UNFOLDING THE OBSCURE IMAGE OF BEN IN DORIS LESSING'S BEN IN THE WORLD (2000)

Abstract

Th is paper studies the unusual character of Ben, who seems not to be adequately understood and is exaggeratedly foregrounded as somebody except a normal human being. In order to reach a more comprehensive picture of Ben, we examine diff erent characters’ mental functioning, narrative lines, points of view, and voices, especially Ben’s, the story’s protagonist, through the lens of narratology and focalization. Furthermore, Ben’s clauses are analyzed in more detail through the technique of free indirect thought (FIT) to learn more about Ben’s mental functioning, his consciousness, and the interactions between him and the world around him. Finally, we show that diff erent narrations portray Ben as having a simple, child-like, animal-like, and deviant mind style or as too passive to alter his situation, but the analysis of his narration shows something diff erent, and it seems that he is not understood adequately by other characters.