Out
of Africa
|
Book
| Movie
| Discussion
questions
|
Book:
"I had a farm in Africa...."
"If I know a song of Africa, of the giraffe and the African new moon
lying on her back, of the plows in the fields and the sweaty faces
of the coffee pickers, does Africa have a song of me? Will the air
over the plain quiver with a color that I have had on, or the
children invent a game in which my name is, or the full moon throw a
shadow over the gravel of the drive that was like me, or will the
eagle of the Ngong Hills look out for me? "
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Movie:
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Discussion
questions:
1. The movie Out of Africa made in 1985 was a smashing box office hit. What did you
think of the movie?
2. The book Out of Africa was already quite famous before the movie came out. Who
doesn't know its first phrase "I once had a farm in Africa." by
heart? What did you think of the book?
3. Baroness Karen Blixen is a foreigner living in Africa.
Do you think she supports or critizes the colonial
system? Is there a difference between the book and the movie
on this issue?
4.
The animals and the African landscape play a major part in both book
and movie. What is the importance of the animals and the landscape in
Karen Blixen's vision of Africa?
5.
Lulu is the antilope that was adopted by Blixen. She lives both in the
forest and in the farmhouse. What is her role in the story?
What is Lulu's role in the book and the movie?
6.
In real life, Karen Blixen and Denys Finch-Hatton were lovers. How
evident is their relationship in the book and the movie? Why is there
a difference between book and movie?
What did you think of Meryl Streep and Robert Redford as a on-screen
couple?
7.
"It was and is becoming, I thought, that Emmanuelson should have
sought refuge with the Masai, and that they should have received him.
The true aristocracy and the true proletariat of the world are both in
understanding with tragedy.They differ in this way from the
bourgeoisie of all classes". Karen Blixen is a baroness. What is her view on aristocracy? Can
Africans be aristocrats as well? What does she think of "middle class"
white settlers?
8.
"It's not her fault, Baroness. She's a lion."
Lions are very important in book and movie. What do they symbolize?
9.
How does Karen Blixen see God? What is according to her the
relatioship between God and the African
landscape?
10.
Dinesen likes to tell stories and loves for instance the Stories of
1,001 nights. What role do stories play in Out of Africa?
Do
you want to discuss this book or
others? Join
the group.
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