A Long Way Gone

ABDUCTION

After traveling from town to town trying to find food and shelter Ishmael and his friends are abducted by the rebels in Sierra Leone and slowly become brainwashed into "killing machines" and are forced to kill for their survival.   Before they are captured the boys are aware that the rebels are near them and are very afraid of them. While they are traveling from town to town they are forced to steal food to fight their starvation.  I can see they don't like what they are doing, stealing food and water from innocent people to fight for their own survival. If you had nothing would you begin to steal from others for yourself? If I had to steal food to stop myself from starvation, I think I would steal like Ishmael and his friends did. I wouldn't want to give up on life without knowing what has happened to my family. I think that maybe if I knew my family was gone I wouldn't steal from people but if I knew there was a chance of seeing them again I would do it no doubt. If I had to kill to see my family again then I think has passed my line of decency where I would rather starve then kill another man to benefit in my own life.

                                            

I don't think they should feel ashamed for what they are doing. Everyone needs to survive and everyone has their own way of doing it. Sure stealing is frowned upon but its not like the young group of boys can get a well paying job for the rest of their lives, and with no family to support them how can they financially afford food? They keep having to run from village to village to keep away and stay hidden from the rebels so they have no where to settle down. No where to find their own food and shelter so they must take others. I think the boys will find their family soon but I don't think what awaits for them in the future is any good. When Ishmael and his friends are taken by the rebels they begin to have the boys do even worse things, many of the boys become addicted to drugs, kill others for food or money, and are promised a fake future where the boys will be able to see their families in the end if they do everything the rebel army asks them.