“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” Said by Andy Warhol by Trunk Monkey USMC Jul 3 2014. This is something Ishmael had to find out the hard way when going through the obstacles life was giving him. He had always believed that if time went on then so would the issues happening around him. He thought if he just let time live him then everything would go back to good , but he found out sooner or later that wasn’t true. Ishmael Beah is the main character of the book “A Long Way Gone” written by himself. The book a long way gone is about a kid named Ishmael Beah who at twelve years old was running from the rebels in his country Sierra Leone. His was picked up by the government army to fight in the war, and he had found out that he could perform such terrible acts at such a young age. At sixteen he was removed from the war by the UNICEF, and with help he learned to forgive himself and live a normal life. This was inspiring cause I’ve seen most people who come back from war and try to live a normal life and can’t get back to that same place they were in but can never achieve getting back to that place. This came from the summary on the back of the book of “A Long Way Gone.” So this was so pleasing to me because he didn't want to get better at first because he couldn't trust anyone and he couldn’t let himself get to that place again were if he let his guard down it would hurt him again, but then he figured out that if this time if he used time as friend than, used time wisely, and if he didnt ignore the situation and confront it then he could build himself back up and go back to his happy place. I had been in these same situation before, and I sometimes have to go through trials and tribulations to figure out if i want to be the same person i was the day before or the person i want to be tomorrow. But I quickly found out that at the end of the day I will be alright and I just need to take one step at a time and live life accordingly to what's in store for me.
There was a lot of lesson learned and there was a lot of messages spoken that I had read and comprehend from the book, and out of those lessons and messages there was only a couple of things I took from it, and know I have some questions about my thoughts and opinions on the book and the topics to answer. First question was “What is it about music that matters to Ishmael, or that moves him so? Why is it important to him, especially during his rehabilitation at Benin home?” Well first we should establish the kind of music Ishmael likes so we could know why it means so much to him in the first place.
The music he likes is rap/hip-hop/pop and he said he likes this specific genre because he found the general idea of the music impressive and remarkable. Ishmael stated in chapter one page six that “I was impressed with the fact that the black fellows knew how to speak english really fast and to the beat.” Why music matters and is important to him is because it was a goal to look up to because him and his friends wanted to have a rap group and dance and be like the people they saw on t.v. In chapter one page six Ishmael said “The four of us had started a rap and dance group when I was eight. We were first introduced to rap music during our trips to mobimbi.” “After that, we came to the quarters every other weekend to study that kind of music on television.”
Music is important to Ishmael because it's the thing that helps him focus himself from the things going on around him. Ishmael thinks of the music he listens to and loses himself and lets go of all of his surroundings because it makes him feel like everything is alright. Ishmael believes the music and the dancing is something that can his bond with his friends strong and can be a second reality for them if things get to tough. Music is helping him live another reality and/or life because it’s helping him forget his past and not think about the present or worry about the future.
So overall why is music so important to Ishmael during his rehabilitation at Benin home? It's important to him during his rehabilitation process because when he is listens to the music he lets everything go of all of his surroundings and ignores all of his problems within the beat and lyrics to avoid war flashbacks and painful memories just by focusing on the music itself. Ishmael's first breakthrough of his mental state happens in rehabilitation comes because his nurse (Esther) buys him a Walkman( a type of personal stereo) and rap cassettes(plastic unit containing a length of audiotape) because she knew he was a fan of music. At first, it makes him angry because the music reminded him so much of his past, but then the music overtakes him and it helps him be able to open up to his nurse (Esther) about his past. He tells her a story of one of his experiences of a battle in which he was shot in the foot three times while trying to kill the rebels, and a doctor performed a surgery to remove the bullet without anesthesia. Ishmael fainted from the pain and was given cocaine because they used drugs on the the boy soldiers all the time to give them energy. Which Ishmael stated in the book in chapter 17 when recalling this memory.
His lieutenant told him he would now be killing the men who had shot his foot because that’s what they did if some hurt them or one of the team members they would kill them because that was their motto the thing they live by. And so it caused him so much pain to go through with the plan because it was something he wasn’t used to. When Ishmael recounts this story to the best of his ability without getting angered by letting the memories flood his mind to the nurse (Esther), she cries in sympathy and feels bad because she doesn't know how else to react or what to say because it's not something a regular young boy goes through everyday and tries to comfort him and calm herself down by telling him again and again that his soldiering is not his fault and he shouldn't put all the blame on himself and should try to forgive himself and the others so he can let this pain go. This angers and makes Ishmael upset because he doesn't know how to cope with these feelings and doesn't want to open up all the way to someone he just met because he believes the things that had happened before might happen again if he keeps trusting people he doesn't know and he throws the Walkman at her. Music was important to Ishmael when he was in rehabilitation because it affected what he expected of new york so when he got there he didn't know that it was much different. He even stated “My concept of new York city came from rap music.” “I envisioned it as a place where people shot each other on the street and got away with it, no one walked on the streets, rather people drove in their sports cars looking for night clubs and violence.”
