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Piper Stevens
Mr. Bigelow
English 10
11 January 2016
The Significance of Eyes
Inanimate objects often play large roles in peoples lives as they grow and change. So
many things can change for a person as go through life. Yet inanimate objects often remain
constant during this chaos. For this reason, inanimate objects often take on larger roles than they
were initially intended to serve. Authors frequently include inanimate objects in their literary
works to represent constant themes throughout the story. This is the case in Ishmael Beahs
memoir A Long Way Gone. Throughout the story, eyes are used to show the pain that Ishmael
encounters throughout the war. Eyes also serve the purpose of showing Ishmaels descent into
chaos and journey to rehabilitation. Eyes are used by Ishmael throughout the book to convey that
suffering is not something that can be escaped.
Throughout Ishmaels story, eyes often appear during times when Ishmael is witnessing
immense pain, or inflicting pain onto others. When Ishmael is forced to watch the death of an old
man from his village, he observes that his eyes were fixed on something and his legs vibrated
and stoppedbut his eyes remained open and transfixed on the top of the forest (99). Ishmael is
forced to watch the death of his friend Josiah on the battle field, and again Ishmael describes his
eyes: As I watched him, the water in his eyes was replaced with blood that quickly turned his
brown eyes into red (118). Both times, when Ishmael is forced to witness other peoples pain he

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decides to describe their eyes. He focuses on the persons eyes rather than the gore, blood, and
chaos surrounding him. He may be doing this to block out the pain around him. Or he may focus
on the persons eyes to convey just how much pain Ishmael himself is feeling. Eyes are one of
the most vulnerable parts of the body, and the fact that Ishmael focuses on a persons eyes as
they die shows how much pain he himself is experiencing. Ishmael uses eyes throughout the
novel to signify the pain of others, and the pain that he himself is forced to endure.
Throughout the memoir, eyes also serve the purpose of showing Ishmaels journey to lose
his grip on humanity, and his ability to rehabilitate as he begins to grasp humanity again. Early
on in his journey, Ishmael has flashbacks of his home; specifically he remembered when he
would wake up staring into [his grandmothers] eyes as she played with [his] hair (71). This
memory ties Ishmaels grandmothers eyes with his idealistic memories of home. Ishmael has no
reservations trusting and loving someone. However, when Ishmael enters the war he becomes
distant, and untrusting, and his descriptions of eyes turn gruesome: Before I shot each man, I
looked at him and saw how his eyes gave up hope and steadied before I pulled the trigger. I
found their somber eyes irritating (159). Later, when Ishmael is going through the rehabilitation
process, he mentions that Esther looked at him with the same inviting eyes and welcoming
smile that said I was a child (166). Here we see how Ishmael uses eyes to portray not only his
descent into chaos, but his ability rehabilitate. Before Ishmael experiences the violence and the
pain of the war, he sees eyes as objects that convey love. Yet, as he plunges farther and farther
into the violence of war, eyes become something that he despises because they portray emotion
that he wishes to be numb to. Then, when Ishmael is rehabilitating, he is able to see Esthers eyes
as inviting. This is significant because eyes can once again represent emotion to Ishmael as he
begins to trust and accept the love of people around him once again. Eyes are commonly seen as

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windows to the soul. This is especially true in Ishmaels case as they illustrate his numbness to
emotion during his time in war as well as his ability to regain a grasp on humanity through his
rehabilitation process.
Ishmael uses eyes repetitively throughout the book to show that suffering, whether it is
internal, or the suffering of others, is not something that can be escaped. Throughout the war,
Ishmael experiences a huge amount of violence and suffering around him. At one point he tries
to escape the image of dead bodies piled in a village: I closed my eyes hard to avoid thinking,
but the eye of my mind refused to be closed and continued to plague me with images (49).
Later, when Ishmael realizes his family is dead, his entire body went into shock. Only [his] eyes
moved (95). This time, Ishmael did not close his eyes, instead [he] felt as if [his] eyes were
growing too big for their sockets (95). In both of these situations, Ishmael is forced to deal with
pain and suffering around him, and inside of him. When Ishmael closes his eyes, he is plagued
with images of the violence he is trying to escape. Again, when his body wants to shut down
when faced with the reality of his familys death, his eyes force him to face the situation. Ishmael
repetitively uses eyes to symbolize his need to face reality during difficult times throughout his
journey. Whenever Ishmael wants to escape reality, his eyes force him to face the situation. They
serve this purpose physically as a means of viewing the world, as well as mentally, forcing
Ishmael to face the suffering he is forced to encounter time and time again. This theme reappears
repeatedly throughout the book, as Ishmaels journey is filled with suffering that is so profound,
it seems impossible to accept. Yet he is forced to face it and come to terms with the reality of his
suffering in order to heal. Eyes are used to illustrate Ishmaels point that suffering is a
fundamental part of society, but it is something that needs to be faced.

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Ishmael Beahs memoir A Long Way Gone is a profound look at what it means to be
human. Throughout the book, Ishmael encounters great pain, and eyes serve the purpose of
portraying this pain. Eyes also represent Ishmaels journey to recovery and accept humanity
again. Ishmael uses eyes throughout the novel to illustrate his point that reality is often times
brutal, but it is something that has to be faced. Each time he experiences the pain of others,
Ishmael portrays the pain he is feeling through the description of that persons eyes.
Furthermore, Ishmaels view of peoples eyes shows the numbness he feels during war and his
ability to overcome that numbness. Ishmaels journey is full of pain and suffering that is difficult
for the reader to grasp. Yet every person can connect with Ishmaels overall message that
hardships are frequently faced in life, but that suffering is something that must be faced in order
to move on.