E212: British Literature since 1760

H. Rider Haggard Study Questions

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Assigned: King Solomon's Mines (separate text).

Chapter 1

1. How does Allan Quatermain get involved in the quest of Sir Henry Curtis and Captain Good? What is Sir Henry's story--why has he come to Africa?

2. What makes Quatermain a sympathetic narrator--what qualities might we (or a Victorian audience) find appealing in him?

Chapter 2

3. What is the story of Jose da Silvestra? And what has apparently happened to Sir Henry's brother?

Chapter 3

4. When he is asked to accompany Sir Henry, what terms does Quatermain make for his acceptance? Aside from those terms, what further considerations lead to his acceptance?

5. What story does one of the servants, Umbopa, tell about his origins and his reason for wanting to go on an expedition with Europeans? What special qualities does Umbopa show?

Chapter 4

6. This chapter contains one of Haggard's frequent concentrations on hunting--how does he turn this activity into a metaphor for the meaning of human life more generally?

Chapter 5

7. What parallels between Umbopa and Sir Henry Curtis develop in this chapter?

Chapters 6-7

8. In these two chapters, the expedition members pass through extreme heat and cold as they make their way towards and then up the mountain on da Silvestra's map. Recountings of this sort are usually hard to put down--what do you think accounts for their success as narrative?

Chapters 7-8

9. What is the first meeting between the expedition and the Kukuana people like? What impresses the Kukuanas about the expedition, and what impression do they make in their own right?

10. What is the story of Twala's rise to the throne? What did the old woman "Gagool" have to do with it?

11. By what means does Haggard represent Africa as a place of eternal mystery, a "Dark Continent" rather than as simply a place like any other in terms of geography, history and inhabitants?

Chapters 9-10

12. On what principle does Twala evidently govern his kingdom? Who is Gagool, and how does her witch-hunt embody Twala's manner of governing his people?

13. What does Umbopa reveal about himself in the tenth chapter? Why do his white companions agree to help him?

Chapter 11

14. How does Quatermain prevent the sacrifice of the dancer Foulata? What happens as soon as his gambit succeeds?

15. What are The Ingoldsby Legends, and what does Quatermain the narrator's interest in them suggest about him? (Use the internet to find out what you can about this once-popular text.)

Chapters 12-14

16. These three chapters detail preparations for Ignosi's ("Umbopa's") battle against the usurper Twala's larger force, and then the extended battle itself. What different perspectives on war do the Europeans show in their words and actions--consider mainly Quatermain and Sir Henry Curtis.

17. How much regard does the narrator show for the (imaginary) Kukuana tribe's battle tactics? What is Ignosi's war plan, and what adaptive moves does he make? How does Twala measure up as an opponent?

Chapters 15-16

18. In these two chapters, Foulata's nursing aids Good's recovery, and Ignosi forces Gagool to take the expedition to the cave where they will find King Solomon's diamonds. How does Ignosi regard Gagool, and why does she finally agree to help the white men? What macabre scene awaits them when they arrive?

Chapters 17-18

19. What befalls the party of Quatermain, Sir Henry, Good, and Foulata when they finally gain entrance to Solomon's chamber? What virtues get them out of the fix they are in, and what becomes of their quest for untold wealth?

Chapters 19-20

20. What is Quatermain's retrospective opinion on the value of his exploits in Africa? Why have his friends--now back in England--so far refrained from talking about their experience?

21. On the whole, what impression of Africa do you suppose such tales as Haggard's made upon average Victorian readers? What about the effect of adventure tales or similar popular genres today--do you think they influence people's opinions about important social and political matters? Or do readers/moviegoers just understand them for what they are--not reality but fiction?

Edition: Haggard, H. Rider. King Solomon's Mines. Ed. Dennis Butts. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1998. ISBN 0192834851.