A Long Way Gone Memoirs Of A Boy Soldier - 1272 Words

The cultural movement of hip hop music was created by African-Americans during the late 1960s and was composed of chanted rhythmic lyrics accompanied with a repeated beat, also known as rap music. Rap accentuated the syncopated, perpetual rhythms of percussion and other instruments. Its popularity continued in the 2000s and it transformed from being the music of choice of the predominantly poor and urban into conventional everyday music, bringing people from all over the world together (Blanchard). In the true story A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier (2007), a young, gentle twelve-year-old boy named Ishmael Beah reluctantly becomes a soldier during the Sierra Leone civil war. After Beah’s village gets attacked, he and his friends wander from place to place searching for food and shelter. They struggle to survive every day until Beah is enlisted as a soldier, brainwashed by the army to take revenge on the rebels who killed his family. He and the other soldiers get addict ed to drugs, including cocaine, marijuana, and brown-brown, to provide them with the energy and courage to fight in war. The novel largely deals with Beah’s resilience -- he is one of the few children who has the resilience and motivation to overcome suffering from the war and preserve hope for a better future. Beah uses physical descriptions of his love of rap music, his family’s wisdom, and his affinity to nature in order to explain his ability to withstand and recover from the horrors of beingShow MoreRelatedA Long Way Gone : Memoirs Of A Boy Soldier1121 Words   |  5 PagesThere are approximately 250,000 child soldiers in the world today. Sixty percent of these soldiers are young boys, and eighty percent of them are under the age of fifteen. In the memoir, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Ishmael Beah describes his three-year experience as a child soldier in Sierra Leone. Throughout the five phases of the novel Ishmael s personality changes drastically. It is more of an evolution than it is development. In the end, he ends up as an entirely different personRead MoreA Long Way Gone : Memoirs Of A Boy Soldier1352 Words   |  6 PagesNowadays, cross-cultural communication is one of the keys to survive in this society. It plays an important role in our society. The book, A long way gone: Memoirs of a boy soldier, describes several cross cultural issues. This book is based on the true story of Ishamel Beah, who was solder in Republic of Sierra Leone. During his life time, he face a number of cultural shocks and tried to adapt each situation. Through story of his life, we can recognize some cultural differences and similaritiesRead MoreLoss of Innocence in A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier1486 Words   |  6 PagesA prominent theme in A Long Way Gone is about the loss of innocence from the involvement in the war. A Long Way Gone is the memoir of a young boy, Ishmael Beah, wanders in Sierra Leone who struggles for survival. Ho ping to survive, he ended up raiding villages from the rebels and killing everyone. One theme in A long Way Gone is that war give innocent people the lust for revenge, destroys childhood and war became part of their daily life. In the A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah, a twelve-year-old explainsRead MoreA Long Way Gone Memoirs Of A Boy Soldier By Ishmael Beah1840 Words   |  8 Pagesbook A Long Way Gone Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah portrays seamlessly what the human condition should be. Human condition is the â€Å"characteristics, key events, and situations which grow the essentials of human existence, such as birth, growth, emotionality, aspiration, everyday conflict, problem solving, and mortality.† Additionally human nature refers to specific characteristics such as morals, attitudes, feelings, thoughts and actions. After reading A Long Way Gone Memoirs of a Boy SoldierRead MoreA Long Way Gone : Memoirs Of A Boy Soldier By Ishmael Beah1589 Words   |  7 Pageschose to read for my summer reading assignment was A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah. By judging this book by its title, I knew it was going to be a nonfiction piece focusing on one person’s experi ence on this gruesome topic. I expected this novel to graphic and eye opening about the life of a child soldier. Major Characters Ishmael Beah: The author and narrator of this novel shares his experience when he was a child soldier for Sierra Leone Armed Services during the civil warRead