Claire Green

Honors English
Mrs. Schmidt
4/29/16
Writing Prompts
1. Although, this quote may seem strange it holds a lot of meaning to the plot of this
book. This shows how much the Tutsis truly suffered. I believe Immaculee is so
exhausted from the fear and pain she and the other Tutsis are being put through,
that she is jealous of an animal. There are many quotes that reflect how much the
women were truly suffering such as We were so exhausted, hungry, cramped,
and hot, (page 75). She is jealous of birds because they arent scared or being
hunted. They are free to do as they please. This is the kind of life Immaculee
wishes she could live. Immaculee is saddened by what humans are capable of. It
is not only terrible that people are being segregated because of their beliefs, but
also that innocent humans are being hunted and killed.
2. I believe that there is a big change in Immaculees prayers from the beginning of
the book until now. When Immaculee first start praying in the bath room she
constantly finds herself hearing the voice of the devil in her thoughts. She
struggles to talk to God and pray for what she knows is right. Immaculee doesnt
have the self-confidence in the beginning to continue to ask God for help and
forgiveness. During part two Immaculee becomes less focused on fear and
consumes her time with prayer. Immaulee begins to develop a routine for her
prayer style during her days in the bathroom. My first prayer is always to thank
god that the pastors house had been built, so that it could shelter us during the
genocide. Then I thanked him for having the architect design the house with an

extra bathroom, and for prompting the pastor to buy a wardrobe of exactly the
right dimensions to conceal our hiding place, (Page 84) Immaculees has gained
much more strength to pray at this point in the book. She is no longer constantly
fighting with the devil, and through god she has found the strength to pray for the
forgiveness of the killers.
3. On page 93 Immaculee is struggling with finding the strength to pray for the
killers. I could no longer pray to a god love with a heart full of hatred, (page
93). Immacluee can not find a way to truly forgive people who would perform
such cruel actions. Although, Immaculee has tried to pray for their forgiveness she
knows that her prayer are not genuine because she cant pray for people who
would kill innocent men, women, and children. They were having fun while
going about killing people! I cursed them, wishing that theyd burn in hell, (Page
92). Every time Immaculee gained news of the terrible thing the killers were
doing, it became harder for her to find the strength to pray for them. Experiences
such as loosing her family, and listening to the Hutus singing about killing
contribute greatly to Immaculees dilemma.
4. Pastor Murinzi hears rumors that Immaculees father was a part of the RPF, and
he was planning to start a civil war. He tells Immaculee that it is her fathers fault
the genocide is occurring. The pastor yells at Immaculee saying that her father
was hiding over 600 guns, and he was responsible for all of the women, men, and
children being hunted by the Hutus. Immaculee is infuriated with the pastor. My
spirits plummeted. I felt certain that no one would spread such blatant lies against
my father not unless they had killed him first, (Page 96) For the first time
since she went into hiding, Immaculee raised her voice and defied the man who

was protecting her life. Immaculee explains how most of the rumors the pastor
said couldnt have even been possible. She shames him for turning his back on her
father and believing the foolish rumors that the Hutus were trying to spread.
5. Sony was an elder Tutsi women. Sony had just lost her husband, and she had no
one to protect her. She came to the pastor begging him to hide her. Immaculee
over heard the conversation from the bathroom. She heard the pastor send the lady
away saying, Get away from here. I cant hide Tutsis, Im sorry. You cant come
in here, (Murinzi 100). This conversation greatly dismayed Immaculee even
more, for she knew the women would not survive. Once the pastor had sent her
away she didnt stand a chance against the Hutu.