Willpower and its merits

In the book “Strength in what remains” by 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 between 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 Deos side, granting him countless fortunes and blessings. Many different factors can be attributed to Deo’s success but nevertheless, luck and his hard work was what paved his path forward. To attribute all of Deo’s success to luck would be to undermine the sheer willpower he possesses and his willingness …show more content…

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 go out of his way to do so? The way I see it, Mohammad knew Deo was a refugee from Burundi which had international awareness due to the genocide. He must’ve have known the difficulty Deo had gone through, the life and death situations that he faced and how 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, which 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 abused and even laughed at. If I 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 safety.

We can see the depth of Deo’s determination in doing what needs to be done especially the beginning of Chapter four. In June 1994, Deo was struggling in conducting his daily activities such as his job, due to internal