"Out Of Africa"
From “Out Of Africa” by Isak Dinesen
I chose to write about 4 quotes from the excerpt which describes Isak’s relationship to animals, especially Lulu.
“The moment that I had fallen asleep I was woken up again by a great feeling of terror. The picture of the boys in the small buck, which had now collected and taken shape, stood up for me, clearly, as if it had been painted, and I sat up in bed as appalled as if someone had been trying to choke me.” (Dinesen, 221)
“But Lulu was not really gentle, she had the so-called devil in her. She had, to the highest degree, the feminine trait of appearing to be exclusively on the defense, concentrating on guarding the integrity of her being, when she was really, with every force in her, meant upon the offensive.” (Dinesen, 224)
“Lulu of the woods was a superior, independent being, a change of heart had come upon her, she was in possession. If I had happened to have known a young princess in exile, and when she was still a pretender to the throne, and had met her again in her full queen estate after she had come to her rights, our meeting would have the same character.” (Dinesen, 226)
“A white man who wanted to say a pretty thing to you would write: “I can never forget you.” The African says: “We do not think of you, that you can ever forget us.” (Dinesen, 231)
The first quote describes the moment that Isak knew that she needed to rescue “a small buck” that she saw on the side of the road. This quote shows her deep connection to animals. She knew that if she left the small animal by itself that it would die. She compares the feeling of choking to the feeling of leaving the animal out to die.
The second and third quotes describe the difference between Lulu before and after she started living in the woods. Before Lulu started living in the woods Isak described her as “gentle” and was “concentrating on guarding the integrity of her being.” After Lulu started living in the woods described her as “independent” and “she was in possession.” She compares Lulu to a “ a young princess in exile” to a “full queen estate after she had come to her rights” implicating that Lulu became more self-sufficient.
The fourth quote describes the difference between Americans and Africans according to Isak. Americans say that they will never forget you, but Africans say that they know that they will not forget them, so they won't have to think about forgetting them.
Word Count: 440
I like the quotes that you chose. I found it interesting that Dinesen gave Lulu human descriptions. She made Lulu sound like another person or normal family member. She had such a close connection with her, it was beautiful. She had raised Lulu from when she was a baby so she had this bond with her that was indescribable. I found that the way Americans vs Africans wrote and spoke was interesting, because initially reading the letters it sounded like they are demanding you to never forget them but understanding how they speak and write it actually means the opposite.
ReplyDeleteI really like the quotes that you chose and the analysis that you attached to them. When I was reading this, what really stuck out to me was the imagery that Dinesen used. Everything that she described was described to such a detail that it made the reader feel like they were actually experiencing everything alongside Dinesen- rather than merely reading about it. I also thought that it was interesting that Lulu the antelope was described to such a degree that it almost sounded like Dinesen was describing another human being. She was made such an integral part of the family that, while I was reading, there were times where I forgot that she wasn't a human part of the family, but rather an animal.
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