OUTLINE FLIGHT

Published in 1957

SETTING:

The setting of this story could almost be anywhere, expect for a few clues about Africa

MANY DETAILS MAKE THE STORY SEEN ALMOST ENGLISH IN ITS SETTING

+ Valley, earth, tree, garden

+ devecote

+ Lucy ‘ sewing

+ plates, cups of tea

+ Steven’s father’s job (a postmaster)

SPECIFIC SETTING

In the coutryside (rural area)

+ Garden

+ Trees

+ Pigeons

+ Railway cottage

In the late afternoon

What is the significance of the time?

 Time for family’ s get- togethers

 When old people feel very lonely if they are alone
 Time for young people’s romance

+ Modern topic about a young woman’s leaving home

+ Traditional attitudes of grandfather

 He wants to keep his grandchild at home.

 Although the granddauter will not given in to the old man ‘s wishes, she still shows
respect for him.
 POINT OF VIEW:

*Third- person (narrator):

+Limited third- person:

+The story is told largely from the old man’s viewpoint.

==>subjective, biased

*Omniscient third-person:

 deeper understanding of inner conflict

“ Her hair fell down her back in a wave of sunlight, and her long bare legs repeated the angles
of the frangipani stems, bare, shining – brown stems among patterms of pale blossoms”.

 In the old man’s eyes, his granddaughter (Alice) is beautiful and full of viality.

“ that red- handed, redthroatted, violent- bodied youth, the son of the postmaster”

 The old man does not like Steven( Alice’s boyfriend)

“ with that square – fronted, calm – eyed woman, his daughter”

 To him, his daughter (Lucy) is a mature woman.The old man respect his daughter.

The story is also told by the thrid person omniscient (knowing – all author)

 The narrator can make direct comments

“The light happy sound mingled with the crooning of the brids, and his anger mounted”.

PLOT SUMMARY

An old man (unnamed) who keeps pigeons, worries about his granddaughter (Alice).

He has seen his other three granddaughters leave home, marry and grow up.

He is both possessive of Alice and jealous of Steven, her boyfriend.

The old man argues with Alice about her behavior, and complains to his daughter, Alice’s
mother ( Lucy)

At the start of the story the old man shuts up his favorite pigeon, rather than left if fly.

But when Steven, Alice’s boyfriend, gives him a present of a new pigeon, he is more able to
accept what is going to happened, anh he lets his favorite bird go.

The ending of the story is ambiguous. (Alice’ tears have more than one possible meaning.)
EXPOSITION

The introductory material that creates the tone, gives the setting, introduces the characters, and
supplies other facts necessary to understand the story. It is not always at the beginning of the
story, it can be anywhere once considered by the writer to be needed.

+ It generally introduces almost all of the characters.

+ It provides information about the characters and the relationship between them:

 The old man loves his pigeons so much and shows his possessions of them .
 He feels angry with Alice when he sees her” swingingon the gate”. ( She is going out
with her boyfriend.)

INCITING MOMENT

This comes next to the introduce the nature of the problems: the moments when then conflict
begins.

In “ Flight”, the inciting moment is from “ His mood shifted” to “ his anger mounted” (P5)

COMPLICATION

The complication covers the action between the inciting moment and the story climax. The
inciting moment ends the exposition and begins the action.

+ The complication in this story begins when the old man shouted ‘Hey’ to her granddaugher
and ends with” … took up her sewing”

+From this time on, the protagonist is engaged in futher conflicts.

CONFLICT

The struggle within the plot between opposingforces. The protagonist engages in the conflict
with the protagonist engages in the conflict with the antagonist, which may take the form of a
character, society, nature (External conflict), or an aspect of the protagonist’s personality
(Internal conflict)

In” Flight” , conflicts are both external and internal

EXTERNAL CONFLICTS:

The old man He loves the bird so much.