Music is helping him heal and open again to the possibilities of his future within being himself again, to trust people, and to live a normal life again focusing on the things he loves. In conclusion of my answer to this question I think that the music he’s constantly carrying around with him reminds the readers that he is still a young little boy. Although he goes through some pretty horrific and experiences that young boys and girls shouldn’t go through, the cassette tapes with his music remind us and Ishmael of his innocence and that hi is still in his youthful years. At various times the music even saves Ishmael and his friends from villager's fears that they are child soldiers killing people. It helped them isolate what was going on around them so they can keep on going along with the crowd in hopes to find his parents.
Question 2 “Reflect on what Ishmael's many experiences taught you about the consequence or after affects, both intended and unintended, of violence”. Violence means the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. So we know that in this book a long way gone violence is, of course a major theme physically, psychologically, socially, and in other ways. It’s what Ishmael is trying to survive from everyday of his life. From the moment he fled the violence and destruction at Mattru Jong, the focus of Ishmael’s life became to survive from a day to day bases and to find his family before the rebels do. He learns quickly that in order to survive, he must hide and disguise his true emotions and/or emotions and become more like the people around him to keep himself alive. Ishmael went through some very uncomfortable and unsettling situation as fighting as a young boy soldier in Sierra Leone. As an old saying goes every action has an equal and opposite reaction according to Newton's third law,but works the same way for human problems and solutions or causes and effects. That is why it is true in ishmael’s case and here is why it works for this particular story. Ishmael’s experiences triggered some hard times, bad memories, some intense reactions and afterthoughts.
For example Ishmael couldn’t sleep for a whole week which drained his ability for awareness and speed reaction to fight in the war they were in. But after joining the army he had to live by a rule that said you either kill or be killed. This something that also influenced him in the things he did. The experiences he had went through with all the killings and his violent ways is what influenced him into doing and trying drugs for the first time. This became an addiction for him in Sierra Leone while he was there. He’s never stopped having nightmares about his horrific memories and still goes to counseling for ptsd ( post traumatic stress disorder).
In the book Ishmael stated that “At our age, it’s more complicated for the rebels. So they use stronger stuff, like drugs or money, to bait us to make march. I remember the the attack on Njola-Kombouya village, in the south of Sierra Leone. They made us wake up in one in the morning and we marched until seven. A doctor came, and he had a bowl of cold water, and every two injections he rinsed his needle in the water. It was always a small vial with red liquid. At first, I constantly felt weak and then after I had a sense of overwhelming power I felt myself capable of anything… I had rage and hate I wanted to destroy everything. You can’t understand we were placed in such a state that we laughed and faced all that violence, we found it exciting, we had no limits.”
So what does all this mean and how does it relate to the question? It means that it wasn’t just the killing people that brought him them terrible memories and experiences it was the drugs also that brought to this point of his life. The drugs brought Ishmael to addiction and mental disorders which he has to live with the rest of his life.Violent situations can lead people to do things or be forced to do things they don’t want to do and can change their lives forever. This is why ishmael has problem opening up and trusting people, Ishmael questions his ability to trust anyone and everyone. He's been relying on himself to survive, stay safe and prefers to be all by himself. He trusted the lieutenant and the other boy soldiers, and feels he was betrayed and distrusted when the lieutenant handed over the boy soldiers so easily to UNICEF. The nurse at the rehabilitation center, Esther, tries to gain Ishmael's friendship by being kind and trying to get him to open to her, but he's reluctant and doesn’t budge. He meets kindness with anger because he isn’t used to these feelings and control how he feels, and looks down upon those who cooperate.shmael aslostill is closed after meeting all these new people compared with his openness and friendship before the war. His view of other people is still very jaded because he’s only seen one side of people for so long so he can't comprehend what the people in the rehabilitation center are doing for him. Ishmael aslostill is closed after meeting all these new people compared with his openness and friendship before the war.
So in opinion I feel like Ishmael didn't have to go through all the things because he was just a kid and kids shouldn't go through that kids should be going to school and playing with their friends and figuring out what they want to do for the rest of their life or what college they want to go to. I would be devastated if thats was one of my siblings. I wouldn't be able to bare looking at them in that state. I don't know how it feels but it seems like it really difficult to be able to just come from a state of mind you’re familiar with and try to change in just little, a lot of time or no time at all. Music is important to me also because it helps me escape when i'm mad or trying to focus on something. It helps me become in a steady state and be myself on days and not focus on things that are petty or not important.