Compare/Contrast: A Long Way Gone

In the book A Long Way Gone the author Ishmael Beah chooses to start his novel off in the first chapter by using the method of comparing and contrasting.  This method is used to demonstrate Ishmael's concept of war before his village is attacked to his confusion and fear when he has to deal with the reality of the civil war taking place once it invades his home. There were many refugees that came to his village that were hungry and exhausted. However it was their tormented minds that he noticed appeared the most damaged part of them. It all seemed to be a foreign language that he was not the least bit familiar with. On page 6 the book states, "My imagination at ten years old didn't have the capacity to grasp what had taken away the happiness of the refugees." Ishmael said this because even if he and his friends had been told the truth of how the war would affect them once it hit their home, they would've refused to believe it because they couldn't wrap their heads around the thought of it being real. At their age they simply didn't have the knowledge to imagine the horrors. This comparison and contrast is important because it establishes the child Ishmael was before he was kidnappped to the soldier he is going to become later. Ishmael's village used to be an isolated and peaceful place. He recalled his childhood before the war fondly. His loss of his innocence is obvious. He remember's how kind his grandmother was and advice she gave before the war. He's comforted by her words still.