Kaylan West
World Literature
2012-2013 School Year
Table of Contents
Intro
The Significance of Left to Tell
Kaylan West
World Literature 3 Period
Mrs. Lane- Warren
10/1/12
Kaylan West
World Literature 3 Period
Mrs. Lane- Warren
10/1/12
The Significance of Left to Tell
The novel Left to Tell was a very significant book that became a part of history. The genocide occurred in Rwanda of 1994. This is the story of how Immaculee survived certain death, along with seven other women, by hiding in a very small bathroom for more than 3 months. With uncommon sincerity, Immaculee shares with us her soul's struggle through disbelief to anger and rage and, ultimately, forgiveness. She is living proof of the power of prayer and positive thinking. Over one million people were killed in over three months. Immaculee’s entire family was killed except her younger brother Amiable. She was one of very few people to survived, and could live to tell her story. The triumphant story of this remarkable young woman's journey through the darkness of genocide will inspire anyone whose life has been touched by fear, suffering, and loss. Many women view this novel as being astonishing, and extraordinary. It encourages women around the world to never give up through struggles and hard times that you may come across in life. Women were cherished and cared. They were taught to be the best they can, and make sure they had the best education possible. Not many women in Rwanda got to where Immaculee was, but they still had no excuse for failure. It was very ironic for Immaculee to tell her amazing story of how she survived the genocide in Rwanda. Without this faith and trust, who knows how much Immaculee could had borne under such unusual circumstances, the loss of her parents, two brothers, other family members, including the littlest, an eight month old cousin, school mates, villagers, and any others she met during the genocide massacre that touched her life and lives she may had touched. She never gave up praying, and believing that she would survive.
Rwandan Genocide
Kaylan West
World Literature 3 Period
Mrs. Lane- Warren
10/3/12
Kaylan West
World Literature 3rd Period
Mrs. Lane- Warren
Rwandan Genocide
Immaculee has a very tough time looking at all the dead bodies. In chapter 23, she and a friend flew in a helicopter for the first time. They went all over their country looking down at what Immaculee described as her beautiful country. She wished that she was a bird at the time of the genocide so that she would have to endure the pain and suffering. Her flying over the scene brought back a lot of memories for Immaculee.
Some of the survivors including Immaculee went back to their villages to see what was left. When Immaculee saw her house, she was distraught. She thought about her childhood and how many years her family had been in that house. She was speechless and didn’t know how to react to what she was looking at. Her brother Damascene’s remains were buried by his friends. Deep inside Immaculee started to bury all of the horrible things that occurred. As time continued, it slowly crept back into her mind.
Immaculee had just begun to heal from her horrifying experiences in Rwanda. Now her wounds were forced open again. She tried to remember symbolically burying the dead by remembering all of the good things about everyone she knew had died. They all had a place in her heart, and would never be forgotten, especially her mother, father, brothers and other family members and friends.
Immaculee had a very hard time sleeping after what she had been through that day. She tossed and turned, trying to re- bury what she had saw and experienced. It was so bad that her heart hungered for revenge. Immaculee became very stressed and angry. However, she knew God wouldn’t allow her to do what her heart wanted to. She got down out of her bed, and down on her knees and prayed.
