A Long Way Gone Memorable Scene

498 Words2 Pages
Mr. Halley Honors Comm. 10 August 11, 2012 A Long Way Gone, Memoirs of a Boy Soldier- Most Memorable Scene In Beah’s A Long Way Gone, there are many scenes that are important and heart-warming, but, in my opinion, the most memorable scene in the book would be when Ishmael for the very first time witnessed the brutality and cruelty of warfare. This is the most memorable scene because it marks the transition of Ismael evolving from an innocent child to a fighting young adult who had seen too many atrocities for his given age. Before the first scenes of warfare were described by Beah, it was evident that he acted like most children his age. He enjoyed and lived his life with his friends and family. However, after the rebels begin to attack the villages, Ishmael completely changes because he had witnessed much more than a child his age should have witnessed. Ishmael sees people being brutally killed, or a van filled with dead members of families who have been cruelly murdered. The importance of this scene to the memoir is that it forces Ishmael to grow up too quickly because there is no other way of survival otherwise. A major idea that was illustrated in the memoir was the concept of survival. This scene is significant because the tragedies that happen, in this scene, leads to Ishmael resorting to methods to keep himself alive and the majority of the book he had to learn how to do this himself. The significance of this scene to the story is that it leads to all the other important events that take place in the story. The first scenes of the brutality of warfare changed Ishmael’s life forever. For example, he never saw his mother or father ever again after the rebels began to attack and destroy the villages. He eventually gets separated from his brother, Junior, as well. Also, this scene results in Ishmael learning how to take care of himself. After he got
Open Document