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Ishmael Beah is the author of the novel <em>A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier</em>. In this book, Beah writes about his experiences as a child soldier in Sierra Leone. There are most likely many reasons why Beah decided to write about these experiences.
First of all, Beah most likely wanted to educate people about the dangers and tragedies of war, and more importantly, the tragedy of child soldiers. This was a common feature in many African wars of the time. Therefore, his historical context most likely played an important role in this decision.
Beah probably was also interested in showing his own personal story. This was a way to both collect his memoirs and connect with other people. In order to do so, Beah describes his childhood before the war as a normal, happy one. This shows that he was a child like any other, which allows him to connect with a wider audience.
Oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two opposite ideas are joined to create an effect.
The common oxymoron phrase is a combination of an adjective proceeded by a noun with contrasting meanings, such as “cruel kindness,” or “living death”.
However, the contrasting words/phrases are not always glued together.
