"If fear alters behavior, you're already defeated." - Brenda Hammond
Througout the book A Long Way Gone, fear is one of the most prominent themes in the memior. Beah bases almost his whole book on his life as a child in war and on the fear and courage that went along with that. For example, when Junior and Beah were both being selected to fight with the rebels and the rebels heard gunshots and got distracted, Beah didn't let his fear of dying or being killed stop him from running away. He didn't let fear get in the way. If Beah had let fear get in the way, he probably would have been killed. He thought about his fear and the fact that he didn't want to die; that is what made him act, but once he acted on that fear, it was as if the fear didn't exist. In his situation, the only thing you can think about is survivng and not being killed; you can have fear, but you can't let it rule you and your decisions. Fear cannot distract you. When Beah stole the corn from the little boy, he didn't let the fear of being embarrassed or punished by the boy's mother stop him. He was hungry, the boy had food, and Beah did what he had to do to get it. Also, the two times that he got captured by villages who thought he was a rebel, Beah didn't let fear get in his way. Somehow he managed to still dance and sing like nothing was wrong; not showing his fear or acting on it saved his life at least two times so far in the book. Fear is something that kept him going. If you were asked to run for more than an hour, you probably wouldn't be able to do it. But when Beah was being chased by the rebels, he was fearful for his life, and his adrenaline and his body allowed him to run full spee for that long. Without fear, Beah would have probably been killed. So while acting on his fear would not have been a good thing for Beah, at least having it benefited him. Beah was not even 12 years old at the time; he had every right to be scared. But he didn't act on it. It is impossible to be in the situation that Beah was in and not be scared; but he didn't let that distract him. at just 11 years of age, he learned how to grow up and become a man in less than a night. Beah even said that he was sick of living in fear; he decided to not let fear get in his way. Fear didn't defeat him.
1 comment:
He thought about his fear and the fact that he didn't want to die; that is what made him act, but once he acted on that fear, it was as if the fear didn't exist.
this is my favorite line of your blog. It is true, i feel as if when someone is scared for their life that fear of death escapes them as they are too concerned about how to avoid death. It does escape you in an aspect. I also feel that if Beah wasnt so fearful he wouldnt care enough to reach save places and fend for himself and his life. Without fear he had no drive to live, so escape the war, to get food, ect.
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