Introduction
War. This terrible word calls fear and nervous trembling. This word contains blood, tears, and millions of ruined lives.
Omar Bradley once said “The world has achieved brilliance without wisdom, power without conscience. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about the war that knows about peace, more about killing than we know about living” (Condon, 180).
The war theme in literature was always one of the most outstanding themes. It revealed the tragedy of a human being in pursuit of power, new territories, freedom. Through the novel pages, the writer can show what a terrible beast war is and how greatly it can impact human lives.
“A Long Way Gone”
The novel A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah is sad evidence of the author’s war experience in Sierra Leone. The main character, Ishmael, is a ten years old boy who dreamed to participate in a talent show and become a rap singer. But his plans were suddenly interrupted by unexpected rebels. Numerous army attacks forced villagers to scatter in all directions. Ishmael and his friends had to pass a lot of life tests including starvation, injuries, life losses of their friends.
They had to hide from rebels but they came right into war jaws. They were searching for a safeguard but they lost their families. Ishmael was trying to run away from horror dreams and terrible nightmares and this put him on the path to rehabilitation. He suffered a lot and he obtained a happy chance in his life. He went to New York because he understood this city to be the only way to escape from war. He dared to make this dangerous travel in order not to be swallowed by an insatiable mouth of war when it knocked on Ishmael’s door for the second time. “They had run so far away from the war, only to be caught back in it. There is nowhere to go from here” (Beah, 207).
However, there was one way not to go crazy because of war realities. This wonderful remedy was storytelling. Storytelling occupied a significant part in Ishmael’s life and had a considerable impact on him.
Moral upbringing and storytelling
If we remember, his early moral upbringing was connected with storytelling as well. His grandmother told him different stories to teach him how to behave in society. Chapter eight presents such an example. When Ishmael was hiding from rebels in the thick forest and when wild pigs persuaded him, he remembered a story, which he heard in childhood from his grandmother. It was about how wild pigs began to hate people.
One hunter once discovered a wonderful plant that allowed him to change into a wild pig. Thus, he decoyed wild pigs into an ambush and then killed them. One of the pigs saw how a hunter ate this plant. Sounder destroyed herbals so the hunter was not able to turn back. Then they just tore him into small pieces. There in the forest, Ishmael firstly understood the true meaning of that story: how the war turned his innocent countrymen against each other.
Impacts of storytelling
Later in the book Ishmael says “I feel as if there is nothing left for me to be alive for. I have no family, it is just me. No one will be able to tell me stories about my childhood” (Beah, 167). This fact proves the idea that storytelling was the essence of Ishmael’s life. It was the only thing that connected him with a past peaceful life, good memories, and expectations. He saw that war did not seem to be the end. He noticed that there was so much blood in the river that water did not flow. Destruction, tears, and blood swept over his land. It swept over his heart and mind as well. Insufferable migraine devoured him from within. As a result, he turned into an indifferent bloodthirsty soldier for whom the only remedy was marijuana, cocaine, and brown-brown.
Another impact of storytelling in Ishmael’s life can be observed in chapter fifteen. This chapter provides information about lieutenant Jumah who liked to talk about Shakespeare when he had free time for it. When they gathered later at night in the center of the town, Ishmael was amazed by the lieutenant’s story of how he survived when a lot of his friends have been killed. This story influenced greatly Ishmael’s mind. It added more mental force and inspiration for life-fighting. Moreover, a short discussion of Shakespeare and reciting some of Macbeth by lieutenant was the key factor that influenced Ishmael’s future decision to recite the extract from Shakespeare’s work in a talent show.
Though the mood of the novel is filled with fear and horror being face-to-face with war, the final theme convinces us that when everything else vanishes, there always remains a place for love. And Ishmael has to learn this hard way as well. Firstly, he meets a kind family, soldiers unit that helps him to learn what is love and true friendship. Then he obtains the family of Uncle Tommy, members of which are longing Ishmael to become their son and brother. At last, he feels the love of Esther and Laura, women that accept him implicitly. Women are glad to see him into their homes in a time when he needs help, love, and understanding most of all.
Conclusion
To sum it up, I would like to say that storytelling has a great impact on Ishmael’s life. Storytelling also provides a strong connection to his American mother, Laura Simms. We can find confirmations to this opinion on the novel pages.
The storytelling is an important life lesson that provided the pattern of Ishmael’s future way of life and behavior. Through the storytelling Ishmael carried hope. Despite the horrible war events and dramatic pictures, he found the way out and obtained the belief in himself and the opportunity to begin a new life, full of love and happiness. Being an antagonist during the war, he became a protagonist again, strengthen his spirit and become a brilliant advocate dealing with the problems of children who accidentally became soldiers.
Bibliography
Beah, Ishmael. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008.
Condon, E. U. Scientists and the Federal Government. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 6 (8). Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science, Inc., 1952.