He wants to possess it forever.
“ He deliberately held out his wrist for the
bird to take flight, and caught it again at the
moment it spread its wings.”
His favorite pigeon
The old man
He ‘s angry with Alice when he sees her
stealthily leave home in response to the call
of love
“His mood shifted … his anger mounted”
The old man
He can’t bear the feeling of losing his
favorite granddaughter.
He wants to possessess her as he does to his
favorite pigeon.
The old man
“ He deliberately held out his wrist for the
bird to takr flight, and caught it again at the
moment it spread its wings.”
“Can’t we keep her a bit longer?”
The bird may feel both happy and
unhappy about the way the old man loves
it.
Its “cold coral claws tighten around his
finger”.
Alice
She ‘s carefree and happy in love.
She is too happy about her love to pay
attention to her grandfather’s upset feeling.
Alice
She defies her grandfather and ignores his
anger. She even laughs and sings to his
annoyance.
Alice
She increasingly angers her grandfather
when she openly shows her happiness in
love.
The old man

He is jealous of Steven, for he thinks that Steven

the young boy will take his beloved far
He loves Alice and plans to get married to
away from him.
her.
==>He views the boys in a negative way: “
that red- handed, red throated, violent –
bodied youth, the son of the postmaster”.

The old man

Because he’s angry with Alice, he blows off his steam by telling his daughter about Alice.

He hopes that his daughter will not allow Alice to love Steven.

“He looked at his daughter with sardonic hatred, hatinghimself.”

He acts like a child.

“He stumped his feet alternately, thump, thump, on the hollow wooden floor and shouted”.

Lucy, his daughter

She acts very calmly.

‘Now you just sit down and have your tea’

She experienced the feeling of being in love, getting married, leaving home and growing
up.

She tired to reassure the old man.

‘Come, now, Dad.She’ll be down the road, that’s all. She’ ll be here every day to see you.’

She has already agreed to Alice’s marrying Steven, and tells her father about this, which
increases his anger.

INTERNAL CONFLICT

The old man The old man

He knows he can’t keep Alice forever.

However, he wants to “ keep her a bit
longer”

CLIMAX

The point of high interest at which the interest at which the intensity reaches its peaks.

In” Flight”, the climax comes when” His eyes stung, and he went out on to the veranda.Wet
spread down over his chin and he took out a handkerchief and mopped face, The garden was
empty”

FALLING ACTION

+ The intensity of conflict falls before the final outcome.

+ In “Flight” the falling action takes places “ from about the corner … growled the old mam.”

+Alice may have encouraged Steven to give her grandfather the present.

+The couple are thoughtful enough to reassure the old lonely man by giving him a new bird.

+ Steven may imply that the new bird will compensate for his marrying Alice.

+ Beyond the couple’s expectation, the old man not only accepts the present but also releases
his favorite bird.

 He has realized the truth about his grandchildren’s leaving home and becoming
independent  sth inevitable

RESOLUTION/ OUTCOME

It is Alice who cries at the end of the story:

“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.”

What do her tears mean?

ALICE’S TEARS

+She may feel regret for her lack of care for her grandfather or lack of understanding his
loneliness

+She may realize how much her grandfather loves her.

+She may feel sad at the thought of leaving her lonely grandfather home.
+She may feel happy with her grandfather’s acceptance of her leaving home and getting
married.

+She might be worried about what is ahead.

QUESTIONS:

What is the significance of the fact that the old man remains nameless?

What is the symbolism of the story’s title “ Flight”?

What do you like most about the story?

Who is the story do you identify with (the old man, Lucy, Alice, or Steven)

If you were the old man, would you behave the same?

If you were Alice, what would you do to persuade the old man to let you married?

In what ways can the story relate to your own life/family?

What is the theme of the story?

CHARACTERS:

+ The old man ( the protagonist character)

+ Alice (his granddaughter)

+ Lucy ( his daughter)

+ Steven ( Alice’s boyfriend)

THE OLD MAN:

Is the central character

Keeps pigeons

Has no name (an unnamed character/a nameless character)

Is Alice’s grandfather

Feels possessive toward her and cries when learning that Alice is getting married soon

Finally learns and accepts things about Alice

ALICE

Is the man’s granddaughter

Is a young woman, aged 18

Is lively and full of vitality

But her grandfather still sees her as a child

Sometimes acts in a carefree way

But almost has a serious and grown up wish to marry her boyfriend,and settle into a domestic
routine.

At the beginning of the story, she defies her grandfather and ignores his anger. She even laughs
and sings to his annoyance.

She may prompt Steven to give a new pigeons a gift to her grandfather.

At the end of the story,Alice is the one who cries.

