Nadine Gordimer presents a naive narrator in this story. Explore this narrator's naivete, citing at least three examples from the reading. Be specific and use page citations where necessary.
The narrator in "The Ultimate Safari" is extremely naive. Throughout the story, she makes remarks and has thoughts that express her naivete. After she describes the loss of her mother, she still believes that she will return. She says on several occasions that she "stayed there all day. Waiting for her"(1366). Later, she says that in the future she will return to her home and "our mother may be waiting for us" (1372). She is naive to think that her mother will return to her as if nothing happened.
Also, she asks her grandmother, "how will you go to church now even without shoes?" (1367). The narrator does not understand that they are facing bigger problems than the idea of church. Instead, they are struggling to find food and water. Most likely, they will not be worrying about or attending church.
The narrator has a naive idea of what the future will hold. She believes that she will return home and meet up with her mother and grandfather. She says that "they'll be home, and I'll rememeber them" (1372). In reality, both her grandfather and mother have passed away, and her old home is destroyed and will never be the same.
Nadine Gordimer presents the narrator of “The Ultimate Safari” as being very naive. In many situations she shows signs of being naive. One in particular is in the middle of a horrible circumstance of having to leave their homes she is primarily worried about her grandmothers church clothes. To the grandmother she says, “How will you go to church now even without shoes” (1367). This shows she is not completely aware of the seriousness of the event taking place in her life at that moment, because if she did, she would not be concerned over that. Another situation is when her grandfather is lost and the group is moving on without him, instead of being mature about the situation and understanding she becomes emotional. She recalls, “Tears came out of my eyes and nose onto my hands but our grandmother took no notice” (1370). This shows the lack of sophistication she has when it comes to overwhelming times. The biggest event that shows her being naive is at the end when she is expressing her hopes of the future and what will happen. She explains, “if there are no bandits any more, our mother may be waiting for us. And maybe when we left our grandfather, he was only left behind, he found his way somehow, slowly, through the Kruger park, and he’ll be there” (1372). This happy ending she is hoping for is unrealistic and very far fetched, showing her naiveness towards the big picture of life and the happenings of that time in her country.
Nadine Gordimer portrays the little girl in the story, "The Ultimate Safari" as a very naive 11 year old girl. The little girl thinks that she will have a home to go to with her mother and her father after the bandits leave, but this does not happen in the end. The little girl states, "We were glad to think there mist be such a place" (1367). She is hoping to get home after this and getting away from the forest. When the grandfather gets lost in the forest and they are searching for him, and then she states "Tears came out of my eyes and nose onto my hands but our grandmother took no notice" (1370). This clearly shows that she didn't really care for the main situation at the time. The girl is also naive when she was searching for her grandfather, she was sure he would return, but he didn't, "So we looked again, and by now there were paths we'd made by going through the grass many times, it would be easy for him to find us if we couldn't find him" (1370). In the situation they were in it was likely to believe that the grandfather would be lost forever, but she thought that he would return.
The narrator in “The Ultimate Safari” is naïve. This shows multiple times throughout the story. One of the examples of her adolescence is when her grandfather falls behind while they are walking through the Kruger Park. She stops the people and makes them wait for him, and still has hope at the end of the story that he is okay: “… maybe when we left our grandfather, he was only left behind, he found his way somehow, slowly, through the Kruger park, and he’ll be there” (1372). She also has a false sense of hope when thinking of her mother. Although the reader assumes her to be dead, as well as the rest of the characters in the story, the narrator believes she will be home waiting for them when they return home: “… if there are no bandits any more, our mother may be waiting for us” (1372). Another example of her naivety is when she keeps asking her grandmother “… are we there yet, are we there yet…” (1367). This shows that she does not quite understand the situation they are in.
The narrator of "The Ultimate Safari" is very naive. She does not fully understand what exactly is going on around her. While fleeing with her grandmother she said, "how will you go to church now even without shoes"(1376). She does not see how this is the least of her grandmother's worries. The narrator has so much hope for the future not realizing the aftermath to come. She still does not understand that her loved ones have died, "they'll be home and I'll remember them"(1372). She will be devastated when she truly finds out what happened to them. The narrator refuses the death of her mother, "our mother may be waiting for us"(1372). She is naive to all of her surroundings and deaths.
