Literature Analysis 7

Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen

1. This stroy is about a farm that the narrator had when he was in Africa. The narrator never says her name, but we know that she is Danish.  The farm was located in Ngong, which is now Kenya.  The farm which had over 6,000 acres of land, grew mainly coffee beans, the other remianing acres, were covered with trees and houses where the natives lived.  The natives were from a tribe called, Kikuyu.  In exchange for giving the chance to live on the farm, they had to work a certain number of days per year.  The narrator is very attached to the natives.  she runs her own school for the children and even most of the adults, to learn to read and write.  She also gives them medical care.  The whole story is a flashback for the narrator who is remembering the events that happend on the farm.

2. One of the main themes of the story is that it doesn't matter what race or religion you are, we are all still humans.  When the Europeans invaded most of Africa, they treated the Afircans as if they were animals not as people.

3. The tone of the story is different had times. It can be dark and depressing, when the Europeans invade, and it can be happy and relaxing, when the narrator is talking about all the good times she had with the natives and the farm.

4. The whole is book is one big flashback.  The narrator is talking about the events that occured when she was living on the farm.  There are also symbols in the story.  Lions, for example, are kings of Africa, they represent aristocracy that is found in the African forests.  Another symbol is Lulu, the antelope that the narrator adopts.  It represents the connection of the farm to the landscape that surrounds it.