Compare the Ways the in Which the Writers of Flight

Compare the Ways the in which the Writers of Flight and collar and blowtorch show Characters coming to terms with growing up. Growing up will always be a greatly discussed topic for sources, regardless of genre, time pointedness or their own per newsal experiences. Stories about growing up throw off been a part of fiction throughout hi romance, with great authors such as J. M Barrie, CS Lewis and even Stephen King adding their own contributions. The pieces discussed in this essay have very divers(prenominal) views on growing up and are told from very different perspectives.One from an elderly man wishing his granddaughter would stay young forever and one from a young male child trying to be often older indeed his respective years. Flight, by Doris Lessing, is the account statement of an old mans struggle to accept his granddaughters lust to get married and his own negative feelings on marriage. Lessing was increase in Zimbabwe in the 1930s, by a mother determined to keep a strict Edwardian lifestyle, which may have been responsible for Lessings opinions on marriage. Lessing is quoted saying There is a whole generation of women and it was as if their lives came to a stop when they had children. DorisLessing. org, 2012, online. The protagonist, the Grandfather, has similarities in his opinions to that of Lessings own. Which is that marriage is for when you are ready to give up on a life of your own. Compass and Torch, by Elizabeth Baines, is the composition of a camping trip between a young boy and his father. The pair have not spent time alone together since the fathers divorce from the boys mother, a year earlier. Their consanguinity has been damaged by their estrangement which they both are trying to repair, although they are not capable of it in just one night.The primary character of the story is the boy, with the majority of the story macrocosm told from his perspective. Both of the authors use characterisation as a method to portray the them e of growing up. In Flight, the gran soda water is up habilitate at his youngest granddaughters longing to grow up and move out, it is shown in this quote from his internal monologue now the house would be empty, gone all the young girls with their laugh and their squabbling and their teasing. He would be left, uncherished and alone. He feels abandoned by her, he is the except mentioned male family member and it assumed that he is the father figure to his grandchildren. His perspective is from a per give-and-take left behind by the person growing up rather than the person who is growing up, which is less common in fiction. By the polish off of the story the grandfather has become more accepting of the change, which is illustrated by his release of the pigeons. The boy in Compass and Torch is the focus of Bainess story. He is octette years old and trying to act like a grown man.He is striving to convince his father and himself that he is a man and equal. In which he and his fath er will be 2 men is just one example of his determination to be seen as a man. The attempt at comparability is his way of adjusting to his changed relationship with his father. In contrast when he is at groundwork with his mother he acts the most mature, especially with his stepfather Jim, Yes said the boy, forcing himself to acknowledge Jims humanity and affirmation. is a example of the boy showing a surprising amount of maturity for an eight year old.Differing from Flight, the boy does not have a epiphany at the end of the story and it is assumed he will continue his attempts at maturity when he wakes. The language style varies in the two pieces. In Compass and Torch, Baines switches the narrative between the view points of her characters, mostly from the perspective of the boy but with brief insights into what the father is thinking and occasionally the horses. In Flight, Lessing writes from the outlook of the Grandfather, with the entirety of the story filled with his actio ns and thoughts.This fits with the aims of the two pieces, Flight being about the grandfathers opinions and emotional journey, in contrast, Compass and Torch is about the changed relationship between the two individuals, so the slip narrative fits with the theme of story. Both of the writers use very evocative imagery in the stories. In Compass and Torch, Beyond the gate is the open moor, pale in the early evening with bleached end-of-summer grass, bruised here and there with heather and ge-old spills of purple granite is the first example of many suggestive descriptions that conjure images of the dark rugged terrain, it is not a coincidence that the description fits with the Snowdonia mountains in Bainess native Wales. She uses the wilds as a metaphor for the uncharted terrain the man and boy are negotiating in their impertinent relationship, in contrast to the stable and homely setting when the boy is at home with his mother. Similarly, Flight has very a descriptive setting but with much bolder and brighter colours than the dark greys and greens of Compass and Torch. The dark red soil, a stream of rich green grass and the pink flowers all set a bright and idyllic tone to the railway cottage and surrounding land where the story is set. Lessings metaphor is different to Bainess, Lessings colourful home represents the childhood and innocence of the granddaughter. Its isolated location adding to the image of safety against the intrusion of the outside world, its maturity and corrupting influence. Bainess uses her govern of information in the Compass and Torch much more than Lessing.In Flight, the only glaring lack of information is the fate of the Grandfather and his daughters respective spouses. There is no mention implied or otherwise of the formers wife. I was married at seventeen and I never griefted it (said his daughter), Liar he said. Liar. Then you should regret it, implies that the daughters was an unhappy marriage in the eyes of the Grandfather or at least she was too young and he wishes his granddaughter could avoid her mistake.If the writer had included what had happened, we might sympathise with either the Grandfather or his daughter but it is left out, as it is not a story about fact, it is a story about the Grandfathers feelings and that would distract from the point. Baines is much stricter with what information she gives the reader, but there is a very clear aim to her lack of detail. The only name we are given is that of Jim the step dad, the members of the family are nameless. The divorce details are left out. The reason why the dad has been absent and his current relationship status is unknown.All of this undefined detail creates the ability for the reader to relate to the story easier and attach their own experiences. In one instance, a fellow student make herself empathising with the mother, who is not the warmest of the characters, as she knows how she feels when allowing her own child to visit her father. This was Bainess aim, the fact that the dad is the very archetype of the strong male character type and the boy, a very familiar personality to anyone with experience of eight year old boys trying to impress someone, all help the story be more kindly to the reader.There are recurring patterns running throughout both of the pieces, which the authors use to tie in their themes of growing up. The pigeons in Flight are a metaphor for the grandfather trying to control and protect his granddaughter, feeling the cold coral claws tighten around his finger. Content, he rested the bird lightly on his chest, shows he was happiest when his granddaughter is dimension on to him as tightly as he was holding her, but now the relationship has changed and hes holding on to her alone.At the end of the story when he release the pigeons, it is his way of symbolising his reluctant acceptance of her leaving. All though She was staring at him and He saw the tears run shudder off her face indicates that now t hat he has let her go and she is free to pursue her adulthood, she is frightened to go on without him. Lessing turns the tables there, showing the other side that the girls desire for independence is not all she thought it was going to be. In Compass and Torch, the pattern is the recurring interference of the horses.They are totems for the mistakes the boy and the man are making. The dad is in so much pain and scared that he is losing his son that he is ignoring his sons attempts at bonding, its shown in the line the horse comes up to the car, The man bats her away, he repeatedly ignores the horse like he ignores his son. The boy has a different problem, he is so obsessed at being a man like his dad that he forgets to be a child, (the horse) provides a close up display that could easily fascinate an eight-year-old boy which the boy ignores eyes only for the man. The horses show that the man is the one who needs to grow up, stop wallowing in self pity and try and connect with his son , that way the son will be able to stop trying to be a man and enjoy his childhood which is surely what the dad would prefer. Growing up is explored from two very different perspectives in the stories, both deal with accepting the reality of the situation rather then what the characters would prefer. The grandfather has to accept his granddaughters growing up and the son has to accept he is not a man just yet.