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Themes In A Sunday At The Pool In Kigali

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Evil at its worst is a man being inhumane to another man. The very cruel actions that people perpetrate against others because of their status is an undying theme in A Sunday at the pool in Kigali. In Valcourt’s journey as the protagonist, he travels from Canada to Kigali. Within a short time of his arrival, his eyes are opened to the darkest side of humanity. He encounters rape, theft, murder, AIDS, physical abuse, and adultery. Within Gil Courtemanche’s novel, A Sunday at the pool in Kigali, and numerous real-life examples unequivocally prove that an individual's actions and development are intrinsically linked to their circumstances and experiences.
Valcourt went into Kigali to set up a TV station designed to educate the citizens of Kigali about Aids, however, Valcourt discovers government regulations which prevent him from doing so. While staying in Kigali trying to figure out a legal way to run his show, Valcourt has an encounter with a beautiful 22-year-old woman named Gentile that he eventually falls in love with. While pursuing his romance with Gentile, both Gentile and her race the Tutsis become endangered because of the Hutus trying to take over their land, therefore Valcourt makes it his goal to protect Gentile disregarding the fact that Gentile has a high possibility of her near death, “Monsieur, I ask you for the hand of your daughter Gentile and the hospitality of this hill, because here is where I want to live” (Courtemanche 200). Valcourt, as a result of

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