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Author‘s biography
Doris Lessing
(1919 – 2013)
____________________

a - Events

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 Point
Author’s Events
of time

Early Life 1919 - Doris Lessing (Doris May Taylor) was born in (1)
Persia (now, Iran), to British couple. Her father, Alfred
Tayler, who had been crippled in World War I, was a
bank clerk in Persia; her mother had been a nurse.

Childhood 1925 - With the promise of farming riches, her family moved
Life to (2) Southern Rhodesia (a British colony in southern
Africa - now, Zimbabwe), but they failed.

- She was later sent to an all-girls high school in the

capital of Salisbury until she dropped out at the age of
13, and was self-educated thereafter.

- Her childhood was surrounded by books of Dickens,

Scott, Stevenson, Kipling; D.H. Lawrence, Stendhal,
Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and her father’s memories of
World War I

- She left home when she was 15; and worked as a

nursemaid. At this time, she had chance to read
material about politics and sociology from her
employer, and began to write and sold her stories.

Adulthood 1937 - She moved to (3) Salisbury to work as a telephone

operator; marrying her first husband, Frank Wisdom
with whom she had two children.

1943
- She divorced Frank Wisdom. After that, she joined the
Left Book (4) Club (a communist book publishing
club), where
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she met her second husband, Gottfried
1949 Lessing.
b- Style
- Genres:
+ Novels (literary and science fiction novels)
+ Autobiographies
+ Short stories
+ Plays and essays
- Topics
+ Communism
+ Racism
+ Feminism

2- PLOT SUMMARY
Flight was published in 1957, in a collection of short stories named The
Habit of Loving.
Flitgh is a short story about an (12) old grandfather living with his
family in South Africa. He has a special love with pigeons.  His (13)
granddaughter Alice is a beloved member of his family who will marry the
postmaster’s son Steven.  Instead of joy, he was extremely (14) angry and
opposed to this marriage because if Alice maried, no one gossips with him. He
just wanted to keep Alice by his side forever although Alice will no more be little 
.  And then Steven gave him a pigeon as the (15) peace gift.  After the struggles
of thought, he freed the (16) bird to fly into the sky and then accepted Alice
mariage.

3- SETTING
a- Place setting: Not be mentioned directly, but can guess form details.
Guessing place was African
 Evidences:

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 + “In folds and hollows of sunlight and shade, the dark red soil, which
was broken into great dusty clods, stretched wide to a tall horizon.”
 (17) Dark red soil
+ “He stumped into the little whitewashed house, hearing the wooden
veranda creak angrily under his feet.”
 (18) Veranda: is a long, open room with a roof over it to
avoid sun, rain,…
+ “His eyes travelled homewards along this road until he saw his
granddaughter swinging on the gate underneath a frangipani tree.”
 (19) Frangipani tree: a plant prefers and grows best in a hot
dry climate
 Extra information: Flight is also one of the stories in the book African
Stories Doris Lessing published in 1965 (in page 578)

b-Time setting:
- The year that the story set: (20) unidentified
+ Not be mentioned directly
+ Details not clear enough to guess or identify
- The season in the story:
+ (21) Summer is the season that is set in the story.
- In detail, from the beginning to the end, the narrative time is the
summer evening. Some evidences:
+“Her smile made him see her, as he had every evening of this warm
end-of-summer month,” :  Summer
+“Content, he rested the bird lightly on his chest, and leaned against
a tree, gazing out beyond the dovecote into the landscape of a late afternoon. “ :
 at the beginning, the time of the story is the evening.

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 +“A whirr and a spatter of wings, and a cloud of birds rose into the
evening from the dovecote.”  in the end , the time of the story is an evening as
well.

c- POINT OF VIEW
c.1- What is the point of view used in “Flight”?
- The story uses (22) third person limited point of view (also called
omniscient)
+ The story is told in the third person (23) pronounce (he, she, it, they,
etc.)
+ The storyteller, from outside the world of characters, describes to the
reader what goes on in the story; and tell the readers the thoughts, feelings of
(24) ONE character (often the MAIN character).
 In “Flight”

The world inside the story The world outside the story

Lucy

Alice The old man Storyteller

Steven
- In “Flight”, the storyteller is not a character in the story. He or she tells the
readers what Lucy, Alice, Steven do, think and say (because generally these
elements relate to the old man – the main character), but more importantly she
tells about the (25) thoughts of the old man. The readers learn how the old man
is deal with the relationship and events that affect him and how he perceives the
world around him. The reader sees the other characters through the man’s (26)
eyes.

c.2 – What are advantages and disadvantages?

advantages disadvantages

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 - readers can see the story through - readers are limited to only what
the eyes of specific character the storyteller see and reports

