Plot

by Stephen H.

A Long Way Gone follows Ishmael Beah, a young boy turned fugitive turned soldier, on his journey through war-torn Sierra Leone as he attempts to outrun the death and destruction wrought by both rebel and government forces alike during his country’s civil war.

More, including a full plot summary and 10 related questions, after the break.

Plot Summary
The story begins in January, 1993, two years into the war, when Ishmael, his brother Junior, and their friend Talloi walk from their home town, Mogbwemo, to neighbouring town Mattru Jong, carrying little more than a few rap cassettes, to participate in a talent show. The war has not yet touched the region of the country in which they live, and Ishmael has only felt it through the stories of refugees passing through his village. Shortly after arriving in Mattru Jong, however, the boys receive news through their friends that their village has been attacked by Revolutionary United Front (RUF) forces and that “This town will be next...” After waiting for news of their families and receiving none, the three boys decide to return to Mogbwemo, but change their minds upon seeing casualties of the attack firsthand. Mattru Jong is quickly fortified by government forces, but after many days with no attack forthcoming, life in the town returns, for the most part, to normal. When the rebels do come, nearly a month later, the soldiers, who had anticipated the attack and realised that they were outnumbered, abandon the town. Ishmael, Junior, and Talloi, as well as their three friends, Gibrilla, Kaloko, and Khalilou, escape unscathed and run along a path through the forest.

For days, the boys wander through the countryside from village to village, eating next to nothing, until they are ambushed and captured by three rebels in a dry grassland, who take them to a village where they plan to initiate the boys as child soldiers by having each kill another in the group. Ishmael is picked to stand in one line, facing his brother in the other. Fortunately, they are saved by the bell, so to speak, when loud gunshots are heard nearby and the rebels pause to return fire. The boys seize the opportunity and dash into the forest.

Travelling from village to village, many people perceive the six companions as a threat because they remind them of stories that they had heard about young boys forced by rebels to kill their families and destroy their villages. On more than one occasion, only Ishmael’s rap cassettes serve to convince village chiefs of the boys’ innocence, clearly illustrating one of the worst effects of civil war: people stop trusting each other and see everyone as an enemy.

Ishmael is separated from his friends after rebel forces attack Kamator, a farming village in which the boys had stayed for three months. This is the last time that he sees Junior, his older brother. After walking alone for many days, he meets a group of six boys at a crossroads, some of which he had gone to school with, and they travel together through many villages. They receive word that many of their family members (including Ishmael’s parents and brother) had been seen in a village near to them, but, in their unending misfortune, the village is attacked when the boys are not more than one hillside away. Giving up on that objective, the boys take flight and are eventually led by government soldiers to Yele. When this town is approached by RUF soldiers, the boys are given a choice: to leave the town and risk being captured, tortured, and killed by the rebels, or to stay and fight. They choose to fight.

Drugged and armed with AK-47s, the boys help to drive back the rebels, but their service does not end there. Transformed into remorseless killers, they advance through rebel territory, killing countless soldiers and citizens alike and capturing villages to be used as bases. This continues for Ishmael until the beginning of 1996, when he and 14 other boys are withdrawn from service by UNICEF and taken to a rehabilitation centre outside Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital.

The following months are very difficult for Ishmael and his fellow ex-soldiers. The violence they had come to accept as normal left deep emotional scars that would not fade easily and the drugs they had taken constantly throughout their time as soldiers left their bodies in poor health, but eventually they become accustomed to life outside of the war. Ishmael makes friends with a nurse at the centre, named Esther, in whom he confides his war stories, and she contributes greatly to his emotional healing. The centre also reconnects him with the only family he has left, his uncle, and eventually Ishmael leaves the centre to live with him and his family.

Later, Ishmael is chosen to travel to New York City to speak to the United Nations about the lives of children in Sierra Leone. There he meets Laura Simms, who will later become his adoptive mother. After the conference, he returns to Freetown.

The war finally reaches the capital city on May 25th, 1997, when the populace is woken by gunshots that continue for the next 5 months. In October, 1997, Ishmael’s uncle becomes sick and passes away. It is now that Ishmael decided to leave the country. He contacts Laura in New York and asks if she would allow him to stay at her house. She agrees, and he commences the difficult (and expensive, due to extortion by border and roadblock personnel) journey to Conakry, the capital of neighbouring country Guinea, where he seeks refuge at the Sierra Leone Embassy until he can make his way to New York.

Plot Questions

1. When Ishmael and his travelling companions are nearly recruited as soldiers, the rebels split them and the other captives into two lines facing each other. Why and to what end? (Chapter 5)
2. The first time that the boys are captured and questioned by civilians guarding their village, how are they saved by Ishmael’s rap cassettes? Briefly summarize the situation. (Chapter 6)
3. What do the boys expect to find in the village outside of which they encounter Gasemu, a man from Ishmael’s hometown?
4. How do the boys react when they realize that they could have made it to the village before it was attacked, were it not for Gasemu? How would you react?
5. Why did the Revolutionary United Front attack villages in their own country?
6. How does the atmosphere in Yele change as the fighting draws nearer and nearer to the town?
7. Ishmael and his friends are not forced to become soldiers. Explain what factors influenced both their choice to fight and their behaviour as soldiers.
8. How do Ishmael and the other boy soldiers react to their sudden removal from the government army by United Nations personnel? Do you think that more should have been done by the UN to ensure the safety of the children at the compound?
9. Why is Ishmael a good candidate to speak at the United Nations conference in New York?
10. In the end, why does Ishmael decide to leave Sierra Leone? What obstacles does he overcome while escaping the country?