Literary Devices 2

Setting: The setting of 'A Long Way Gone' is war-torn Sierra Leone.

Tone: The overall tone to this story is a dark, more serious tone.

Mood: In the beginning of the novel, the mood is relatively bright. This is because the war has not yet completely destroyed the country. However, as the story progresses, the mood begins to get more and more serious.

Simile: When Ishmael witness's a rebel soldier kill and old man, he writes  "The rebel pulled the trigger, and like lightning, I saw the spark of fire that came from the muzzle." (33)

Personification: A common phrase that Ishmael's grandma used to tell him is "we must
strive to be like the moon” (16)

Foil: In 'A Long Way Gone', Ishmael becomes a foil to himself. This is because before the war broke out, he was an ordinary kid. However, after the war broke out he became a brutal soldier. After the war is when he is a foil to himself because the protagonist side of him is a normal kid, but the antagonist side of him is still a killer. He struggles to overcome his antagonist ways and once again become an ordinary person.

Irony: It is ironic that Ishmael desperately wanted to find his family and hoped they were alive, but at the same time he was killing people.

Theme: One theme from 'A Long Way Gone' is that there is always hope. Even though Ishmael had gone through terrible experiences, he is able to come out of them and find who he really is again.