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The setting of the story is in the country of Sierra Leone located in Africa. The climate is tropical and humid all year round and becomes drier in the early months of the year. There are many forests jungles here.

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Ishmael was an actual child soldier and the novel, A Long Way Gone, is a memoir that tells his story and what he had gone through. He is a human rights activist and doesn’t remember how many people he had killed when he was a kid- just that he had killed many. He remembers much about how he smoked different drugs and what he went though.

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In the first half of the book, Ishmael travels from village to village with his friends and enjoys exploring and having regular teen boy fun in the woods. However, his village is soon invaded by the rebels and he must run. He sees much death in his desperate attempt to cross a swamp and eventually escape. Ishmael then joins the army to fight the rebels and must grow up fast and kill other people. Then he is taken away.

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In the last half of the book Ishmael is taken to a correction/psychological facility with other child soldiers and must survive the harsh environment while dealing with bad dreams and dizzying memories. Ishmael then leaves when his uncle adopts him and lives with his family for awhile. He tries out to be a spokesperson and goes to New York. when he returns the uncle dies and he must escape the country because the rebels have returned.

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The main character Ishmael is strong willed, stubborn, thoughtful, and emotional. He knows how to survive and thrives in the jungle for awhile on his own. However, things mess with his head and scar him- because he is a child. He cries often and also can get angry and violent. Ishmael is also a rebellious and angry character. He is quick to attack others and disobey rules and orders. Ishmael can also get nostalgic and weary, and remembers the past often when looking at the moon.

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“ The sad thing about all that hard labor was that, in the end, it went to ruin, because the rebels did eventually come and everyone ran away, leaving their farms to be covered by weeds and devoured by animals” (Beah 43).

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I would recommend this to people who are older. If you are okay with death and violence, among other things, then you might want to give it a read. I personally didn't enjoy the book, but that doesn’t mean you won’t.

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In the story, Ishmael believes that it is best to run away from the rebels and just keep moving. However, he changes his thoughts after being recruited in the army and being trained to hate rebels so much he must kill them. “ In the beginning, it seemed we had finally found safety at Yale. The village was always full of lively chattering and laughter. The adults, civilians, and soldiers, spoke about the weather. “ ( page 101, chap 12 )

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The moon seems to represent Ishmael well. In the novel he mentions it many times, as it is obviously connected to him in some way. I think it also represents him because the moon changes all the time, like Ishmael. The moon also guided Ishmael when he traveled, and he looked up to it for comfort and to remember fond memories.

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Sometimes you don’t really have a choice, all you have is survival

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“ He is scared like a soaked money “ (page 31, chap 5 ). / SIMILE /

“ 'I felt as if I was being wrapped in a blanket of sorrow “ (page 46, chap 7 ) / SIMILE /