Persuasive Writing
Persuasive Writing by Paul Kim
I believe that the book A Long Way Gone should be a book that should be read since it talks about problems with children becoming soldiers and on moving on with life that has been broken.
To begin, the book A Long Way Gone is a autobiography that the author wrote about his life. And during the book, there is a section where the main character becomes a child soldier for the government. In the first week of military work, he is hesitant about even holding a gun since he knows what has done to the others. But, as time passes, he becomes more and more corrupt believing that he is doing the right thing. As he says that, “We went out two more times that week and I had no problem shooting my gun”(Beah 120)The book shows the changes in the main character and how brutal he becomes. Judging by this I believe this shows that child soldiers can not think and are not experienced enough in life to emotionally control themselves and they don't have the conception of right and wrong.
Moving on to how it teaches about moving on with life, later on in the story Ishmael Beah is pulled away from being a soldier and he gets in a rehabilitation center. In the beginning he shows characteristics of a soldier. Being violent, unpredictable and still trying to take drugs. As time passes in the rehabilitation center, he turns to back to his normal previous self. But it brings him trauma of his past experiences as a soldier. As an example, “My forehead was sweating. I took the lamp to the living room, where a box of matches sat on the table….. All had guns and knives. They began to shoot, stab,and slice each other’s throats”(Beah 164). As we see in this quote he is almost having a mental breakdown since he sees what he has done in the past. But, with the help of others he slowly improves his thinking and he moves along in life, getting a family, and finding a goal in life that he wants to achieve.
As a conclusion, the book,A Long Way Gone is a book that shows the brutality of a child soldier and how a child soldier moves along with life after it. And to add on, I believe that facts and lessons could be learned from this.
To begin, the book A Long Way Gone is a autobiography that the author wrote about his life. And during the book, there is a section where the main character becomes a child soldier for the government. In the first week of military work, he is hesitant about even holding a gun since he knows what has done to the others. But, as time passes, he becomes more and more corrupt believing that he is doing the right thing. As he says that, “We went out two more times that week and I had no problem shooting my gun”(Beah 120)The book shows the changes in the main character and how brutal he becomes. Judging by this I believe this shows that child soldiers can not think and are not experienced enough in life to emotionally control themselves and they don't have the conception of right and wrong.
Moving on to how it teaches about moving on with life, later on in the story Ishmael Beah is pulled away from being a soldier and he gets in a rehabilitation center. In the beginning he shows characteristics of a soldier. Being violent, unpredictable and still trying to take drugs. As time passes in the rehabilitation center, he turns to back to his normal previous self. But it brings him trauma of his past experiences as a soldier. As an example, “My forehead was sweating. I took the lamp to the living room, where a box of matches sat on the table….. All had guns and knives. They began to shoot, stab,and slice each other’s throats”(Beah 164). As we see in this quote he is almost having a mental breakdown since he sees what he has done in the past. But, with the help of others he slowly improves his thinking and he moves along in life, getting a family, and finding a goal in life that he wants to achieve.
As a conclusion, the book,A Long Way Gone is a book that shows the brutality of a child soldier and how a child soldier moves along with life after it. And to add on, I believe that facts and lessons could be learned from this.