What determines the difference between nonfiction and fiction? The specifications. In a nonfiction novel, the author recounts purely true events. However, in a fictional text, the author has a wide range of possibilities and can be very subjective. Details can be used to tell about your life in a day or in every minute. In the novel A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, the author tells his story from the beginning of his life to the present. It tells the story of the life of a young man growing up in Sierra Leone with courage and precision. Considering Ishmael Beah's life experiences based on true facts, I can conclude that Ishmael Beah and his novel are not fictional. This can be seen through; his loss of identity, the politics of 1997 and, of course, his experience. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Ishmael Beah, the author of this remarkable novel, has largely assured his audience how the Sierra Leone Army was the reason he lost his identity. Beah was captured at the age of thirteen and was forced to use a gun. Try to imagine it yourself. A thirteen year old boy must turn into a killer. At his age he only cared about his studies and being able to enjoy life to the fullest. For almost three full years, Ishmael Beah had to fight in the Sierra Leone War as a child soldier. An example of this from the novel is when Ishmael states, “I was silent for a while, because I didn't know what to say and I also didn't trust anyone at this point in my life. I had learned to survive and take care of myself. I had done it for most of my short life with no one to trust and, frankly, I liked being alone, because it made survival easier.” Once captured by the Sierra Leone army, Ishmael Beah was treated like dirt. Surrounded by the people who were the reason he lost his family and had to survive alone. He had lost his identity at a very young age until Unicef ​​rescued him. From the loss of Ishmael Beah's identity, it is shown that this novel is not fictional. Politics in Sierra Leone in 1997 was not considered the most stable supporting government for their country. During the civil war in Sierra Leone, there were numerous reports of government forces and rebel troops torturing civilians resulting in unspeakable events, such as the cutting off of limbs, ears and tongues. All this to help set up a political/global campaign on diamond mining in conflict areas. An example of this from a credible article is: “A Sierra Leonean paramilitary commander, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Human Rights Watch that suspected RUF members had been taken to a government-allied paramilitary base in Freetown on May 8th. According to the commander, the five men were severely tortured and beaten, and the commander personally saw that their ears had been cut off. When the commander returned later that day, he was informed that the five had been taken away and he believed they had been executed.” Also in the novel we read that “it was the beginning of 'rotten politics', as my father said. I had heard from adults that this was a revolutionary war, the liberation of the people from a corrupt government. But what kind of liberation movement shoots innocent civilians, children and that little girl?”. This government report at the time and the quote from Ishmael Beah in his novel have proven to prove that what happened in A Long Way Gone was a fact. That.