MoreLiterary Techniques Used in the Memoir of Ishmael Beah, A Long Way Gone, Memoirs of a Boy Soldier1050 Words   |  5 PagesIn the memoir of Ishmael Beah, A Long Way Gone, Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Beah states that his life’s journey has been a huge obstacle, but has learned to overcome that struggle by venting while the two contradictory sides continue their battling. Beah accomplishes his goal of explaining to the reader his point of view through the use of rhetorical questions, scenic narration, and parallelism. Ishmael Beah’s apparent purpose is to share personal accounts of his life with his fellow country men, inRead MoreThe Bite Of A Mango Analysis799 Words   |  4 PagesWhat would it be like to be completely surrounded by war in one’s own home? For two children in The Bite of a Mango and A Lo ng Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, this was their everyday reality. The Bite of a Mango follows the life of a twelve year old girl named Mariatu Kamara. A Long Way gone follows the life of a fourteen year boy named Ishmael Beah. Both books are true stories that personally recount the events of how the war affected not only their towns, but themselves as children. In bothRead MoreA Long Way Gone : Memoirs Of A Boy Solider1244 Words   |  5 Pages A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of A Boy Solider is a biography of a young man, Ishmael Beah, during his years of growing up as a child of war in Sierra Leone, Africa. The story begins in January of 1993 in his hometown village Mogbwemo. Beah who is twelve at the time is a part of hip-hop dance and music group with his brother Junior, and friend Talloi. The boys leave their village one day to the neighboring city to perform in their friend’s talent show. While the rap group is away, rebels attack theirRead MoreA Long Way Gone - 3 Essay834 Words   |  4 PagesA Long Way Gone Ishmael Beah had a really tough life throughout his childhood and teenage years. In his literary work, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Ishmael Beah uses symbols to underscore his central theme of oppression and/or freedom. The three symbols he used to underscore his central theme of oppression and freedom was Ishmaels AK-47, his cassette tapes, and the drugs he used. Ishmaels AK-47 was the most important symbol that Ishmael Beah used to underscoreRead MoreA Long Way Gone 11043 Words   |  5 PagesA Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, by Ishmael Beah, tells of the experiences in his intense journey through Sierra Leone during the outbreak of war. Beah had to learn to survive the harsh outcome of the war, resulting in the loss of those whom were close to him, family and friends, and trust in people. The book has a recurring theme of nature and the natural world. In the book, the world at night, as well as the moon, serves as both a safeguard and a bringer of bereavement. As a boy, Ishmael

The Secret Circle The Divide Chapter 28 Free Essays

The flames roared and crackled with evil intent, as if the fire had a will of its own. Its scorching heat brought Cassie, blistering, to her knees. She was coughing and couldn’t catch her breath, soon to completely lose herself to its all- consuming power. We will write a custom essay sample on The Secret Circle: The Divide Chapter 28 or any similar topic only for you Order Now Scarlett looked her over one last time. â€Å"Good-bye, Cassie,† she said. â€Å"It was nice knowing you.† Cassie’s face burned from the sweltering heat. This must be what hell would feel like, she thought, this never-ending torture by fire. Cut off from her mother, and her friends, and Adam, Cassie was dying alone. And here was Scarlett, the stronger daughter, the wicked sister, and the last living face Cassie would look upon before her death. But she couldn’t give up. She forced herself to her feet and got as close to Scarlett as the flames would allow. The Tools had darkened to a sinister sheen on Scarlett’s body. Black John is in her, Cassie thought. But he is also in me. Scarlett seemed to notice a change in Cassie’s eyes. It was enough to cause her to back away. â€Å"He is in me,† Cassie said, aloud this time, and it powered up some secret recess within her, like an emergency generator that kicks on in a blackout. Scarlett continued backing away, through the flames, toward the exit. The fire protection spell was still working for her, but she was suddenly afraid. The power of fire, Cassie thought. The power of fire is in me. And then something cracked open somewhere deep inside Cassie’s chest, that dark space she’d never accessed before. It frightened her, the burst of energy she felt as the word left her lips. â€Å"Burn!