LUCY

Is the old man’s daughter and Alice’s mother

Is depicted as a grown up/ mature in her appearance (‘squre-fronted” and “calm eye”) anh in her
actions ( she looks after her father/ she tries to calm him down)

In the way in which her father thinks of her (“that woman”)

Her husband is absent from the story

Got married at seventeen “ and never regretted it”

Why does Lucy not objetc to Alice’s dating Steven?

And why does she agree to their marrige?

She experienced the same suitation, so she can understand the feelon of love and what
marriage will bring to Alice. She also knows that Alice’s leaving home is inevitable.

STEVEN

Is Alice’s boyfriend

Is seen through the old man’s eyes (negative way)

The old man finds things with him ( his red complexion, his physical appearance and his
father’s job)

Lucy expects wrong him to be as good a husband as her other three grils have.
Is thouhtful enough to give the old man the present of a pigeon.

DYNAMIC CHARACTER

The old man independence and accepts Alice’s leaving

home.
At first, he wants to possess his last
granddaughter as he does to his favorite He sets his favorite pigeon free
pigeon.
He will let Alice leave home
selfish love
selfish love
Later, he realizes the truth about his
He experi are
grandchildren’s growing up and

THEME

Leaving home and becoming independent are things which most people face sooner or late.
They can be alaring, but they are natural ad almost inevitable

Sometimes this kind of story is describled in the phrase “rites of passage” – which fits
narratives about growing up, moving on and life- changes.

DORIS LESSING’S TECHNIQUE – DICTION

Technique refers to the way an author writes – not what he or she says, but how it is said.

Body language – actions and gestures

Dialogue

Language

Symbolism

 Body language – actions and gestures

+This is a story in which attitudes appear often in actions.

+For example, when her grandfather shouts: “Hey!”Alice jumbs. She is alarmed, but then
becomes evasive, as we when her “eyes veiled themselves”.She adopts a neutral voice and
tosses her head, as if to shrug off his confrontational stance.

+When he thinks of Steven, the old man’s hands curl, like claws into his palm.

“Waiting for Steven, hey?’ he said, his fingers curling like claws into his palm

angry, jealous

+Alice’s and Steven’s “lying happy eyes” tell the old man that nothing will change, while he
and they know this false.

+At the end of the story Alice is “ wide – eyed “ while tears run down her face.Earlier it was
the old man who was crying at the thought of losing her.

+Lucy waits on her father –“ brought him a cup, set him a plate but lets him knows that she
will not given in to his demands, when she takes up her sewing.

+When she shades her eyes with her hand, she is genuinely interested in the flight of the
pigeons, but she has not let go of her domestic routine – her hand still holds her sewing.

Lucy understands what her father means.

 Dialogue

+This story is dramatic

+A lot of it is in the form of conversation.

+While Lucy is calm and reasoanable, the old man and Alice quarrel like children.

The old man aks questions with the word “Hey”- “Waiting for Steven, hey?” and “Think you’re
old enough to go courting, hey?”

+His threats are childish:”I’ll tell your mother”and “I see you”

 Language

+Doris Lessing uses repetition in the story.

to reinforce details of the sence

( sunlight, the frangi pani tree, the veranda, Lucy’s sewing)

+Or to identify people (“the postmaster’s son” and “his daughter” or the “ woman”)

+ There are also many references to people’s bodies – to eyes, legs and hair.
+ Is there a reason for this??

+ Do they show us people as they really are ( as we might see them if we were present)?

+ Or do they show us people as the old man sees them?

 Symbolism

+ Symbolism in this story is important to our understanding.

+ Alice is clearly likened to the favorite pigeon.

+ The old man can keep the bird in, where he cannot control Alice.

+ But when he receives the new pigeon, he is able to release the favorite: he accepts that
shutting it in is not right.

+The gift also suggests that there may be some compensation for the old man in the new
situation.

+But really he knows that mothing can make up for the loss of his last grandchild.

Literal sense

+ Objective: gate, devecote

+ Image: sunlight, tree, tears

+ Event: Alice’s getting married

+ Action: setting the birds free; Lucy’s Figurative senses

sewing
+ Associated meanings
+ Person: the nameless old man
+ Abstract
+ Time: late afternoon
+ Generalized
+ Place: garden
+ Meaningful