Analysis Of Briefing For A Descent Into Hell

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Doris Lessing, a British novelist in the modern and contemporary literary era. She was born in Persia 1919 and in 2007 won a literary Nobel Prize. Lessing wrote over forty books throughout her career concentrating on social criticism and science fiction, one of which is the science fiction novel, Briefing for a Descent into Hell. Lessing uses science fiction because she "has to use words to talk to us" T.S. Elliot, but words would have failed to express the meaning of this book. Lessing describes her view of mystical vision of human existence in the following ways, by describing man 's spiritual nature, remembering the purpose of one 's spiritual life, and challenging us to remember spiritual nature. Lessing, through use of science fiction, …show more content…

In the novel, Lessing uses Charles walking into the Crystal as a metaphor for him finding his spiritual awareness. The first time that it appeared, Charles could feel its presence. It caused his senses to be heighten, yet diminished at the same time. He was not yet evolved enough to see the crystal, but the sound it was making was high pitched enough that he could feel the vibrations throughout his whole body. Then it left and he felt empty. The emptiness was his him realizing that he missed out, it caused him pain and this pain was necessary for him to learn that there was more to his human life. He feels assaulted by what he does not know. The second time that the crystal comes, Charles enters it. "Inside the crystal, Charles experiences an "understanding" that the world outside of it also exists in "another dimension or level or vibration" (93). This was Charles finding his spiritual awareness. He entered a fourth dimension, here is where he finds the importance of his …show more content…

Throughout different the novel, Charles encounters a few different times where was to remember that he is a spiritual being. "It 's knowing Harmony. God 's law, That 's what it is. Let me...let me...I must...let me get up" (143). When Charles says this, he is still in Central Intake Hospital and he is talking to Doctor Y after he really wakes up since he has been there. Doctor Y assumes that Charles is now well rested enough to be able to tell them who he really is. They say he is awake, but he has been awake before and says that this does not compare to it. This awakeness that he speaks of, of course, is when he is remembering himself as a spiritual

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