Summary Ishmael’s story begins when he is ten years old, two years before the civil war comes to his village. He describes the idea of war as entirely abstract to his young mind and insists that he and his fellow villagers didn’t have the capacity to understand what the refugees […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 1Summary and Analysis New York City, 1998
Summary The preface to the memoir opens with the declaration that Ishmael’s high school friends believe there is more to his life than he has revealed. Then, through a series of unnamed dialogues, we learn that this book will be that story. Analysis The preface creates a tension immediately between […]
Read more Summary and Analysis New York City, 1998Character List and Analysis Minor Characters
Alhaji One of Ishmael’s best friends in the army. He is also rescued by UNICEF and placed in the same rehabilitation center. Gasemu A banana farmer from Ishmael’s village. Ishmael and his friends meet him again outside the village where the boys believe their families are hiding. He is responsible […]
Read more Character List and Analysis Minor CharactersCharacter List and Analysis Laura Simms
Laura Simms is a storyteller in New York City. She and Ishmael bond when he visits the United Nations to share his story of being a boy soldier. Laura invites all the children from the delegation back to her home at the conclusion of the conference. For Ishmael, Laura represents […]
Read more Character List and Analysis Laura SimmsCharacter List and Analysis The Lieutenant
The Lieutenant is a father figure in the Sierra Leone Armed Services. He trains the boy soldiers and leads them into battles against the RUF. He and Ishmael bond over their mutual love of Shakespeare, and Ishmael looks up to the Lieutenant. When UNICEF comes to rescue the boy soldiers, […]
Read more Character List and Analysis The LieutenantCharacter List and Analysis Uncle Tommy
Uncle Tommy is Ishmael’s father’s brother. He is a carpenter in Freetown who struggles to raise his children and the children of relatives who can’t care for them. He is a kind and gregarious man who loves to laugh and to help others. When Uncle Tommy learns of Ishmael’s fate […]
Read more Character List and Analysis Uncle TommyCharacter List and Analysis Esther
Esther is Ishmael’s nurse at Benin House, the rehabilitation center where he is brought after the war. She treats Ishmael’s wounds and encourages him to talk about his experiences. When Esther brings him a cassette of rap music and a Walkman, Ishmael has a breakthrough in his therapy. He begins […]
Read more Character List and Analysis EstherCharacter List and Analysis Ishmael Beah
Ishmael Beah was a child soldier for the Sierra Leone Armed Services during the civil war with the RUF, the Revolutionary United Front, known as the rebels. The rebels are blamed for the death of Ishmael’s family, and his soldiering is motivated by his desire for revenge. Ishmael’s story is […]
Read more Character List and Analysis Ishmael BeahBook Summary
A Long Way Gone is the true story of Ishmael Beah, who becomes an unwilling boy soldier during a civil war in Sierra Leone. When he is twelve years old, Beah’s village is attacked while he is away performing in a rap group with friends. Among the confusion, violence, and […]
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