Flight

Doris Lessing

Doris Lessing was born in
1919, in what is now Iran.
When she was five years old,
she moved with her British
parents to what is now
Zimbabwe.

She was brought up in the
African countryside and had a
generally unhappy childhood.
Her mother was very strict and
her father very bitter - his farm
was not a success and he had
been badly injured in World
War One
The author Doris Lessing
Flight starts with an old man looking
after his pigeons.

He has a favourite - a young,
healthy bird that he is holding
carefully. The man looks out happily
across the countryside, until he
sees his granddaughter swinging
on a gate in the distance. The old
man suddenly appears annoyed.
He almost allows the young pigeon
to fly off, then grabs it and locks it
away in the small box.
Plot
Flight is deliberately vague about many aspects of the
plot, but as you will see the characters in the story give
plenty of scope for investigation.

Flight is a very short story. We do not know many facts about the
four main characters, and the events take place over perhaps just
an hour in the man's life. We learn very little of what took place
before this, and nothing of what happens after.

The story is deliberately unclear, especially when you look for
reasons why someone does something. For instance, we cannot be
sure why the old man lets his favourite bird leave. And we can only
guess why Alice is crying at the end.

We do, however, get a clear picture of the different characters and
their relationships with one another. This is what you need to
concentrate on in your answers. The next section looks in detail at
how you should write about the characters, and what part they play
in the story.

Summary

The grandfather is very possessive of
Alice. He still sees her as a young child
- even though she is 18 - and loves
her.

He has probably spoilt her in the past
and is still very close to her, perhaps
because she is the youngest of his
grandchildren. He talks about her as if
she is a pigeon, asking his daughter if
they 'can keep her a bit longer?'.


The story contains a number of contrasts, such as the views
of the different generations on leaving home.

We also see a contrast between how Lucy and the old man
behave: he is much more like a child. In some ways, even
Alice behaves in a more mature manner: she does not 'thump'
her feet or shout like him.

There are also a lot of comparisons between nature and the
characters. The most obvious relates to the pigeons. They act
as symbols, so the pigeon at the start is just like Alice: young,
the grandfathers favourite and 'pretty', but straining to fly
away.

Contrasts and Comparisons

The old man can control the bird by locking it away, but he cannot
control Alice. When he releases the pigeon, it is like releasing Alice.
Both must move away to make their own way in the world.

Comparisons are also made between their bodies. Alice's legs are
like the stems on the tree, while the old mans fingers are 'curling
like claws into his palm'. In other words, his fingers are like his
pigeons' claws.

Meanwhile, Alice and Steven are 'like puppies on the grass'.

These constant references to nature and comparisons can give the
impression that the characters are simply part of nature. They also
make us believe it is natural for Alice to want to leave home, just as
it is natural for her grandfather to wish her to stay.