The Ultimate Safari Essay

The Grandmother from the Ultimate Safari by Nadine Gordimer, is a responsible, caring and knowledgeable person. These three traits make her a kind person. Because she is kind, this makes the children live a better life. She shows signs of this throughout the whole story.

We first meet the Grandmother when the girl is with her family hiding from the bandits. By the way that the Grandmother came all the way back to see if they were alive, this shows responsibility. When the girl says “our grandmother is big and strong” and how her grandpa is small, it is most likely the Grandmother is responsible for taking care of the Grandfather as well. Being responsible and taking care of these people making her a very kind person.

Along with responsibility, the Grandmother shows that she cares. One way we can tell this is at the beginning of the story the little girl says that her grandmother stops at places to look for their mother. By the end of the story the Grandmother has helped the children significantly. She risks her own life to get the children to a better place. The girl says that their grandmother has gotten them a tent and also has been able to get them into a school. The Grandmother has done this because she cares about them.

The Grandmother in the story shows many aspects of knowledge. She knows that the children must go to school, so she gets them into a good school. When the family needs shelter she gets the best spot in the tenting knowing that they will not get wet in that part. At the end of the story the little girl also talks about how the Grandmother talks about what the Jungle used to be like. Although knowledge might not be kind, the way she uses it is.

Without the Grandmother in the “Ultimate Safari”, the children would have had a different fate. Because of her three traits she is able to get them out of danger. From all that she has done we can tell she is a kind person.