The narrator of "The Ultimate Safari" is a young, optimistic girl. She first shows her naivete when she sees her grandmother trade her church clothes for supplies. She asks, "...how will you go to church now even without shoes..." (1367). The family is going on a long journey and will have no use for church clothes along the way. The narrator does not realize there are so many more important things to worry about than what to wear to church when the get where they are going.
When the grandfather goes into the elephant grass and never returns, the narrator does not believe he is dead. He was so weak and on the verge of death throughout the whole story, but she still thinks he could be alive. She even sees "those ugly birds with hooked beaks and plucked necks flying round and round above [them]" (1370). The birds are obviously scavengers who have come because of the grandfather's death, but she does not realize this.
At the end of the story, the narrator speaks of her plan to return to their home village after the war. Her mother was most likely killed by bandits, but she thinks "after the war, if there are no bandits any more, [their] mother may be waiting for [them]" (1372). She also still believes her grandfather survived and will be with her mother when she returns. This especially shows how naive the narrator is in her childish optimism. She refuses to see that she will probably never see either of them again.
The narrator is a very naive character. She is young and can not fully understand the concept of war. This leaves her questioning things that are not significant. For instance after he grandmother sells her shoes she asks, "how will you go to church now even without shoes" (1367). The grandmother knows that at this point church is unimportant and probably not accessible anyway. The narrator does not realize that they are not going to be able to follow their normal routines. Later, he grandfather goes missing after he gets left behind. He was sick and weak. The narrator says, "he must have been somewhere there inside his loose trousers and shirt that was ripped" (1370). She does not realize that he most likely passed away while he was behind them. She also takes time to notice his ripped short when there are much bigger problems to deal with. When she talks about what she thinks the future will hold, she says, "our mother may be waiting for us" (1372). She does not understand that with the way the war is in her village, her mother is most likely dead and her house and village, destroyed. She is too naive to understand that her life has completely taken a turnaround and that most of what she was familiar with is now destroyed.
The narrator in "The Ultimate Safari" is extremely naive. Throughout the story, she makes remarks and has thoughts that express her naivete. After she describes the loss of her mother, she still believes that she will return. She says on several occasions that she "stayed there all day. Waiting for her"(1366). Later, she says that in the future she will return to her home and "our mother may be waiting for us" (1372). She is naive to think that her mother will return to her as if nothing happened.
ReplyDeleteAlso, she asks her grandmother, "how will you go to church now even without shoes?" (1367). The narrator does not understand that they are facing bigger problems than the idea of church. Instead, they are struggling to find food and water. Most likely, they will not be worrying about or attending church.
The narrator has a naive idea of what the future will hold. She believes that she will return home and meet up with her mother and grandfather. She says that "they'll be home, and I'll rememeber them" (1372). In reality, both her grandfather and mother have passed away, and her old home is destroyed and will never be the same.
Nadine Gordimer presents the narrator of “The Ultimate Safari” as being very naive. In many situations she shows signs of being naive. One in particular is in the middle of a horrible circumstance of having to leave their homes she is primarily worried about her grandmothers church clothes. To the grandmother she says, “How will you go to church now even without shoes” (1367). This shows she is not completely aware of the seriousness of the event taking place in her life at that moment, because if she did, she would not be concerned over that. Another situation is when her grandfather is lost and the group is moving on without him, instead of being mature about the situation and understanding she becomes emotional. She recalls, “Tears came out of my eyes and nose onto my hands but our grandmother took no notice” (1370). This shows the lack of sophistication she has when it comes to overwhelming times. The biggest event that shows her being naive is at the end when she is expressing her hopes of the future and what will happen. She explains, “if there are no bandits any more, our mother may be waiting for us. And maybe when we left our grandfather, he was only left behind, he found his way somehow, slowly, through the Kruger park, and he’ll be there” (1372). This happy ending she is hoping for is unrealistic and very far fetched, showing her naiveness towards the big picture of life and the happenings of that time in her country.
