On: A Long Way Gone - 11-1-2012 Exposition

There were critical points where the author, Ishmael Beah, had experienced an alteration in not only the family he belonged in, but what the term "family" became defined as in his eyes. One of these critical points took place in the twelfth chapter, where Beah notes how he had, while in the band of boys, been faced with a disheartening and treacherous path. Here, after the group of boys found themselves in the orphan-ridden village of Yele, and having been put to work by the rebels occupying the village the young man Ishmael and his friends are put into a largely unfavorable position where they find it more favorable to give-in to the an impending rebel group in Yele; it is a measured risk that Ishmael and his friends took, as they also had a chance to escape Yele altogether. After having had found a place in this rebel group, among other things, there is a mental lapse that takes place, one that suggests just how the definition of family was altered in the eyes of Ishmael. What happened, after having been taken in by this rebel group, and after having been taught how to wield AK-47 weapons, was that these boys, including Ishmael, were BLATANTLY told that their lone hope to rectify their dead or lost families was to kill other rebels. Family, it became, was a quest for revenge. Among the rest of the Anthem, there is certainly a reason why Ishmael decided to reiterate the portion of the Anthem that he did. The instance where Ishmael had been singing the Anthem, as described after the lieutenant had left the scene, was one where he had been delirious, but still well aware of his actions. Specifically, the portion of the Anthem in question relays the concept of advancing and glorifying Sierra Leone, as well as marking the region as an unequivocally "free" place (my opinion, but I'm more or less confident that others would feel similarly here). This being said, there's some irony here. No one was free, no life that had been come across had been spared. The author deliberately choose to recite this portion of the Anthem to show just how "out of touch" he had been (not just with the drugs, but his "conscious" self, as well) with the convoluted situation he was faced with. If a certain country claims to be free, then they must also have due process of law (right to a fair trial, trial system).That's key. A nation can only be as good as it's civil rights and it's court system, plain and simple. While there can hardly be a "perfect" example of a free nation, given my claim that due process of law is an entity that makes a country, well, a free country, the United States has shown itself to meet this standard decidedly.