† she commanded. And Scarlett did. Midway through the flames on her way to the door, she screamed as brutally as Cassie had heard in her nightmare. No longer was she protected from the fire, no longer could she step safely from the burning house to the cool air outside. Scarlett jumped back from the door, furiously batting out the flames from her clothes. Then she turned to Cassie. â€Å"I thought you were good,† she said. Cassie stood tall, newly energized. â€Å"Likewise.† Cassie could feel something churning deep within her gut. It rose up her throat like black bile and escaped her mouth as a scream that caused the kitchen faucet to rupture into a geyser. Then the walls shook, and every pipe within them burst, spurting cold water across the room in diagonal torrents. The fire was extinguished within seconds. Scarlett drew away, shocked by this turn of events, but she had her own commands at her disposal as well as the Master Tools to enhance her power. â€Å"Fragilis!† she shouted, thrusting her open palms at Cassie. It was a Latin spell Cassie didn’t understand, but it made her drop to the floor like all the energy had been drained out her drop to the floor like all the energy had been drained out of her. Her body felt heavy, and the room began to spin. She couldn’t even lift her head. â€Å"Sentis infirma.† Scarlett directed her charged fingers to Cassie’s head and then her heart. Cassie became so feeble and tired, woozy to the point of faintness, she was sure she was dying. This is it, Cassie thought. Scarlett is just too strong. She’d lost. She wished that she could see Adam at that moment, to have his be the last face she looked upon before going to her death. She remembered the chalcedony rose in her pocket and limply felt for it. It took all the energy she had left to work it into her hand. She squeezed it as tightly as her fingers would allow and imagined Adam’s strong, loving face with such concentration that she swore he actually appeared. The smoke cleared, and Adam’s dark red hair seemed to her so close and real, she believed she could see its every highlight. This must be what dying was. Cassie was too weak to smile, but she was grateful her final wish had come true. It took a second for Cassie to realize that Adam was actually in the house standing over her. It really was him. He took her face into his hands and called out her name. She felt herself falling in and out of consciousness. Like in her nightmares and visions, her sight was both cloudy and vivid at the same time, a disordered, mystifying confusion. But the connection between her and Adam in this heightened moment was intense. The silver cord that hummed between them materialized, brighter and more pronounced than Cassie had ever seen it before. It appeared so lifelike, she swore she could reach out and touch it with her fingertips. Her chest overfilled with love as she followed the cord’s path from Adam’s heart to her own. But then as she looked closer, she noticed something strange. There were two silver cords. One was reaching from Adam to her, and the other was reaching from Adam to Scarlett. In a flash, both cords were gone. Just like that. Cassie wasn’t even sure Adam saw it. That had to be a mistake, a hallucination. It was impossible to decipher what was real anymore and what was her imagination. â€Å"Cassie.† Adam still had her face in his hands. â€Å"Stay with me, Cassie. Stay awake.† She blinked away the tears that filled her eyes and turned to see all of them there – Diana and the rest of the Circle. They had Scarlett surrounded. â€Å"Give us the Master Tools,† Diana said. â€Å"And we won’t have to hurt you.† â€Å"I’d like to see you try.† Scarlett laughed. Diana stood motionless. It took a moment for her to realize she couldn’t do magic, but once she did, Scarlett hurled her hands at her. â€Å"Praestrangulo,† she said. Instantly Diana clutched her throat with both hands and dropped to her knees, struggling to breathe. â€Å"She’s suffocating!† Adam jumped to his feet, and Cassie cried out, but she was still too weak stop him. He charged toward Scarlett, chanting, â€Å"Earth my body, water my blood.† Faye and the others fell in behind him. â€Å"Earth my body, water my blood, air my breath, and fire my spirit!† Cassie screamed, â€Å"It won’t work!† But none of them would listen, or maybe her screaming was only as loud as a whisper. She couldn’t tell. â€Å"Caecitas!