Deogratias Quotes

In the graphic novel, Deogratias: A Tale of Rwanda, by Stassen, we are introduced to the story of a young boy name Deogratias and we follow him through his journey during the time of the Rwanda genocide. Deogratias was just a young normal boy, who was mischievous and curious just like any other boys his age. However, we begin to see how the Rwanda genocide affected Deogratias negatively and through the unbearable guilt it led to his mental deterioration. Through the vivid illustrations and storytelling of Stassen, we get to see glimpses of Deogratias’ past and how each event played a role in the lost of Deogratias’ humanity. For a young boy to be in such an environment is deeply traumatizing, but at the same time he also committed many unspeakable

On the very first page, we are introduced to a damaged and tattered looking Deogratias (1). From the expression on his face to the way he stood, it seemed that there is something very wrong with him and that he suffered through a terrible experience. It is not known right away what happened to him so we could only guess as to what it is. Through his flashbacks, we see that Deogratias was not always like this and that before he was quite a healthy looking boy. In one panel in the flashback, Deogratias looks normal and his clothes are not tattered at all (4). He looks lively and sane compared to the first image that we see of Deogratias. The contrast between the two Deogratias is so great that it leaves us wondering what really happened to make him that way. As the story unfolds, we begin to piece together the series of event of what happened that cause Deogratias to become so deranged and broken. Stassen chose to write the story in way that the story just kind of falls together. We do not have a full understand as to what really happened till we reach the end. When we do reach the end, it leaves us speechless and with many conflicting emotions. Stassen was able to capture the brutality of the genocide perfectly and for such a young boy to experience such thing it is not surprising that he became so traumatized. Even though before we did not have a favorable opinion of Deogratias, it begins to change as the story unfolds and it us feel that he deserves our