Flight by Doris Lessing and Kiss Miss Carol by Farrukh Dhondy - Coursework Example

? Contrast and Compare ‘Flight’ By Doris Lessing and ‘Kiss Miss Carol’by Farrukh Dhondy. Task Flight and Kiss Miss Carol are twoshort two short stories that, though in different settings and time, largely bring out the theme of family relationship, cultural differences and the essence of rites of passage- stories revolving around growing up, moving on and changes in life. In the story flight,the main character is an anonymous old man who rears pigeons for a living. Hisqualmsare over the impending marriage of hisgrandchild, Alice to Steven (Lessing 2004). In the past, he has witnessed all his other granddaughters move out of his home, get married and grow up. In a way, he is quite possessive of his granddaughter Alice and covetous of Steven; he loathes his physical appearance as well as the occupation of his father (Lessing 2004). As the plot develops the old man contends with his granddaughter regarding her conduct, and carps to Lucy, Alice's mother. At the begging of the narrative the old man grasps his much loved pigeon, instead of letting it fly. However, when his granddaughter’s boyfriend gives him a gift of another pigeon, though reluctant, he is more able to admit the inevitable events about to unfold and allows his pigeon to fly off. The narrative’s conclusion ending is vaguedepicting more than a single likelyimplication. Alice stands there staring at the old man with tears running down her face though it is not clear whether they are for him; his boyfriend; her mother or for any other reason. Similarly, it is not clear if the sobbing is due to joy or sadness (Lessing 2004). ‘Kiss Miss Carol’ is the narrative of a young Bangladeshi schoolboy Jolil whose family originally emigrated from Bangladesh to England where the dominant families in the neighbourhood are western (Kress 2005).They have a traditional eastern upbringing but now are living in a western society. His father, Miah, has ensured that his family has maintained their native traditions of Bangladeshi and does not embrace the western lifestyle. For instance, his father grew up in a country where traditions were revered and the family was greatly valued (Kress 2005). Jolil is assigned a role as a cripple in a Christmas drama but he is well aware that his father will object terming the role as racism and prejudice. The story captures the psychological tussle the boy undergoes in reaching a decision on where his allegiances lie. The old man and Miah, to some extent, depict similar characters. Both are concerned about the family and want to make the key decisions without even consultation with the rest of the family. Both are possessive and are not willing to let go. Though the old man accepts her granddaughter to go with Steven, he does so with a heavy heart and emotion with “his throat clotted with tears and his lips trembling” (Lessing 2004). Miah is a total authoritarian; largely due to his upbringing. He refuses Miah to take up the role in the play with no apparent reason. Jolil is aware that despite insisting like any kid would, his father would not allow him to participate in the play (Kress 2005). Nevertheless, the two stories also show us the caring and sensitive side of both characters. For instance, the old man accepts to let the pigeon fly “clenched in the pain of loss” (Lessing 2004). There is an incident where Miah is described as showing his sensitive fatherly character when he is seen looking worried and his gaze seemed to be engrossed afar from the wall he was gazing at. He compliments his son by telling him he is a good boy (Kress 2005). Both bring out similar picture of family relationship in that men make decisions while the women are only to be seen and not heard. All women are submissive and none of them comments or participates in decision making. In the two stories, men considerably dominate over the women. Both stories show that they are in an English setting though the time and era vary.In flight, some of the most prominent features of the setting are the wooden porch at the rear of the routed household and the frangipani tree (Lessing 2004). This tree is named after an Italian perfumer because the fragrance of its flowers allegedly is similar to one of his designer colognes. Other details that suggest the story to be in English setting include classic lifestyle of the area characterized by a valley, the terrain, and the trees; pigeons dwelling place; Lucy's stitching;dishes and mugs of tea; and the fact that Steven's father's occupation is a postmaster (Lessing 2004). Although the time setting the story is relatively contemporary describing a seventeen-year-old granddaughter almost moving out of her home to begin her own independent life: the old man’s approaches and attitudes are more outmoded. He desires his granddaughter to stay at home and pamper her as the most loved. In Kiss Miss Carol, the setting is well described as being an English setting (Liverpool) though the family is indigenously from Bangladesh (Kress 2005). It is during the not-so-olden times when racism and prejudices were still rife. In conclusion, I prefer the story Kiss Miss Carol. The story has a pleasing conclusion since Jolil finally attains his wishes although he had to suffer guilt; “I’m a traitor Miss. No holiday for school” (Kress 2005). After Jolil has conceded that he will not assume any role in the play, culpability engulfs him because he ruminates that the excellence of the play largely depends on him and hefrantically wants to ensure that he will not sadden his schoolmates. The story also vividly brings out what goes on in the mind of the young boy as he struggles to find his real identity; initially, he is confused on where to place his allegiances- home or school since there is considerable pressure from both places. For instance, during one of the rare incidences in which his mother talks, she urges him ‘skip school and stay at home’ for there is a lot of chores to be performed. Conversely, the headmaster pressures Jolil to do well in his studies to have a holiday. Towards the conclusion of the story, when the frightening event (being chased) is unfolding, coincidentally the boy was almost at his school he quickly reacts by making a good decision of running to school despite the fact that he was not going to participate in the drama.Here he exhibits apt decision making skill which is not based on egocentric needs. A distinguished fact is that whenever he wished for his dad’s attention to command him off to school he just yelled in his native Bengali dialect (Kress 2005). It is quite clear that in this occasion, he is sure of his real identity since upon arrival at school, he is hurried into the performance platform by his teacher Ingram. References Kress, G. R. (2005). English in Urban Classrooms: A Multimodal Perspective on Teaching and Learning. Lessing, D. (2004). Flight and Other Short Stories. Harcourt Education. Read More