† Scarlett fanned her hand at the group. Adam cried out first. â€Å"I can’t see,† he said. And then, one by one, each of them shrieked, covering their eyes. Scarlett had blinded them. Diana was writhing on the floor, turning blue and coughing. Cassie had no strength, but she had to do something. The darkness was in her; she couldn’t be afraid to reach down into it. Even if it killed her, it was the only way to save her friends. It took all her might to climb to her feet. Scarlett, seeing her get up, grabbed her bags and ran for the door. Cassie pushed with her mind and let loose a debilitating cry. â€Å"Scarlett!† She searched her soul for the words, the darkest most debilitating spell she could think of, but Scarlett was out the door and gone within seconds. â€Å"Magicae negrae conversam,† Cassie said feebly. Those were the words that came to her after Scarlett had escaped. Diana gasped and inhaled. Adam blinked his eyes back to sight. Slowly, everyone regained their senses. Cassie’s strength returned, and she went to Adam and held him. There were scratches where he’d been clawing at his eyelids. â€Å"Did you just undo Scarlett’s spells?† he asked. Cassie nodded, and then she looked at the sooty, sweaty faces of her friends who’d risked their lives to save her. How could she ever apologize enough for what they’d just been through? â€Å"I was wrong about Scarlett,† she said. â€Å"But I guess you figured that out by now.† The tint of suffocation still hadn’t fully left Diana’s face. â€Å"What just happened?† she asked. â€Å"Scarlett was untouchable.† â€Å"You were right that she’s evil,† Cassie said, hardly able to look Diana in the eye. â€Å"She was doing black magic. She said that was the only magic that would work here. That’s why none of you could cast spells.† â€Å"But then how did you – ?† Diana stopped herself mid-question, when the answer occurred to her. Cassie looked down. She could hear Faye walk a circle around the burnt-out room, her boots crackling upon the ruined floor with each step. â€Å"I knew it all along,† Faye said. â€Å"Cassie has black magic in her.† It was true. There was no use denying it, as much as Cassie wanted to. Cassie searched Adam’s face for a reaction, terrified of what it might be. But Adam’s eyes filled with tears, and he pulled Cassie in toward his chest. â€Å"I’m so glad you’re okay,† he said. Cassie didn’t feel like she deserved his comforting, and tried to break free from his arms. Adam squeezed her tighter. â€Å"You just saved our lives,† he said. â€Å"I almost cost you your lives,† Cassie said, no longer able to stop herself from crying. â€Å"All of this is my fault. All of it, and I am so sorry.† Diana placed her hand on Cassie’s back. â€Å"We’re all in this together,† she said. â€Å"And we’re all okay. That’s what matters.† Cassie began to sob into Adam’s chest. â€Å"But I want to be good.† â€Å"You are good.† Diana hugged Cassie from behind, sandwiching her between herself and Adam. â€Å"You can’t start doubting that.† â€Å"Scarlett is the evil one,† Adam said. â€Å"Not you.† Cassie appreciated their support. They meant well, and she knew that, but the truth was, none of them could be sure what the ability to perform black magic meant for Cassie. Faye smiled at her like a new discovery. â€Å"How does it feel?† she asked. â€Å"I just feel like going home,† Cassie said. How to cite The Secret Circle: The Divide Chapter 28, Essay examples

Nurse in Romeo and Juliet Essay Example For Students

Nurse in Romeo and Juliet Essay I am doing an essay about the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet. I will be looking at her character functions in the play, with the language and her impact of her in the play. The Nurse is employed by the Capulet family since the birth of Juliet, and the Juliets upbringing has been left entirely in her hands. The Nurse has a lot of affection for Juliet. She plays more of a mother figure to Juliet than her natural mother does. She provides entertainment by making jokes and bawdy comments. She also relieves the tragedy with her humour in the play. The nurse is an imperative character in the play because Shakespeare uses her to moves the plot forward. She is like a messenger informing Romeo and Juliet of the news and keeps the story going. Shakespeare also uses her to bring humour in the play which contrasts with the tragedy waiting to happen in the end of the play. In the play she is described as being as a capacious lady, she is written to wear a flowing dress. Romeo pretends that she is a ship and that her headscarf is a sail, A sail, A sail. From the way she looks, moves and