Memoirs of a Boy Soldier Book Analysis Essay Sample

The author Ishmael B wrote the biography “Memoirs of a Boy Soldier” to show what it was like for Ishmael who got everything taken from him by the Rebels during a civil war in Sierra Leone. He went from a cheerful hip hop lover/dancer, to a scared boy who has to fend for himself and go through these major life changes almost entirely alone. Ishmael lived a normal life at the age of 12, he had his family that sheltered him, he went to school daily and had his own group of friends. He was a normal growing boy who had all of this stripped from him so fast at a young age. When his home was attacked he lost everything, he constantly lived his life in fear waiting for his next meal, when he would have to defend himself and traveled days upon days with nowhere to call home. “We slept in abandoned villages, where we lay on the bare ground and hoped that the following day we would be able to find something other than raw cassava to eat” (Beah 26). This gives the reader an understanding of how difficult it was for the boy, he went through so much and really showed so much change throughout the story. Ishamel had so much to learn and sacrifice as a 12 year old boy who did nothing to deserve this. Ishmael had to see his friends being killed, people he once called neighbors being murdered, saw death left and right and once he reached 13 he found refuge with government soldiers (UNICEF) who changed his whole way of life. At 13 he became a boy who was trained to kill, used drugs and had his whole mental state changed as well. His innocence was no longer apparent as everything was stripped from him, he had to do what he had to do to survive in this new world he was in. “We were dangerous, and brainwashed to kill” (Beah 135). This explains how UNICEF were training these boys to be killers and change these young boys in negative ways. At the age of 16 years old Ishmael was transferred to a rehabilitation camp for boys, this process was not easy at all for him, it's impossible to just flip out of that mindset but Ishmael was given the opportunity and given a chance to start a “new” life. While Ishmael went through so much adversity, pain and all things a young boy shouldn’t have to go through, he was able to prevail and be a survivor. Beah went on to finish his schooling, was able to go to NewYork and finally have a family once again. He had to go through many hardships but was able to live his life through a new light.

I loved how the book showed character building and showed true character growth, the book didn't jump from parts of his life without explanation, it showed his feelings and mind change throughout the book. It showed all of the pain he went through to make you see why he went from being cheerful to more of this angry painfilled boy. The book didn't leave you questioning his actions but instead made you feel for him and gave you a great understanding of the characters actions, mind, feelings, relationships and how he reacted to the different adversities he was given. I truly enjoyed the growth of the character and how it gave almost a movie like concept to the story. I love books that show growth. One thing I was not a fan of was how you also saw the downfall of his character in some parts, the book showed change but was not always in the positive way. I craved cocaine and marijuana so bad that I would roll a plain sheet of paper and smoke it. Sometimes I searched in the pockets of my army shorts, which I still wore, for crumbs of marijuana or cocaine” (Beah 139).  This showed that drugs were very apparent in his life and at this young age he was addicted to cocaine and marijuana, which is a major change in his life. The Ishmael we started off with in the beginning didn't seem like a boy that would do these things or treat people the way he did towards the end of the book. Ishmael even started to terrorize people by beating them up, throwing stones, destorying things and just being a hateful person to nurses that were trying to help him. “The staff members avoided us all the more” (Beah 139). Even the staff members would avoid him because of how much of a bad person he was towards them. So things like this I didn't like in the book because the nurses, staff members and just the people around them didn't deserve the hate they were getting because they did nothing wrong. On the other side of things I felt for Ishmael because he got all of the hate and everything taken away from him either he didn't do anything as well, but he still shouldn't treat people this way. It was like all of his moral values were stripped from him, so he almost became like the Rebels in a way. 

Before reading this book I had no prior knowledge of the Sierra Leone civil war so this was very informative to me and showed me how hard it was for the survivors as well as the people who were later killed.  This book changed my perceptions of this war because I read about it somewhat and this memoir was better than anything you can just go read on Google, it gives you a better understanding of how much these people had to truly go through. It showed how war is not an easy thing to go through and it should not be thought of lightley. This book taught me two things about myself, one being that I could probably not go through what he did and survive. As well as that I shouldn't take the life I have for granted but instead as a blessing because sometimes life is hard but I must overcome my obstacles.  

In conclusion this book was amazing, it showed major character changes, some were positive while others were negative. This book gave information and was able to make the reader feel connected to Ishmael while giving understanding. Even in times where he made poor decisions, his drug usage and times that he hated the world which was displayed in chapter 16. “The Memoir of a Boy Soldier” was just an all around great book that taught readers how the Civil War of Sierra Leone was through the eyes of the young boy Ishmael Beah who had to have the mind of someone 3x his age to survive. He went through many hardships but at the end was able to prevail and be a survivor.