The Rosary Symbol Analysis

The Rosary is a set of prayers Catholics recite, and the term also refers to the string of beads and crucifix held while reciting these prayers. Throughout Left to Tell, the Rosary symbolizes Immaculée’s commitment to her Catholic faith and her family. As Immaculée reiterates throughout the book, she credits her survival of the genocide to her faith in God and to the Roman Catholic teachings with which she was brought up. Even when the world is crumbling around her, Immaculée finds peace through her Rosary. It reminds her of the most familiar, constant, and fundamental parts of her life: God, her religion, and her family. Indeed, one particular Rosary is especially significant in the book—the Rosary that Leonard gives Immaculée just as the genocide is beginning. Throughout her time hiding in Pastor Murinzi’s bathroom, Immaculée clutches this Rosary, and it reminds her that even though she is trapped in a room full of strangers, she is never really alone. God is always with her, and, in a spiritual sense, so is her father and the rest of her family—even after they perish.