wares bring humour in to the play. She audience laugh at her and from the Act 2 Scene 4 we can expect that she will be bringing humour in the play. All of the absurdity that she brings contrasts with the Tragedy of Rome and Juliet. She also heightens the problem or the tragedy and raises even more tension there is. The Nurse is very talkative, she loves to make speeches and talk about the past The Nurse frequently tells stories and is reminiscent about her past. E.g. She often talks about her daughter Susan, who became deceased when she was only months old. Susan and she- God rest all Christian souls- were of an age. This all make Lady Capulet and Juliet infuriated towards her. She often does not think before speaking, she frequently talks about sex to Juliet and says that marriage is not about love, but it is about sex. Yea, quoth he, fallst upon thy face? Thou wilt fall backward when thou comest to age wilt thou not, Jule? It stinted and said, Ay. She uses a lot of rude and sexual language in the play. She also recall what her husband said to her daughter dost thou fall upon thy face? Thou will fall backwards when thou hast move wit She tell Juliet another vulgar stories, which contrasts with the more noble language of Lady Capulet .She talks about sex in the presence of Lady Capulet, which is not very appropriate as she is a high status women and she is married, so when the Nurse talks about marriage being just about sex, Lady Capulet may feel uncomfortable. These types of characteristics irritate characters such as Lady Capulet but keep the audience humoured and entertained. This shows us that she is really close to Juliet in person closer than her own mother. The Nurse is totally devoted to Juliet and is also loyal towards her. Although she is thoughtless at times, her intentions are always good. Even when talking about uncomfortable issues such as sex to Juliet, she is only trying to warn Juliet about life from her experience, it might have been her own marriage which was based on sex. The nurse doesnt understand that times and people have changed. This shows the Nurses ignorance, as she is not well educated and not very intelligent The relationship of the Nurse and Juliet is more like a mother and daughter relationship where as lady Capulet and Juliet isnt. The Nurse takes care of Juliet and is very protective of Juliet. She tells Romeo to not mistreat Juliet But first let me tell ye, if ye should lead her in a fools paradise as they say it were a very gloss kind of behaviour. When Juliet speaks to her mother she speaks very formally, calling her madam. The conversation is stilted and proper, whereas with the Nurse she talks very openly. The Nurse uses many different terms when she is referring to Juliet, What, Lamb? What Ladybird? That is another sign of a close bond. The language in which they use to communicate is far less formal than that of the language with Lady Capulet. There seems to be a relaxed atmosphere around them. She is also a confidante towards Juliet, Juliet can tell her secrets and personal things to the Nurse. There relationship is like a relationship between two sisters and also a relationship between a mother and her daughter. This bond has been developed because the Nurse has looked after Juliet ever since she was a child and has treated as a daughter, as she has been wet Nurse for Juliet. As they spend so much time together, they feel they can trust each other and confide in one another. Lady Capulet relationship with Juliet is complete different, she doesnt fell comfortable being alone with Juliet Nurse, come back again, have rememberd me, thous hear our counsel The Lady wishes to discuss things with Juliet, but finds it uncomfortable. She calls the Nurse back immediately. She is seen as a trusted family servant to the Lord Capulet in Verona. Lady Capulet cant even talk to Juliet in private she need the nurse with her. This shows us that Lady Capulet is doesnt had close relationship with her own daughter while the Nurse does. We also see that Nurse tring to protect Juliet from her father, Lord Caplet when Capulet threatens and insults Juliet for refusing to marry Paris, the Nurse tries to intervene. She says Christmas Carol EssayNurse realises the depth of Juliet feelings for Romeo Ill to my wedding-bed And death, not Romeo, take my maidenhead Through the impact of these lines, which say that, not Romeo, will take her maidenhead but it will be death. At this point the Nurse shows sympathy and goes to fetch Romeo from the Lawrence cell, Ill find Romeo and Juliet tell