The Impact of Revenge in War as Displayed in “A Long Way Gone” Shawn Thomas Hamilton 10th Grade

When soldiers are faced with war, they can have many feelings overtake them serving their time. One of those feelings is revenge, that “inflicting hurt or harm on someone for an injury or wrong suffered at their hands” so says Webster Dictionary. Revenge is a factor that drives people to action, it’s prevalent during and after war, and it makes others lose empathy. Revenge affects many soldiers worldwide, and especially child soldiers; whose minds and emotions are easily influenced. One major example is Ishmael Beah; a Sierra Leonean recruited into the army at the age of 12. Beah was faced with many challenges while serving in the army and after, while serving rehabilitation. Revenge had affected Beah and many other soldiers and veterans today.

First off, to say that revenge is a factor that drives people to action is an understatement. However, it is a factor nonetheless. When Beah joined the Sierra Leonean army, one of his first training exercises was training with a bayonet. When the staff sergeant observed that the adolescents’ processes were inadequate, he took one of the bayonets and used the boys’ anger as a motive. The staff sergeant yelled “Is that how you stab someone who had killed your family? ... This is how I...