

• I believe the authors intentions for making this book was to inform people of the hectic things that happen in the world and not every child has had a childhood.

LOSS OF INNOCENCE THEME

• The theme that I have chosen for "A Long Way Gone" is Loss of Innocence.
• I choose the theme Loss of Innocence because the many children had to do things average children do not normally do.
• Children had to kill to survive or were killed trying to survive.

THEME TO CHARACTER

• The theme really applies to Ishmael Beah. Beah was a small 12 year old boy and was separated from his family, left to take care of himself, and later recruited in by the rebels.
• " I began to feel my ribs when I touched sides (Beah 44).
• He became weak and hungry when by himself

THEME TO CONFLICT

• "There was a bullet hole in his forehead and underneath the stoop lay the bodies of two men...that was on the ground next to their piled body parts" (Beah 41).
• Ishmael witnessed many dismembered and decaying bodies, so many to the point where he became use to them.
• Witnessing murder after murder became normal.

THEME TO SETTING

• Beah and his friends went through different towns and saw people suffer unfortunate events.
• " They bound his feet and hands together with wire, tied him to an iron post, and set his body on fire" (Beah 60).
• Beah and his friends were in live village before the rebels came. Everyone vanished and took cover.

CONNECT TO YOUNG ADULTS

• The theme Loss of Innocence connects to many young adults worldwide.
• Traumatic events may happen to anyone making them feel as though they've lost their innocence and had their childhood taken away.

CONNECT TO PERSONAL LIFE

WORKS CITED

• Beah, Ishmael" A Long Way Gone" New York City, New York: Sarah Crichton Books,2007