Seminar 4

Doris Lessing
Biography quiz questions

1. When did Doris Lessing win Nobel Prize for Literature?

a) 2007 b) 1999 c) 2004 d) 1996

2. What was Doris Lessing’s original name?

a) Emily Maude McVeagh

b) Doris May Tayler

c) Jane Somers

d) Martha Quest

3. When was Doris Lessing born?

a) 10 February 1929

b) 28 June 1914

c) 15 August 1918

d) 22 October 1919

4. Where was Doris Lessing born?

a) Plymouth

b) Salisbury

c) Kermanshah

d) Durban

5. Where did Doris Lessing live in 1925-1949?

a) Southern Rhodesia

b) Northern Rhodesia

c) Nyasaland

d) Bechuanaland
6. Which school did Doris Lessing attend?

a) St. George’s School

b) Dominican Convent High School

c) St. Columba’s Middle School

d) St. David’s School

7. Which was Doris Lessing’s first novel?

a) A Ripple from the Storm

b) The Sweetest Dream

c) The Summer Before the Dark

d) The Grass Is Singing

8. When did Doris Lessing write The Golden Notebook?

a) 2000 b) 1974 c) 1962 d) 1988

9. When did Doris Lessing die?

a) 15 March 2004

b) 7 April 1995

c) 26 September 1997

d) 17 November 2013

10. Where did Doris Lessing die?

a) Teheran b) London c) Pretoria d) Washington

Doris Lessing: The Grass is Singing

1.Answer the questions:
1. Lessing provides two epigraphs to the novel. One is an excerpt from T. S. Eliot's
The Waste Land and the other is from an unknown author: "It is by the failures and
misfits of a civilization that one can best judge its weaknesses."

How does Lessing's novel reflect the epigraphs that she chooses to precede it?
I think that both Mary and Moses show the weaknesses of personality. Their
weakness can show the faults of society as a whole.

2. Why is the title fitting in this story?

The title is taken from a poem called The Waste Land written by T.S. Eliot (1922),
which blends antique myths and representations of contemporary society, finally
resulting in a sombre and pessimistic vision. When the grass is singing it means that
it is hot and then the cicadas make a lot of noise. Mary hates hot weather and hates
the noise. It indicates the way she thinks about her life.

3. Is this novel still relevant in depicting racial relationships or does it represent a

period of history that no longer exists?

The novel mainly talks about racial discrimination in the relationship of black natives
and white people who live in Southern Rhodesia. Racial discrimination in this novel
is very apparent.

I think there are some places in the world where it is still relevant.

4. Is this novel a tragedy? If so, who is the tragic figure?

The news, that a white lady has been murdered by her black servant Moses for
money, acts as an omen for other white people living in that African setting.

Mary and Moses are each tragic figures. Moses is a tragic character because his
actions are a result of discrimination. Mary's treatment of Moses was cruel and she
singled him out for abuse and humiliation because she hated him. Moses, on the other
hand, stored up his hatred and desire for revenge, and finally snapped killing the
woman without a second thought, after which, he silently waited for his punishment.

5. How does the novel support the dictum "the personal is the political"?

The feminist dictum “The personal is the political,” reflects how private experiences,
like those concerning women’s bodies, are arenas worthy of public attention and
activism.

2.Choose the correct answer

1.What makes an irritating noise for Mary? (from Chapter 11)

a) Birds b) Crickets c) Cicadas d) Toads

2.What does Mary forget to give the boy? (from Chapter 5)

a) His wages b) A break c) Food d) Any sort of praise

3.What part of the house makes noise when the seasons change? (from Chapter 7)

a) The windows b) The roof c) The plumbing d) The floors

4.What does Mary hate the most about the workers? (from Chapter 7)

a) Their language b)Their smell c)Their attitude d)Their rude remarks about her

5.About what does Mary pick up a pamphlet? (from Chapter 6)

a) Alpaca breeding b)Copper mining c) Beekeeping d)Embroidery

6.How many workers does Mary manage? (from Chapter 7)

a) Fifty-five b)One hundred c) Twenty d)Eighty

7.What happens to Dick in February? (from Chapter 9)

a) He gets in a car accident. b) He has a stroke of luck with his crops.

c) He gets sick. d)All of the above.

8.What is the only part of the newspaper that Mary reads? (from Chapter 6)

a)The economic news b) Births and marriages

c)The sports section d)Obituaries

9.What feelings does Mary have towards Dick? (from Chapter 11)

a) Resentment b) Pity c)Hate d) Love

10.Where does Mary find Moses? (from Chapter 11)

a)The store b)The old chicken coop c)In a clearing d)In the kitchen

11.What does the doctor suggest? (from Chapter 7)

a) Cut back the bush b) Wire the house for mosquitoes

c) All of the choices d) Put in ceilings

12.What disease does Dick get? (from Chapter 7)

a)Malaria b) Influenza c)Typhoid d)Cholera

13.From where did a new idea in farming that Dick tried come? (from Chapter 10)

a) The colonies b) Canada c) England d) America

14.What product causes the most loss at the store? (from Chapter 6)

a) Whiskey b) Blankets c)Bicycles d)The food that rots before it is sold

15.What does Mary order the boy to clean? (from Chapter 5)

a) The bath b) The kitchen c) Himself. D) The floors

16.What is the name of the new house boy? (from Chapter 8)

a) Michael b) Moses c) Damien d) Jonah

17.From where did Moses come? (from Chapter 9)

a) The slave pens b) Madagascar c) The mission d) A labor camp

18.What does Mary ask Dick if they can do? (from Chapter 8)

a) Have children b)Leave the farm c)Go on vacation d)Retire early

19.How does Moses comfort Mary? (from Chapter 9)

a) He tells her about the hardships he faced at home.

b) He gives her a shot of whiskey and takes her out on the verandah.

c) He gives her a handkerchief to dry her eyes.

d) He gives her a glass of water and tells her to sleep.

20.What does Tony suggest Mary do? (from Chapter 11)

a) Run for her life b) Leave the farm immediately

c) Get some rest d) Go to a doctor

21.What does Mary wish Dick would install in the house? (from Chapter 5)

a) Air conditioning b) Proper flooring

c) Windows d) Ceilings

22.How far away is the station from the farm? (from Chapter 6)

a) Twenty-five miles b) Nine miles

c) wo miles d) Seven miles

23.With what will the geraniums grow side-by-side? (from Chapter 11)
a) Daisies b) lackjacks c) Roses d) Perennials

24.What does Charlie offer to do? (from Chapter 10)

a) Buy the farm b) Talk to Mary for Dick

c) Lend Dick some money d) Help Dick with the farming

25.When will it rain? (from Chapter 5)

a) In the next season b) In a month

c) In a few days d) In six weeks, if Dick and Mary are lucky