A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider

Ishmael’s mood is understandably low. He is overwhelmed by the sense that he does not know “what I was going to do with my life” (69). His goal becomes to merely survive, and his default outlook is pessimism. Even the group’s de facto leader, Saidu, questions how many more times they will confront death, noting that a part of himself is killed each time this occurs. He posits that soon, he will become an “empty body” even while alive.

During a pleasant interlude visiting a friendly village, Ishmael recalls the love and affection given to him by his family and the fables told by his grandmother. In particular, he remembers her calling him “carseloi,” or “spider,” due to his love of playing pranks on his brother. When they arrive at a deserted village, the boys dance and recall legends from their childhood. When they awake to find the smoked meat given to them by the friendly villagers missing, the boys become angry and suspicious of one another. They eventually find that it was stolen by a stray dog.

The author switches to a flashback mode to detail how each of the boys came to wander in the forest.