Analysis Of Deogratias: A Tale Of Rwanda

Ever thought about writing a book? If you have, let me give you a word of advice: the biggest challenge you will come across is not the story, but in creating a character. In order to be a captivating writer, you would need to create someone your readers could connect or even, relate to and when people feel sympathy for your character, then you know you have succeeded. This is generally achieved through flawed and conflicting characters that pursue a noble cause, or at least in their own mind. In Deogratias: A Tale of Rwanda, Jean-Philipe Stassen presents Deogratias as an innocent figure, which belies the fact that he is capable of committing atrocities and then attributing it for the greater good. We see the source of his miseries that defines
His time with Benina after sleeping with her is cut short when Julius interrupts his day to rally Deogratias for his cause, which was to crush the Tutsi cockroaches (59). Deogratias could have just as easily given away Benina’s position but instead, chooses to hide her away in his home (58). As conflicting as it may seem, I sought to see the best in him as he had acted in the best interest of Benina not once, but twice, the latter being the time when the French sergeant was carrying out a roadblock (22-23). If he was truly in love with Benina, then what influenced his decisions later on in the book? For instance, we see that he tried to persuade Appolinaria into succumbing to his sexual desire while he was in a relationship with Benina and second, he did not stand up for the two girls he supposedly loved when Julius gave the orders to have them raped and murdered (39, 74). As we consider the extent of his actions, some might say that he prioritized his survival, as would many of us. While it is safe to say that this holds for many of us, it does not hold in Deogratias’ case. His choice to rape Appolinaria was not by chance, as we know he still had feelings for her, one that he probably resolved upon raping and killing her (71). At this point, we see that his actions from there on
I can sugarcoat it all I like, but it doesn’t change the fact that resolving murder with murder does not accomplish anything. Unfortunately, Deogratias confuses revenge for justice, leading him to commit murders under the pretense that he had the authority to do so. We see that he cleverly uses the sergeant’s disregard for the cultural norm of tasting beer for poison to kill him (6). We see a significant level of intelligence in a supposed ‘madman’ and it makes us wonder whether Deogratias may have had the potential to restore balance in a country where chaos reigned freely. I believe that this might have been a better way for him to seek redemption. Of course, some may object that the murders he committed were intended to alleviate his guilt as well as redeeming himself for his previous transgressions. In his mind, he might thought that by ridding the world of the true vermin like the French sergeant and Julius, the world might eventually be better off. However, the murder of Bosco, a soldier of the Rwandan Patriotic Front whose only fault had been to let Deogratias live, puts our discussion of sympathy for the central figure back into perspective. Consequently, we see that Deogratias not only acted on loose judgments, but he also failed to distinguish right actions from