In A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah uses recurring symbols to represent oppression and freedom. For example, fire and smoke are often literally and figuratively associated with the oppression that Beah experienced during raids and war. Fire and smoke represent destruction, and Beah comments on this at several points in his memoir: the initial raid on a neighboring village, raided villages encountered on the journey, and the suprise attacks in the north near his uncle's home. Similarly, Beah uses the image of the flag to represent freedom. When he is removed from the war by UNICEF, he sees the flag in the capitol city. This move to the rehabilitation facility was Beah's first step to freedom.
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