- writers can share the thoughts and - readers almost never know the
feelings of one character thoughts and feelings of other
characters

d-CHARACTERIZATION
a- Main character
The old man
The old man keeps his (27) pigeons; it shows that he has a kind and
caring nature - 'Pretty, pretty, pretty,' he said, as he grasped the bird and drew it
down, feeling the cold coral claws tighten around his finger.
He considers the birds is his only pleasure in life, and regards his
granddaughter as one of his birds and asks if he can keep her a bit longer. He
always wants to keep her, have control on her, and never let her leave; it shows
that he is very (28) possessive, selfish- He said: `Think you're old enough to go
courting, hey?' or 'Think you want to leave home, hey? Think you can go running
around the fields at night?'
He appears to want to hurt the people he loves. He uses many rude words
to call Alice - 'rubbish'; 'impudent'. We can say that he is (29) spiteful.-
'Rubbish,' he shouted. 'Rubbish. Impudent little bit of rubbish!'
All of these, because he fears that he will have to live without his
granddaughter. He has many grandchildren but they all left him and never come
back. He thought of the other three girls, transformed inside a few months from
charming petulant spoiled children into serious young matrons.
Now, the old man just has one granddaughter and she will get married to
Steven, and he will take her away, so he wants to prevent them. He loves his
granddaughter a lot but he doesn’t know how to show his feeling? He doesn't
show his feeling by words, he just uses (30) actions – but in a very unfriendly
way. He wants everybody to take care of him and understand his private
thoughts, but he can’t speak out. The old man has to decide whether to keep his

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granddaughter or let her go - He stumped his feet alternately, thump, thump, on
the hollow wooden floor and shouted: 'She'll marry him. I'm telling you, she'll be
marrying him next!'
In the end, he gives up his (31) selfish desire. Then he shut it in a box
and took out his favourite 'Now you can go, he said aloud

The granddaughter (Alice)

Old man's granddaughter (Alice) is a (32) carefree, young girl- 'She's
eighteen. Eighteen. She is in love, but her love somehow makes her become (33)
selfish. From the gate the girl shouted: 'Go and tell! Go on, what are you waiting
for?'
She finds her grandpa old-fashioned. She is rude towards him, ignoring his
reprimands and the threats that he will tell her mother she is waiting for her
(34) boyfriend. 'Tell away!' she said, laughing, and went back to the gate.
However, she is also loving and considerate. This is shown when she
gives her grandpa a bird. At the end of the story, Alice cries because she feels
happy that her (35) relationships will be turned into a new leaf, but she also
regrets that she lost his childhood and will have to leave her home. She was
staring at him. She did not smile. She was wide-eyed, and pale in the cold
shadow, and he saw the tears run shivering off her face.
 Both of characters really love each other, but they don’t show it to each
other, they hide. We can sympathize with Alice because she is too young to
understand her grandpa’s (36) emotion. About the man, we should understand
him instead of criticizing him after we know the reason for his actions in the
story.

b- Minor character
 Lucy: Lucy is the old man's daughter and Alice's mother. She is a (37)
grown up person:
o Appearance: “square front”

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 o Action: take care of her dad- the old man
o Her dad thought: “That woman”
Her husband: No information.
She married at 7 “and never regretted it “. She (38) respects her children’s
choices: “The other three have done fine, They've three fine husbands. Why not
Alice?” As a result, Lucy
 gives Alice permission to marry, for detail: (39) agree to Alice marry
Steven
 tries to (40) reassure the old man about Alice

 Steven:
a- He is an (41) Alice’s boyfriend.
b- Steven appearance in the (42) old man’s eyes:
+ Red complexion: “red handed”, “red throated”
+ Physical appearance: violent bodied youth
+ His father job: “son of postmaster.”
c- His character:
+(43) Thoughtful :
Give the old man a present pigeon
“ steven brought it for you”
+ (44) Kind: in spite of the old man annoying attitude, he still be kind
with him
 “ We're glad you like it” ,
 “They watched him as he held it on his wrist, stroking its soft,
sun-warmed back, watching the wings lift and balance.”
 “The bird was proof of it, they said, from their lying happy
eyes, as they thrust it on him. 'There, Grandad, it's yours. It's
for you.' ”
 “They hung about him, affectionate, concerned, trying to
charm away his wet eyes and his misery. They took his arms

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 and directed him to the shelf of birds, one on each side,
enclosing him, petting him, saying wordlessly that nothing
would be changed, nothing could change, and that they would
be with him always.”
 He is also a a man of (45) tender warmth and deep feelings
 And he truly loves Alice.
+ He (46) is expected to be a fine husband.

