Final Blog Post

On page 212, Beah writes, “It sickened me to see that Sierra Leoneans asked money from those who had come from the war. They were benefiting from people who were running for their lives.” This is in response to soldiers and immigration officers demanding rigorous document authentication and large sums of money of any men, women, and children trying to escape. They often ask for more than is required, and if one refuses, they risk being sent back, or worse. This situation is obviously wrong- unethical, and immoral. However, I believe that there are always two sides to every story. Early in the book, before Beah is forced to become a soldier, he and his friends are running for their lives from town to town. Food is often hard to come by, and they had to resort to stealing. The people they stole food from were in just as desperate situations as themselves, sleeping out in the open air, running for their lives. The boys exploited their neighbors trust. They proved that survivors don't always stick together- every man has the ability to turn against his neighbor. However, most people would understand due to Beah's desperate circumstances. While the immigration officer's exploitation is much more up- front and seemingly much less desperate, there is still a war going on in the country and people must do what they can to survive. The soldier may have a family that he is trying to feed, and the  situation may look different from him eyes. The people that he is stealing from are lucky enough to be leaving a war- torn country. Being out of the country without money is still a better situation for most people than being inside the country with money to spare. Although I don't agree that the soldiers and officers should have been stealing money, I can see where they're coming from and I don't understand Beah's utter disgust- especially since he has seen what it takes to survive in the worst of times.

The monkey conundrum confuses me, as I'm sure it does many others. I have come up with two possible reasons for Beah telling the  monkey story, one more likely than the other. The likely reason is that Beah, however much he assures himself that it was not his fault and he was not in control of his actions, still feels some sort of guilt or need to justify himself for the people he had killed. He was describing his time in the war as a self- sacrifice. Every time he took another man's life, a part of him died. However, he had to continue because every time he took a man's life, he saved an innocent family or village from the man he killed. This relates to the monkey story because if you shoot the monkey you are making some sort of sacrifice- your mother dies. However, you are saving the next person's family, and the next person's, and 20 people after that. Beah describes himself (and his comrades) as that one person that makes a sacrifice so that other people don't have to. My next possible explanation for the telling of this story is only probable if Beah knew that when he moved back to America, he would spend the rest of his life helping child soldiers around the world. I believe he felt some guilt about leaving his family (his cousins and aunt) during their time of need. The man of the house had died, and Beah had enough military training and cut-throat ambition to protect them. However, he left to save himself. If he knew that by leaving, he would be able to help thousands of child soldiers later in his life, then this could also be an explanation for why he told the monkey story. I really liked the ending of this book because it inspires serious thought- it makes it clear that this story is not just a re- telling of his life, it is a reflection on the war. 

This blog post concludes the book, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. This was a book that I will never forget. Beah has truly done an amazing job- and not just in writing the book. He is a truly remarkable person, and a great addition to society. I am glad to have been given the chance to know about him and I will be ecstatic if we are able to get him here for our conference! This book leaves me with so many last thoughts, but I will leave you with just one. What are you going to do after reading this book? Ishmael's story is one that is constantly being repeated. There are thousands of children in Mr. Beah's former situation RIGHT NOW. This is not just a book to inspire thought- this is reality.