ReplyDeleteNadine Gordimer portrays the little girl in the story, "The Ultimate Safari" as a very naive 11 year old girl. The little girl thinks that she will have a home to go to with her mother and her father after the bandits leave, but this does not happen in the end. The little girl states, "We were glad to think there mist be such a place" (1367). She is hoping to get home after this and getting away from the forest. When the grandfather gets lost in the forest and they are searching for him, and then she states "Tears came out of my eyes and nose onto my hands but our grandmother took no notice" (1370). This clearly shows that she didn't really care for the main situation at the time. The girl is also naive when she was searching for her grandfather, she was sure he would return, but he didn't, "So we looked again, and by now there were paths we'd made by going through the grass many times, it would be easy for him to find us if we couldn't find him" (1370). In the situation they were in it was likely to believe that the grandfather would be lost forever, but she thought that he would return.
ReplyDeleteThe narrator in “The Ultimate Safari” is naïve. This shows multiple times throughout the story. One of the examples of her adolescence is when her grandfather falls behind while they are walking through the Kruger Park. She stops the people and makes them wait for him, and still has hope at the end of the story that he is okay: “… maybe when we left our grandfather, he was only left behind, he found his way somehow, slowly, through the Kruger park, and he’ll be there” (1372). She also has a false sense of hope when thinking of her mother. Although the reader assumes her to be dead, as well as the rest of the characters in the story, the narrator believes she will be home waiting for them when they return home: “… if there are no bandits any more, our mother may be waiting for us” (1372). Another example of her naivety is when she keeps asking her grandmother “… are we there yet, are we there yet…” (1367). This shows that she does not quite understand the situation they are in.
ReplyDeleteThe narrator of "The Ultimate Safari" is very naive. She does not fully understand what exactly is going on around her. While fleeing with her grandmother she said, "how will you go to church now even without shoes"(1376). She does not see how this is the least of her grandmother's worries.
ReplyDeleteThe narrator has so much hope for the future not realizing the aftermath to come. She still does not understand that her loved ones have died, "they'll be home and I'll remember them"(1372). She will be devastated when she truly finds out what happened to them. The narrator refuses the death of her mother, "our mother may be waiting for us"(1372). She is naive to all of her surroundings and deaths.
The narrator of "The Ultimate Safari" is a young, optimistic girl. She first shows her naivete when she sees her grandmother trade her church clothes for supplies. She asks, "...how will you go to church now even without shoes..." (1367). The family is going on a long journey and will have no use for church clothes along the way. The narrator does not realize there are so many more important things to worry about than what to wear to church when the get where they are going.
ReplyDeleteWhen the grandfather goes into the elephant grass and never returns, the narrator does not believe he is dead. He was so weak and on the verge of death throughout the whole story, but she still thinks he could be alive. She even sees "those ugly birds with hooked beaks and plucked necks flying round and round above [them]" (1370). The birds are obviously scavengers who have come because of the grandfather's death, but she does not realize this.
At the end of the story, the narrator speaks of her plan to return to their home village after the war. Her mother was most likely killed by bandits, but she thinks "after the war, if there are no bandits any more, [their] mother may be waiting for [them]" (1372). She also still believes her grandfather survived and will be with her mother when she returns. This especially shows how naive the narrator is in her childish optimism. She refuses to see that she will probably never see either of them again.
The narrator is a very naive character. She is young and can not fully understand the concept of war. This leaves her questioning things that are not significant. For instance after he grandmother sells her shoes she asks, "how will you go to church now even without shoes" (1367). The grandmother knows that at this point church is unimportant and probably not accessible anyway. The narrator does not realize that they are not going to be able to follow their normal routines.
ReplyDeleteLater, he grandfather goes missing after he gets left behind. He was sick and weak. The narrator says, "he must have been somewhere there inside his loose trousers and shirt that was ripped" (1370). She does not realize that he most likely passed away while he was behind them. She also takes time to notice his ripped short when there are much bigger problems to deal with.
When she talks about what she thinks the future will hold, she says, "our mother may be waiting for us" (1372). She does not understand that with the way the war is in her village, her mother is most likely dead and her house and village, destroyed. She is too naive to understand that her life has completely taken a turnaround and that most of what she was familiar with is now destroyed.