Perspectives

To better understand the short story “England versus England” by Doris Lessing, it is always useful to try and connect the text with similar works and literary period in order to gain a broader perspective on its theme and meanings.

Literary period

The short story belongs to the Modernist literary movement whose main features are:

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Works with the same theme

A short story which also deals with class identity in a British context is “Karma” by Khushwant Singh (Worlds of English, pp. 178).

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Works the same author

Doris Lessing has written various stories dealing with social aspects of her society and their effects on fictional characters, just like it is the case with “England versus England”. For instance, in “DHSS” (Worlds of English, pp. 62), the author also explores class differences but in a more modern, 1980s setting.

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