e- THEME(S)
After reading, analyzing the story, and searching on some websites, in
my opinion the theme of story reflects 2 facts of society happening in many
families nowadays:
a- Lack of (47) verbal communication in family can lead to
unexpected misunderstandings and conflicts between family members
We should use verbal language to communicate in daily life. Because it is only
words that can help to you (48) express your views, wants, and wishes most
fully. Only by words can others understand exactly and specifically what you
want. In the story, if the old man told her daughter that he wanted her to stay
with him, instead he chose to be silent; they wouldn’t have to put (48) up with
each other.
b- People spend (50) less time with family
We should spend (51) more time with family members, and learn how to share
love and care for each other. Because, it is the best way to help the other
members feel that they are cared for and cherished, especially, the elderly, those
who are very sensitive. Sometimes, just because of our thoughtfulness, it can
make them feel like they're a burden to their family, and have negative thoughts.

f- FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
a. Meaning of the title:

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 The title of the story: has multiple meanings as it denotes the real flight
of one of the old mans ‘pigeons; the metaphorical image of (52) flight
representing (53) freedom; the flight of his granddaughter from childhood to
adulthood; and his flight from reality — refusing to face up to the truth that his
granddaughter is growing up.

b. Figure of speech
b.1/ Short direct sentences
Short, direct sentences are used to (54) stress points and indicate the
characters' (55) moods.
+ “Pretty, pretty, pretty,”
+ “Waiting for Steven, hey?”
+ “Think you're old enough to go courting, hey?”
+ “Hey!”

b.2/ Diction (= words choice)

- The Story opens with a paragraph of (56) positive diction describing
the birds:
+ 'rainbom', 'young', 'bright'.
- The beauty and tranquillity of the garden is also stressed through (57)
positive words:
+ 'rich', 'green'. 'blossoms'.
 This positive opening reflects the old man's mood at the beginning
of the Story: he is happy and content.
- (58) Old fashioned phrase: “courting”
 Show the generation (59) gap between the old man and his
daughter.
b.3/ Confrontational language:
- Use confrontational language: with exclamatory sentences, shows the
old man's (60) anger and (61) disappointment.

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 + “Rubbish. Impudent little bit of rubbish!”
+ “Hey”
b.4/ Direct speech:
- Direct speech portrays the awkward (62) relationship between the
old man and his daughter.
+ 'Waiting for Steven, hey?'
+ `Think you're old enough to go courting, hey?'
b.5/ Adverbs
- The use of (63) adverbs highlights the characters' (64) feelings, e.g.
'incredulously', coldly'
+ 'You've said they can marry?' he said incredulously.
+ 'Yes, Dad, why not?' she said coldly, and took up her sewing.
b.6/ Metaphor
- Compare the flight (of the birds) to the (65) freedom of the
granddaughter as she moves away from the family and grows up.
+ In the title 'flight'
+ He deliberately held out his wrist for the bird to take flight,
and caught it again at the moment it spread its wings.
- Compare the crooning of the birds to the (66) happiness of Alice
+ ‘The light happy sound mingled with the crooning of the
birds, and his anger mounted.’
- Compare the image of “his fingers curling like claw into his palm” to his
(67) anger when seeing Alice and Steven
+ His fingers curling like claws into his palm.’
b.7/ Symbolism
- Pigeon
 Symbolizes the old man (68) granddaughter (Alice)
In the beginning of the story, he ' held out his wrist for the bird to
take flight, and caught it again at the moment it spread its wings', despite the fact
that his bird is a homing pigeon. This proves the old man's strong desire to keep

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the bird to himself. Also he does not believe in the return of the bird once he lets
it go. It is just the same way he reacts to Alice's love affair with Steven.
- The gate
 Symbolizes the (69) transition between home and the outside
world, childhood and maturity
- Alice‘s tear
 Symbolizes her (70) happiness (when her grandfather
accepts her love), and (71) sadness (when she have to leave her family)
- The old man
 Symbolize the (72) old generation has to struggle against
their loneliness, facing the reality of their children and grandchildren's gradually
leaving.

c- Ending (write another version)

The old man moved along the (73) hedge, stalking his granddaughter.
He confronted Alice. His eyes still smiled and looked at her with proudly. He
(74) gently placed his tanned hands on her checks and touches her happy tears.
She hugged him as if she did not do it to him for a long time. And then, the old
man also hugged her and he whispered in her ear: “Alice, I'm (75) sorry about
everything that I've done for you. I had (76) false thoughts. Please live happily
with Steven, Alice. Your happiness is my happiness. I love you forever.”
Alice was very moving. She can only talk him that “I am, too”. They hold
hands and walked forward their house. They must have felt very warm in the
cold shadow.

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