Out of Africa / Isak Dinesen
Word Count: 236
Parker Greene
From Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen
" Kamante brought her up on a sucking-bottle, and he also shut her up at night, for we had to be careful of her as the leopards were up round the house after nightfall. So she held to him and followed him about. From time to time when he did not do what she wanted, she gave his thin legs a hard butt with her young head, and she was so pretty that you could not help … " (pg. 222)
Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen talks a lot about the wildlife around them and how life changes for the better when you have a pet. Isak talks about how the only pet they have really had are Scotch Deerhound dogs around the house, until they rescued Lulu a young female bushbuck antelope. Isak first saw Lulu being sold on the side of the road but was uninterested at the time, until that night when Isak had a bad feeling about the young bushbuck antelope thinking of the negative care of the animal. After that as the quote above shows Kamante is the one who takes majority of the responsibility of Lulu while becoming ever more friendly with each other. Lulu was a wild animal growing up as a household pet, which later led to Lulu leaving due to the restraints upon her, leaving the family.
I think that this excerpt really speaks about loyalty. When reading the introduction, Phyllis Rose speaks about how Dinesen's husband left her on the plantation for money and women. When Lulu is introduced, although she is an animal she is given very human like characteristics. One of those characteristics is loyalty and how she always comes back to the house. I think that Dinesen was longing and searching for that after being left by her husband.
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