her to gives her a ring to give to Romeo. Here the Nurse is also used as a messenger from Juliet to send Romeo a ring and tell him to come back to Juliet. The nurse does stand up for Juliet in Act 3 scene 5 against Juliets father violent rage against Juliet. The nurse was the only person that Juliet could turn to for help and comfort. At act 3 scene 5 Juliet gets threatened to marry Paris and she need the Nurse to help her to persuade her parents. She is in an impossible situation, she is already married to Romeo and the Nurse knows that. After all the outburst of Juliets parents the nurse advice Juliet to marry Paris, Romeo is banished hes as good as dead, disclout. From this point Juliet turns against the Nurse from this point she changes. When the Nurse confirms what she really thinks, that Juliet should marry Paris, Juliet says Amen I agree. But she doesnt mean it, she turns against the Nurse, she has changed and has her own mind. The nurse is no longer the person to whom Juliet can turn to. Juliet is angry and let down by the Nurse. Thou and my bossom henceforth shall be twain Now see will ask friar to know his remedy she will go to Friar Lawrence for help now. The nurse was being realistic when she was telling Juliet to marry Romeo which contrasted with Juliet romantic vision of her love. I think the Nurse still has Juliets best interest at heart and has not betrayed in any way. I feel the only reason the Nurse is telling Juliet to wed Paris as opposed to Romeo is because then she will still keep a good relationship with the Capulet family and so she doesnt end up on the streets, with no money and not a healthy life. As Romeo is banished, he cannot provide a good home and family for Juliet while Paris can and Juliet does not break her bonds with her family. For all her upbringing of Juliet, she is unable to understand her true feelings and fails to read her intentions when she apparently accepts Paris. At this point the audience would be shocked from what the Nurse has advised Juliet to do and would feel angry toward The Nurse. But as wee see the Nurse reaction towards the death of Juliet after drinking the potion we see that she really does care for Juliet. At act 4 Scene 5 we see .The nurse at Juliet chamber try to wake Juliet up for the wedding. She was the first person to find out that she was dead because she has a close relationship with Juliet and familiar intimate relationship When the nurse find out that Juliet is dead she is in horror Shes dead, deceased, shes dead Here Shakespeare uses repetition shes dead. He also uses the hard d sound alliteration, all this language get the horror impact for that scene. All this shows us the Nurse really cares about Juliet; she is like her own daughter. Its a very dramatic moment, she is distressed. In the play she would be in panic and it all shows us that she really cares about Juliet. On the other had her mothers reaction to Juliets death is completely different, she just thinks about herself. O me, O me, my child, my only life She is upset but Shakespeare uses interesting word to describe that, which implies that she is thinking about herself, me my. She only uses o my child o my life she just cares about herself. The father of Juliet has a deep regret over the death of Juliet, Shakespeare uses poetic language to describe the regret over the death, Death lies on her like an like an untimely frost Here Shakespeare uses simile to describe the death, he uses natural images which are very beautiful; Upon the sweetest flower of all the field. Here we have very beautiful images while the situation is very horrible. Shakespeare also uses gentle, soft sound images sweetest, he also uses alliteration flower field In line 85- 91 Shakespeare compares what the day would have been like, the sorrow of the death of Juliet that make the family change. That is the last scene in which we see the Nurse. Throughout the play, she appears, however when she loses Juliets trust, she is lost from the play. The Nurse plays a critical role in Romeo and Juliet. Without her, the play would be less entertaining as she adds humour to the play, but also makes the sad moment even more depressing as when Juliet dies, we feel sorry for the Nurse the most as she has brought her up from when she was born and she has to witness her tragic death, which she may feel partly responsible for, as she advised Juliet to forget about Romeo and wed Paris. The plot could not have been developed and the story could not have been facilitated if it was not for the essential character of the Nurse!