A Long Way Gone Language Analysis

Words: 640
Pages: 3

Ishmael Beah’s memoir, “A Long Way Gone” is applicable and pertinent to the Sterling High School English 4 curriculum because of the use figurative language and the requirement of higher thinking throughout the memoir.
For instance, as Beah travels from his hometown of Mogbwemo to Mattru Jong they catch wind that the rebels had infiltrated their home’s, as they start the journey back home from Mattru Jong they began to realize that the towns that they went through are no longer inhabited. As he arrives in Mogbewemo he is shocked to arrive to nothing but ruins, they have taken everything from him. Beah illustrates the emotion that overcame him as he arrived in the simile,“ It feels as if needles have been hammered into my brain, and it is hard
…show more content…
The reader is sometimes unable to fully relate to the struggles that Beah goes through, but there is a connection between all students and Beah and that is his childhood. Although Beah’s childhood takes turn for the worst it is very relatable because he is doing some of the same things we do in America. For instance, “ We alternately move our right and then our left feet to the front and back, and simultaneously did the same with our arms, shaking our upper bodies and heads. “This moves called the running man”, said junior” (7). Surprisingly, not many of us fall far because just like Beah, we all have danced around whether it is in public or in private. In addition, Beah talks about the gifts he receives from the nurse, “ She gave me the Bob Marley cassette and the Walkman, along with a really nice notebook and pen”(163). Although he is in a rehab for trauma, he is still very comparable to us because the gifts he receives would’ve been the same thing that most kids born in the 90’s or earlier would’ve received as a gift. Additionally, Beah’s use of figurative language amplifies the meaning of his work, as we continue our education meaning behind your work is not only a key skill to have but also one that is matured through the English Four Curriculum.
All in all, Ishmael Beah’s memoir, A Long Way Gone, belongs in Sterling High school’s English four curriculums because