The Ultimate Safari Analysis

Both Olufemi Terry’s “Stickfighting Days” and Nadine Gordimer’s “The Ultimate Safari” explore how life without an adult impacts a child’s life. “Stickfighting Days” entails the life of children without parents, specifically Raul’s life, who steals food to cater to his hunger. He, in turn, proves that he is untrustworthy and exemplifies antisocial behavior. Contrarily, “The Ultimate Safari” includes a courageous grandmother steering her grandchildren toward a better life than she had. Her ability to overcome obstacles allows her grandchildren to prosper. Each author considers how a child’s wellbeing is dependent upon the presence of an adult.
Characters like Raul live in an environment where they do not have any positive influence, and the

The author writes Gogo as the matriarch of her family because the author realizes the innate capabilities of a woman, especially in relation to survival. Her unselfish decisions benefit her family on the whole but contribute to her personal struggle. On their journey, she leaves her husband in the “elephant grass” because he is too weak to carry on, “... her dress was torn and her big breasts were showing but there was nothing in them… she said, Come.” (17). The grandmother’s will to provide a bright future for her grandchildren surfaces while choosing to leave because she is willing to sacrifice her husband’s survival. Conflicting with her forthcoming choice, Gogo makes a decision that will empower her family for the years to come. Sacrificing comes in the spiritual form for Gogo as well. She gives away “her church clothes” and received “dries mealies” in exchange (13). Religion is easily one the most important aspects of this family as it is mentioned multiple times throughout the story. Giving away church clothing is similar to parting from her religion. Gogo’s offering entails that she is open-minded to the possibilities of what her future holds. Along with spiritual relinquishing comes the physical waiving of the body, Gogo’s body. Her trudge on the exhausting journey through Kruger Park was

With the absence of an adult in “Stickfighting Days” Raul encompasses his feelings and retaliates against other kids in the dump; on the other hand, the narrator of “The Ultimate Safari” is able to attend school which she had not been able to do at the start of the story. The characters in both pieces have the ability to make decisions: Raul’s poor choices end with the murder of Salad, and Gogo is able to make decisions for her granddaughter and in turn, she is able to attend school. Up until the middle of the story, Raul is semi-capable of self-restraint, but he loses his temper as the story comes to an end. Tauzin’s murder marks the point where the reader knows that Raul will soon kill again. Shortly after the incident, Raul beats Tauzin and walks “away without checking that he’s dead.” The slayer “feel[s] weak” just after the assault. Releasing all of his anger, Raul leaves storage for his coming anger. Later, his sentiment accumulates once more. As a method to relieve his pent-up aggression, Raul partners with Markham and strikes “at the judge’s head,” but a simple beating is not enough considering that “[e]ven when [the judge] no longer moves,” they “swing” and after a few minutes Raul stops. The young boy’s yearn to kill only comes to an end when he has exerted all of his emotions upon his opponent; so immediately after Raul attacks,