An Ordinary Man Essay

He tells his story about the genocide in Rwanda during 1994. I picked Mr. Rusesabagina because it is his autobiography and he is telling the story. Also, it’s easy for me to see how the simply rules of being hospitable can save the day. While reading the book, I came across an important observation of Mr. Rusesabagina. He stated that “facts are almost irrelevant to most people.

We make decisions based on emotion and then justify them later with whatever facts we can scrounge up in our defense.

” This really stuck with me. I see this used all the time by kids my age and adults. In the book there is a recurring theme about words and how people use them. He states “Words are the most effective weapons of death in man’s arsenal. But they can also be powerful tools of life. They may be the only ones. ” Mr. Rusesabagina had no weapons except for his words and he used them masterfully to save over 1200 people in the hotel.

The genocide in Rwanda took place in 1994 so Mr. Rusesabagina use of words is definitely relevant today. This story has a linear plot line. Mr. Rusesabagina starts at the beginning by giving the reader some background history about Rwanda. He then moves on chronologically recounting the events of the genocide. Mr. Rusesabagina was a decent, normal and good person that was put in an extraordinary situation. In his book he states “I did what I believed to be the ordinary things that an ordinary man would do.

I said no to outrageous actions the way I thought that anybody would, and it still mystifies me that so many others could say yes. ” This line says it all. Mr. Rusesabagina was “An Ordinary Man” put in an extraordinary situation and during the ten weeks of the Rwandan genocide he proved that we can all make a difference by doing what we all know is good and right in the eyes of God. This is an awesome book that everyone needs to read. There is good and evil in his story but in the end good prevails.