Paul Rusesabagina's War With Words

War With Words The use of communication in the modern day can lead to either utter havoc, peaceful reconciliation or a joyous celebration; it all depends on how the series of small syllabled words are stringed together. Some individuals may choose to impact the world negatively though their words, while others unite a community and do heroic things by simply speaking. In the novel/autobiography An Ordinary Man, by Paul Rusesabagina, words are used in many different ways to both save and take away innocent lives. The novel follows the 1994 Rwandan Genocide from the perspective of Paul as he tried relentlessly to save lives. Tensions form past disputes between the two ethic majorities, Tutsi and Hutu, had been building for many years. On the eve of April 6, 1994 the tension snapped, resulting in a full blown genocide. Within the one hundred day genocide, …show more content…
Only a few days after the genocide began, Paul was ordered to provide access to the Hotel, resulting in himself, and his family, being pried away from their home. While begin transported to the hotel, the caravan suddenly stopped. Paul was moved out of the car, and left standing among hundreds of slaughtered bodies. An army general then commanded him to kill his family as a rite of passage. However, Paul had a keen eye for emotion, and he noticed that the general had a sense of fear or guilt in is eyes. With this knowledge, Paul decided to talk his way out of trouble, “All I needed to do was find the right words, everything now depended on my words” (Rusesabagina 89). Paul’s quick thinking, ability to understand the situation, and use of communication lead him to saving the lives of twenty innocent people. Confrontations similar to this occurred multiple times throughout the novel, but Paul was able to negotiate, persuade and convince every individual who came with orders to