Strength in what remains Raphael-Mejia Willpower and its merits In the book “Strength in what remains” hy Tracy Kidder, the main protagonist named Deo was a man that faced many hurdles in his life. From escaping the Genocide in Rwanda and Burundi, which was because of the domestic racial dispute betn’een Hutus and Tutsi (groups of ethnic people) to his time in New York. Deo faced insurmountable odds and opposition. Despite this set back, it seemed as if providence was on Doos side, wanting him countless fortunes and blessings.
Many different factors can he attributed to Deo’s success hur evertheless, luck and his hard work was m•hat paved his path forvvard. To attribute all of Deo’s success to luck would be to undermine the sheer willpower he possesses and his willingness to fight for his dreams. Deos experience uuith Mohammad and McKenna shows us glimpses of the drive he has to achieve success. His self-motivation and character is what ultimately led him to achieve the goal he set for himself. The reason for the overwhelming amount of people trying to help him were not only based on luck. ut also based on Deo’s personality, his beliefs which he obtained from his parents, and those that. e held on his own. The events that resulted in Deo leaving Burundi are pertinent to understand the reason he moved to New York, During the year 1993, Burundi was a country that was located in South eastern Africa, a country that was and still is plagued by racial ethnic divide between the Hutus and Tutsi. During this year, the first democratically elected president Melchior Ndadaye was voted on, Which was a significant achievement for this country.
Despite the presidents efforts to appease the tensions between the ethnic groups, a military coup took place by he Majority of the Tutsi army which eventually tailed but nonetheless took the life of the president. This sparked a civil war between Hutus and Tutsi that lasted a decade in What would be called the “Surundi civil war”. Deo was brought up by his Mother and Father, and because of their guidance, he was taught to not have prejudice on Hutus despite being a Tutsi himself _ Deo’s lack prejudice was what triggered his curiosity, and questioned, why his fellow men were killing each other, and what were the reasons for this atrocity?
The book mentions a passage that further shows Deos lack of racial tension wareness, on page 35 it says, “The names seemed to have something to do With cows. If a man gave a cow to his brother, the giver might call the other his Hutu. It followed that many people with cows were Tutsis. Deo tried this theory with his grandfather, his Grandfather who was usually fairly gentle with him, actually spat in his face, and said, This is prejudice! Shut up! Who is teaching you this” (p. 35 “strength in what remains*’ This shows us that he is unaware of the racial tension between the people.
We can see this as evidence that his upbringing was ifferent from that of his fellow
citizens. Deo’s parents were very careful to protect him from racism, which really sets the tone for his values in the future and can be seen abundanrty during the end of the book feel that this trait of “color blind” or in Deas case and Tutsi blind” realty uplifted his moral beliefs, showing full well his adherence to his parents teachings and his sense of fairness. During the book, you can see how Deo had no care what so ever whether one was a Hutu or a Tutsi.
Furthermore Deo built his own clinic in hopes to help his fellow men despite their ethnic diversity. Throughout Dess journey, he meets many people that turn him away but also those that aid him. In the first few chapters he has faithful encounter with Mohammad, who in my opinion, is one of the most important characters in the book. Mohammad helps Deo find a house to stay in and even helps him look for his job. Deo never facilitated or did anything to indicate he wanted help, so why did Mohammad EO out of his way to do so?
The way see it, Mohammad knew Deo was a refugee from Burundi which had international awareness due to the genocide. He musbze have known the difficulty Deo had gone through, he life and death situations that he faced and hove terrified he msut be. During their conversations in the airport, Mohammad and Deo were able to converse in French which increased their camaraderie. One could say that Deo was lucky to have met Mohammad, uuhich is completely true. The difference is, after their encounter, Deo pushed himself to start a new life in a place he has never been to before.
New York city. Despite his ghastly living conditions and environment, Deo struggled to survive. Working for hours without proper compensation. being bused and even laughed at. If were in that situation, it would be difficult to even get out of bed. Deo was indeed lucky, but he capitalized on that opportunity by continuing to struggle through adversity, he wanted to have a proper life without fearing for his own safery. We can see the depth of Deo’s determination in doing what needs to be done especially the beginning of Chapter four.
In June Deo was struggling in conducting his daily activities such as his job, due to internal pain, mostly in the abdominal area. To Deo “He imagined worms gnawing on his intestines He robably had intestinal worms or amoebas—from all the dirty water he’d had to drink on the run” (p. 48), despite his immense pain, he continues to go through his days, “He gritted his teeth, his stomach muscles flexing around his rising nausea, trying to strangle it” (p. 49).. If Deo succumbed to the pain he was feeling that day, he wouldwe never met Sharon McKenna, a woman he encountered while delivering groceries.
It can be sn•id that McKenna was sole reason tor the fateful encounter with the Wolves later on, Indeed this was another stroke of luck Deo stumbled upon. He was just doing his job
and yet, he was once again blessed with good fortune. Mckenna persuaded Deo to do many things he did nor. wish, such as setting up an appointment with a doctor for Deos abdominal pains, buying him books he wanted and even going to the dentist. Many times Deo wanted to avoid McKenna but eventually, was unable to do sm He kept going back over and over again, despite his pride getting belittled and being humiliated, it seemed as if he knew that he needed her.
He got the most out of the help she gave and continued to do so while at the same time, belittling imself for the very same reason. Despite his annoyance for her persistence, and her determination to impose in Dens life, he never let it ‘truly’ deter him and trudged forward. A lot Of people do not handle annoyance and nuisances very easily, nor do we have the tolerance to deal with it, yet. this is another example on hæJ Deos upbringing helped him with the difficult decisions he faces later on in There are many more situations in which Deo was “lucky, we can also keep asking “Why him? But despite his fluke encounters, Deo capitalized on almost very single one of them and using these blessings to further his career in life and in spirit. Though he was humiliated, degraded and ashamed, it did not uuaver his determination to become a doctor. Mckenna and Mohammad are just some at the situations where Deo chose to be proactive, where Deo showed his grit determination, and value, Throughout his lourneys we cannot deny that Deo was indeed fortunate, but ultimately. it was his willpower that really pushed him to accomplish his goals, in the end, his luck was just a catalyst for further progression.