Question

Read the excerpt below from A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah and answer the question that follows. “You were negative nineteen years old.” That’s what my father used to say when I would ask about what life was like in Sierra Leone following independence in 1961. It had been a British colony since 1808. Sir Milton Margai became the first prime minister and ruled the country under the Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) political banner until his death in 1964. His half brother Sir Albert Margai succeeded him until 1967, when Siaka Stevens, the All People’s Congress (APC) Party leader, won the election, which was followed by a military coup. Siaka Stevens returned to power in 1968, and several years later declared the country a one-party state, the APC being the sole legal party. It was the beginning of “rotten politics,” as my father would put it. I wondered what he would say about the war that I was now running from. I had heard from adults that this was a revolutionary war, a liberation of the people from corrupt government. But what kind of liberation movement shoots innocent civilians, children, that little girl? There wasn’t anyone to answer these questions, and my head felt heavy with the images that it contained. As we walked, I became afraid of the road, the mountains in the distance, and the bushes on either side. When does this flashback occur in the plot of A Long Way Gone? In a short-answer response, analyze why Beah chose to provide this flashback at that particular moment in the story.

Answer 1

This flashback occurs in the very first chapter of A Long Way Gone. The narrator is running away from home with Junior and Talloi, after witnessing several dead people, victims of the conflict he is putting into context. The flashback works as a way to introduce the reader into Sierra Leona's independence, as well as to show that his father was the first one to tell him about his country's history. However, in that part of the story, Beah is not with his father anymore and he wonders what he would have to say about the conflict he and his people are now suffering.The flashback often happens when things are going wrong for Ishmael. When he starts to feel sad, he tries to remember the happy moments in his life. Ishmael would rather remember the good moments because it gives him the strength to continue his life.

Step-by-step explanation:

Answer 2

This flashback occurs in the very first chapter of A Long Way Gone. The narrator is running away from home with Junior and Talloi, after witnessing several dead people, victims of the conflict he is putting into context.

The flashback works as a way to introduce the reader into Sierra Leona's independence, as well as to show that his father was the first one to tell him about his country's history.

However, in that part of the story, Beah is not with his father anymore and he wonders what he would have to say about the conflict he and his people are now suffering.