Đây là bài luận văn phân tích chi tiết mọi nội dụng từ cốt truyện đến những hình ảnh của các nhân vật trong tác phẩm Flight By Doris Lessing mang lại. Bài văn sẽ gồm các phần như Biography, plot, Climax, Resolution, Conflict, SETTING,... 1Author‘s biographyDoris Lessing (1919 – 2013)____________________a - EventsAuthor’sPointof timeEventsEarly Life 1919 - Doris Lessing (Doris May Taylor) was born in (1)Persia (now, Iran), to British couple. Her father, AlfredTayler, who had been crippled in World War I, was abank clerk in Persia; her mother had been a nurse.ChildhoodLife1925 - With the promise of farming riches, her family movedto (2) Southern Rhodesia (a British colony in southernAfrica - now, Zimbabwe), but they failed. - She was later sent to an all-girls high school in thecapital of Salisbury until she dropped out at the age of13, 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 ofWorld War I- She left home when she was 15; and worked as anursemaid. At this time, she had chance to readmaterial about politics and sociology from heremployer, and began to write and sold her stories.Adulthood 193719431949- She moved to (3) Salisbury to work as a telephoneoperator; marrying her first husband, Frank Wisdomwith whom she had two children.- She divorced Frank Wisdom. After that, she joined theLeft Book (4) Club (a communist book publishingclub), where she met her second husband, GottfriedLessing.- She divorced Gottfried Lessing. Then, she moved to(5) London with her youngest son.1 CareerCareer195019521953 -> 19541962 -> 19761982 -> 1984200120072008- Her first novel, “The Grass is Singing”, which is aboutracism in Southern Rhodesia, marked the beginning ofher career as a (6) professional writer.- She penned a series of five novels –“Children ofViolence”, describe the life of a rebellious teenager.- For her book “Five Short Novels”, published in 1953,and she received her (7) first achievement in 1954 –Somerset Maugham Award.- With the publication of the feminist novel, “The GoldenNotebook”, her career was raised to the (8) top. Thebook also helped her become the first British authorreceived Prix Medicis Etranger Award in 1976.- She published two novels - “If the Old Could” & “TheDiary of a Good”, under a pen name, Jane Somers toshow the difficulty new authors faced in trying to gettheir work printed of new authors. The novels wererejected by Lessing''s UK publisher but accepted byanother English publisher, Michael Joseph, and in theUS by Alfred A. Knopf. In 1984, both novels were re-published in both countries.- She was awarded The David Cohen Prize for a (9)lifetime''s achievement in British literature.- Doris Lessing received the (10) Nobel Prize forLiterature.- Her name was fifth on a list of the 50 the greatestBritish writers since 1945 ranked by The times.- She (11) ended her career with the book “Alfred andEmily”. Later life 2013 - She died peacefully, at her home in London, at the ageof 94.By the time of her death:+ Issued > 50 novels+ Received # 17 awardsb- Style- Genres:+ Novels (literary and science fiction novels)+ Autobiographies+ Short stories2 + Plays and essays- Topics+ Communism+ Racism+ Feminism2- PLOT SUMMARYFlight was published in 1957, in a collection of short stories named TheHabit of Loving.Flitgh is a short story about an (12) old grandfather living with hisfamily in South Africa. He has a special love with pigeons. His (13)granddaughter Alice is a beloved member of his family who will marry thepostmaster’s son Steven. Instead of joy, he was extremely (14) angry andopposed to this marriage because if Alice maried, no one gossips with him. Hejust 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 strugglesof thought, he freed the (16) bird to fly into the sky and then accepted Alicemariage.3- SETTINGa- Place setting: Not be mentioned directly, but can guess form details. Guessingplace was African• Evidences: + “In folds and hollows of sunlight and shade, the dark red soil, whichwas broken into great dusty clods, stretched wide to a tall horizon.” (17) Dark red soil + “He stumped into the little whitewashed house, hearing the woodenveranda 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 hisgranddaughter swinging on the gate underneath a frangipani tree.” (19) Frangipani tree: a plant prefers and grows best in a hot dry climate3 The world inside the storyAliceStevenThe old manLucyStorytellerThe world outside the story• Extra information: Flight is also one of the stories in the book African StoriesDoris 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 summerevening. Some evidences:+“Her smile made him see her, as he had every evening of this warmend-of-summer month,” : Summer+“Content, he rested the bird lightly on his chest, and leaned againsta tree, gazing out beyond the dovecote into the landscape of a late afternoon. “ : at the beginning, the time of the story is the evening.+“A whirr and a spatter of wings, and a cloud of birds rose into theevening from the dovecote.” in the end , the time of the story is an evening aswell.c- POINT OF VIEWc.1- What is the point of view used in “Flight”?