March 17th

 "Against whom? Against the world."

- Page 224, Out of Africa 


        Dinesen in this short story talks about her time in Africa on a farm. It was here that she was surrounded by animals and wildlife for majority of her time. Primarily, she focuses on Lulu who was the animal she was closest to. One day, Lulu did not return to her home and instead, went into the forest to be "married" and remained with her husband. Every morning, Lulu would return to the edge of the forest and visit her home, edging her husband to do the same and not be fearful of the people she once knew. However, her husband never came around and remained scared of humans. 

        I think Dinesen tells us the story of Lulu because it shows the true power of femininity, even in animals. Lulu was loyal to her home, the people who raised her and loved her, yet created a family of her own and wished to conjoin the two to have a life of happiness. However, Lulu was also faced with many trials as a domesticated animal in the wild, and needed to prove that she was not a threat. In this case, I think Lulu stands for any woman in a new situation, whether it be a new town, job or relationship. 

        Personally, I think Dinesen is showing her own personality and characteristics through the story of Lulu-- since she is writing under a penname and not her actual name. Lulu is showing the confidence and validity that maybe, she doesn't thinks he has. 


        

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

March 13th

 "I can date events by the clothes I wore, "  - Page 716, Landscape for a Good Woman          Steedman uses her piece to talk about the qualms of childhood and the issues she faced, predominantly with her parents. Her parents' seemingly truthful marriage was actually a facade, one that was never legalized and her own father had had a whole life before he had met her mother. Her mother had lied about the jobs she had when she was little, saying she worked in an office when she didn't and using her professional status to say something about their lives at home.           Steedman uses her childhood through the lense and sights of an actual child to talk about poverty and cluelessness. The child-like sense of wonder that everyone has and the adaptation to notice the tiniest of details as you get older in your environment are all pointed out. She talks about the restriction of food and the importance of education and the idea ...
Read more

February 27th

 "You never find a smoker blabbering and blubbering his secrets to the opium seller. We are proud and reserved." - Page 351, Times and Places           In this piece, Hahn speaks about her time in China where she became addicted to opium. She talks about how she had always wanted to experience it, and when given the opportunity, she took it. From that day on, she smoked multiple times a day. A few months later, she is diagnosed with Jaundice and explains to her doctor that she smoked 11-12 times per day and had not noticed the extent of her illness. A few months after that, she offered herself to hypnosis to become sober and get over her use of opium.           To me, I think that Hahn showed the true strength that a woman holds in the latter half of the piece. She had to the will power to both admit that something was wrong and she had an issue, as well as get herself together and quit her use. However, the man that she f...
Read more

February 20th

 "I've never met a woman more cowardly than I am." - Page 236          In this recount, Duras tells of her time waiting for her husband to return from Dachau (the concentration camp). She says that she is cowardess for waiting for his return when she knows, deep in her heart, he is not coming home. However, one day she receives a call that he has been found and two individuals dress up as Frenchmen and save him. She describes the experience of seeing him for the first time, the lack of human there was, the horror she endured by looking at him, and the problems they faced to get him back to health. He couldn't eat for 17 days, he couldn't sleep or really live. He was a breathing carcass.           To me, the worst thing about this situation was the description of the toilet and how they had to offer cushion because he could not sit on his own weight and his skin was too raw to rub against the seat. Just this small encounter with...
Read more