An Ordinary Man Rusesabagina Analysis

Importance of Words The act or process of using words, sounds, signs, or behaviors to express or exchange information to express your ideas, thoughts, or feelings to someone else is to communicate, according to Merriam-Webster dictionary. In An Ordinary Man by Paul Rusesabagina, Rusesabagina shares his experiences during the Rwandan Genocide. During this event Rusesabagina was the manager of the Hotel Mille Collines. In 1994 Rwanda descended into chaos, but Rusesabagina was one of the few people that remained calm. By keeping calm, Rusesabagina was able to protect and hide 1,268 Tutsi and Moderate Hutu refugees from the Interahamwe militia and potentially their death. Rusesabagina also shares his remarkable experiences during the genocide, …show more content…
Protecting people from a genocide is an extremely demanding duty, especially when in a country that does not have a plethora of supplies to work with. Rusesabagina single handedly prevented over one thousand people from being slaughtered to death, but believe it or not, many people did not approve of his methods. Rusesabagina was a very words-based man and favored solving problems through conversation rather than through violence. Many had the opinion that Rusesabagina’s methods did not make him a good man and he would find more success through the use of other methods. Including this instance in time, “... she told me I was acting like a coward for not acquiring a firearm. ‘You know that I have always said I fight with words, not guns,’ I told her” (Rusesabagina 70-71). Rusesabagina believes the better option of problem solving is to take the time to use words in order to minimize the amount of mishaps while trying to survive the war. This theme was also conveyed by Rusesabagina living by example and acting as he feels others should act. The explanation of Rusesabagina’s choices while battling war help illustrate the importance of words when trying to overcome