How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Out of Africa.
Quote #4
KAREN: I like my things.
DENYS: When you travelled before in your mind, did you carry so much luggage?
KAREN: A mental traveler hasn't the need to eat or sleep...or entertain.
DENYS: You're right.
KAREN: Anyway, aren't you pleased that I brought my crystal and china?
DENYS: And your stories, yes.
Denys thinks it's a little ridiculous that Karen's brought all her fancy stuff with her. But it's clear that he appreciates her storytelling skills, so he couches his critique in a compliment. (We can only imagine how awesome it was to listen to this woman tell a story.)
Quote #5
KAREN: Did you save my life, Finch Hatton?
DENYS: No. The lioness did that. She walked away.
KAREN: So I'm not indebted, then?
DENYS: Ah, but I am. We pay our storytellers here.
KAREN: It's lovely. But my stories are free and your present's much too dear.
DENYS: Write them down sometime.
Denys' first present is the pen, and Karen's uncomfortable with it. He convinces her to accept the gift by encouraging her to write. That's not how it happened in real life, but it makes a nice way of showing how he influenced her.
Quote #6
DENYS: You do stir things up, Baroness. When they said they liked to read, how did they put that, exactly? Do they know they'd like Dickens?
KAREN: You don't think they should learn to read?
DENYS: I think you might have asked them.
KAREN: Did you ask to learn when you were a child? How can stories possibly harm them?
DENYS: They have their own stories. They're just not written down.
KAREN: And what stake to you have in keeping them ignorant?
DENYS: They're not ignorant. I just don't think they should be turned into little Englishmen. You do like to change things.
KAREN: For the better, I hope. I want my Kikuyu to learn to read.
Is Karen really disrespecting Kikuyu culture, trying to make the Kikuyu into Brit wannabes? Or is she just wanting to share her love of stories? She can't imagine a childhood where you're unable to read stories. Here's another culture clash—writing vs. oral traditions.