Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight
1. Fuller compares the smell of Africa to "black tea, cuttobacco, fresh fire, old sweat, young grass." She describes "anexplosion of day birds...a crashing of wings" and "the sound of heat.The grasshoppers and crickets sing and whine. Drying grass crackles. Dogspant." How effective is the author in drawing the reader into her worldwith the senses of sound, smell, and taste? Can you find other examples of herability to evoke a physical and emotional landscape that pulses with life? Whatelse makes her writing style unique?
2. Given their dangerous surroundings in Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Zambiaand a long streak of what young Bobo describes as "bad, bad luck,"why does the Fuller family remain in Africa?
3. Drawing on specific examples, such as Nicola Fuller's desire to"live in a country where white men still ruled" and the Fullerfamily's dramatic interactions with African squatters, soldiers, classmates,neighbors, and servants, how would you describe the racial tensions andcultural differences portrayed in Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight,particularly between black Africans and white Africans?
4. Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight is rich with humorous scenesand dialogue, such as the visit by two missionaries who are chased away by thefamily's overfriendly dogs, a bevy of ferocious fleas, and the worst tea theyhave ever tasted. What other examples of comedy can you recall, and whatpurpose do you think they serve in this serious memoir?
5. Fuller describes the family's move to Burma Valley as landingthem "right [in] the middle, the very birthplace and epicenter, of thecivil war in Rhodesia." Do her youthful impressions give a realisticportrait of the violent conflict?
6. The New York Times Book Review described Nicola as "oneof the most memorable characters of African memoir." What makes theauthor's portrait of her mother so vivid? How would you describe Bobo's father?
7. Define the complex relationship between Bobo and Vanessa. Howdo the two sisters
2. Given their dangerous surroundings in Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Zambiaand a long streak of what young Bobo describes as "bad, bad luck,"why does the Fuller family remain in Africa?
3. Drawing on specific examples, such as Nicola Fuller's desire to"live in a country where white men still ruled" and the Fullerfamily's dramatic interactions with African squatters, soldiers, classmates,neighbors, and servants, how would you describe the racial tensions andcultural differences portrayed in Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight,particularly between black Africans and white Africans?
4. Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight is rich with humorous scenesand dialogue, such as the visit by two missionaries who are chased away by thefamily's overfriendly dogs, a bevy of ferocious fleas, and the worst tea theyhave ever tasted. What other examples of comedy can you recall, and whatpurpose do you think they serve in this serious memoir?
5. Fuller describes the family's move to Burma Valley as landingthem "right [in] the middle, the very birthplace and epicenter, of thecivil war in Rhodesia." Do her youthful impressions give a realisticportrait of the violent conflict?
6. The New York Times Book Review described Nicola as "oneof the most memorable characters of African memoir." What makes theauthor's portrait of her mother so vivid? How would you describe Bobo's father?
7. Define the complex relationship between Bobo and Vanessa. Howdo the two sisters