Left to Tell is written for Western audiences, and therefore many facets unique to Rwandan culture are explained so readers can comprehend the nuances of the book’s themes. Certain aspects of Rwandan culture may be completely foreign to Western audiences, such as the practices for familial surnames: “In Rwanda, every family member has a different last name. Parents give each child a unique surname at birth, one that reflects the feelings of the mother or father at the moment they first lay eyes on their new baby” (5). Information like this throughout the text offers a window into Rwandan culture.

Tribalism is another motif necessary to understand in order to comprehend the divide between Hutus and Tutsis. American readers may reference their own country’s Civil War, which was primarily a conflict that had to do with geography and political orientation (the abolitionist North vs. pro-slavery South), but this does not adequately compare to the Rwandan division between Hutus and Tutsis. In Chapter 2, Immaculée gives an overview of the conflict, to inform Western readers: “But our parents didn’t teach us about our own history. We didn’t know that Rwanda was made up of three tribes: a Hutu majority, a Tutsi minority; and a very small number of Twa, a pygmy-like tribe of forest dwellers” (14).