- The story uses (22) third person limited point of view (also calledomniscient)+ 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 thereader what goes on in the story; and tell the readers the thoughts, feelings of(24) ONE character (often the MAIN character ). In “Flight”4 - In “Flight”, the storyteller is not a character in the story. He or she tells thereaders what Lucy, Alice, Steven do, think and say (because generally theseelements relate to the old man – the main character), but more importantly shetells about the (25) thoughts of the old man. The readers learn how the old manis deal with the relationship and events that affect him and how he perceives theworld around him. The reader sees the other characters through the man’s (26)eyes.c.2 – What are advantages and disadvantages?advantages disadvantages- readers can see the story through the eyes of specific character- writers can share the thoughts and feelings of one character- readers are limited to only what the storyteller see and reports- readers almost never know the thoughts and feelings of other charactersd- CHARACTERIZATIONa- Main characterThe old manThe old man keeps his (27) pigeons; it shows that he has a kind andcaring nature - ''Pretty, pretty, pretty,'' he said, as he grasped the bird and drew itdown, feeling the cold coral claws tighten around his finger. He considers the birds is his only pleasure in life, and regards hisgranddaughter as one of his birds and asks if he can keep her a bit longer. Healways wants to keep her, have control on her, and never let her leave; it showsthat he is very (28) possessive, selfish- He said: `Think you''re old enough to gocourting, hey?'' or ''Think you want to leave home, hey? Think you can go runningaround the fields at night?
1 Author‘s biography Doris Lessing (1919 – 2013) a - Events Author’s Point 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 Life 1925 - With the promise of farming riches, her family moved to (2) Southern Rhodesia (a British colony in southern Africa - now, Zimbabwe), but they failed Events - 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 she met her second husband, Gottfried Lessing 1949 - She divorced Gottfried Lessing Then, she moved to (5) London with her youngest son Career Career 1950 - Her first novel, “The Grass is Singing”, which is about racism in Southern Rhodesia, marked the beginning of her career as a (6) professional writer 1952 - She penned a series of five novels –“Children of Violence”, describe the life of a rebellious teenager 1953 -> 1954 - For her book “Five Short Novels”, published in 1953, and she received her (7) first achievement in 1954 – Somerset Maugham Award 1962 -> 1976 - With the publication of the feminist novel, “The Golden Notebook”, her career was raised to the (8) top The book also helped her become the first British author received Prix Medicis Etranger Award in 1976 1982 -> 1984 - She published two novels - “If the Old Could” & “The Diary of a Good”, under a pen name, Jane Somers to show the difficulty new authors faced in trying to get their work printed of new authors The novels were rejected by Lessing's UK publisher but accepted by another English publisher, Michael Joseph, and in the US by Alfred A Knopf In 1984, both novels were republished in both countries 2001 - She was awarded The David Cohen Prize for a (9) lifetime's achievement in British literature 2007 - 2008 - Her name was fifth on a list of the 50 the greatest British writers since 1945 ranked by The times Doris Lessing received the (10) Nobel Prize for Literature - She (11) ended her career with the book “Alfred and Emily” Later life 2013 - She died peacefully, at her home in London, at the age of 94 By the time of her death: + Issued > 50 novels + Received # 17 awards 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: + “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 +“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 Steven The old man Storyteller - 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 d- disadvantages - readers can see the story through the eyes of specific character - readers are limited to only what the storyteller see and reports - writers can share the thoughts and feelings of one character - readers almost never know the thoughts and feelings of other characters 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 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 person: o o o old man's daughter and Alice's mother She is a (37) grown up Appearance: “square front” Action: take care of her dad- the old man Her dad thought: “That woman” Her husband: No information She married at “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 about him, affectionate, concerned, trying to charm away his wet eyes and his misery They took his arms 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 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: 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 + “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 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 10 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 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 11 ... printed of new authors The novels were rejected by Lessing' s UK publisher but accepted by another English publisher, Michael Joseph, and in the US by Alfred A Knopf In 1984, both novels were republished... 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... 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