A Mild Attack of Locusts By Doris Lessing

Author’s Introduction

Doris Lessing, a Nobel Prize winner 2007 was a British-Zimbabwean author. She was born on 22 Oct, 1919 in a British family, living in Iran. Her parents being British influenced her outlook. Her father was World War 1 veteran and her mother was a nurse and a strict woman. In 1925, the family then moved to southern Africa and remained there until moving to London in 1949.

She is insightful and often has unconventional exploration of human relationships, societal structures, and the psychological complexities of individuals. Lessing worked in numerous genres, including novels, short stories, plays, poetry, and essays that showcased her versatility and literary brilliance.

Lessing’s literary career began with the publication of her first novel, The Grass Is Singing (1950), a sad critique of racism and colonialism in Southern Africa. Her famous work, The Golden Notebook (1962), is a popular feminist text, examining the fragmentation of identity, gender roles, and political ideology.

Her other notable works are The Children of Violence series (1952–1969), The Good Terrorist (1985), and The science-fiction series Canopus in Argos: Archives (1979–1983). In her writings, Lessing explores controversial themes such as colonialism, gender dynamics, mental health, and political ideologies. 

She challenged societal norms and got both admiration and criticism. Her later works were shifted to science fiction, a move that surprised many of her readers but demonstrated her willingness to experiment with narrative forms and genres.

Along with the Nobel Prize Winner in literature, The Swedish Academy praised her as that epicist of the female experience, who with skepticism, fire, and visionary power has subjected a divided civilization to scrutiny. Lessing was politically, religiously, and culturally deeply skeptical. She passed away on November 17, 2013, at the age of 94.

Historical Overview

A Mild Attack Of Locusts by Doris Lessing traces back to the socio-cultural environment with the challenges faced by agricultural communities in Southern Africa. The story is set in a rural farming community, reflecting Dorris’ deep connection with that area. The story highlights the harsh realities of the farmers who relied on agriculture for their survival and livelihood.

Their crops were vulnerable to natural calamities such as locusts attack. Historically, locust’ attacks have been one of the most devastating natural phenomena for farmers. Their swarms were capable of destroying all their crops. The locusts’ attacks have also been found in biblical and other historical texts as a symbol of desolation and famine.

Doris Lessing’ A Mild Attack of Locusts was first published in New Yorker Magazine in 1955, then in her short stories collection, The Habit of loving in 1957. This short story is also found in African Stories( 1981). The story reflects the collective effort of the farmers to fend off the locusts’ invasion through the traditional methods of lighting fires and producing noise.

Summary 

A Mild Attack of Locusts is a short story about locusts( grasshoppers) attack on the land that alerts us how a mild attack of locusts can be horrible and trouble-creating. The whole story revolves around the arrival of the locusts in swarms and later on complete devastation in a very short period of time. 

Once they start growing, they can not be controlled except the two traditional ways to repel them through lighting fire and creating noise. It reflects the power of nature and human resilience in the face of calamity. The story centers around the theme that man is just like a toy in the hands of circumstances. However, through staying power, he can face all the hurdles manfully.

Once, a swarm of locusts attacked the farms of a village and it was threatening to their crops. The farmers did their best to save their crops from the onrush of the locusts. They raised as much hue and cry as possible by beating cans and old bits of metal , setting the piles of wood and grass to ablaze them and to produce smoke. 

They blazed dark and bitter smoke by throwing wet leaves onto the fire. The farmers kept fighting the swarms to prevent them from settling in their lands. The main swarm was yet to settle. The locusts were heavy with eggs and were in search of some suitable spot where they could lay eggs. 

If they had got a chance to lay their eggs, their hoppers’ growing up would have eaten their crops. Margaret, the passionate observer, rushed out to join other people. During the onrush of the locusts, she attended many telephone calls. She informed people about the risk and devastation of the locusts. 

Being upset by the ongoing situation, she showed remarkable courage and refused to despair. She minutely watched the whole situation and was ever ready to help others. However, she did not know how to resist and avert the attack of the locusts. 

When the locusts went away, she had a sigh of relief. Being a bold lady, she felt like a survivor after the war and did not take to heart all this. The locusts, like a streak of rust-coloured air, were seen over the rocky levels of the mountain. The laborers shouting loudly were ordered by Richard and Stephen to the neighbor’ farm.

The locusts’ swarm darkened the sky and made the trees bend with their weight. Like driving rain, they ate all the crops and left nothing. Suddenly, a running man came and announced that all the crops were finished by the locusts. The main swarm of the locusts did not settle. They were having eggs in their bellies and were looking for a spot to settle and lay eggs.

The villagers could have saved their crops only if they did not allow the insects to settle down. The old man told Margaret that the attack of locusts might last long. It could be very dangerous for their crops. The old Stephen took out a locust and crushed it down with his thumbnail. There were eggs inside the locust. 

Locusts ate up every blade of their crop. After their attack, the village resembled a jungle. There was no grass for the cattle and this could result in their sudden death. Thus, the villagers were expecting rain so that new and fresh grass might grow. They ate their supper with a good appetite because they were to regrow all the crops.

Characters 

The different characters in the story represent different responses to adversity. Here is a list of characters

Margaret: She is the protagonist, compassionate and a sensitive woman. She is inexperienced in dealing with crises but later on, learns to accept the loss and shows quiet strength and resilience. Her concern for others to assist during the crisis reflects the depth of her character.

Stephen: Stephen is an experienced farmer with a practical approach. He remains calm and knowledgeable about farming and natural challenges. He embodies the stoicism and resourcefulness needed to face calamities like the locust invasion.

Richard: He is Margaret’s husband and a supportive character in the story. He is Caring, responsible, and hardworking. His actions reflect the determination and unity demanded to combat natural disasters.

The Old Man (Stephen’s Father): He is realistic, experienced, calm in facing disaster, and a wise observer of rural life. His pragmatic approach is in contrast with Margaret’s anxiety.

The Villagers and Laborers: The collective group of people fighting against the locust invasion.

They are united, resourceful, and determined. They represent the collective effort that is required to face natural disasters.

The Locusts (Symbolic Antagonists): They are a destructive, relentless force that threatens the livelihood of the villagers. their huge number, devastating power, and indifference to human intervention focuses nature’ dominance.

Theme

The Power of Nature: The story focuses on nature’s formidable dominance over humanity. The unstoppable locusts symbolize destruction and the unpredictability of life. Despite the villagers’ best collective efforts, they could not prevent significant losses that highlight human vulnerability to natural forces.

Human Resilience: Human resilience in the face of adversity is another theme of the story. The villagers, especially Margaret, refuse to succumb to despair even looking at devastation. Their fight for survival and plan for the future presents their enduring hope and strength. 

Unity and Collective Effort: The story tells the collective effort of the farmers to fight against the locusts. The villagers employed traditional methods of noise-making and creating smoke to combat the dangerous attack. 

Human’ fragility over Endeavors: The story explores human precariousness in achievements. The forces of nature can undo man’ months of labor and careful planning. It symbolizes the fleeting and fragile nature of human endeavors.

Critical Analysis

A Mild Attack of Locusts is a distressing and sad commentary on human vulnerability, perseverance, and ultimately facing a loss against the power of nature. It teaches humans to create a balance between human desires and the forces of nature. Doris Lessing’ story portrays a locust attack as a metaphor for life’s inevitable challenges. 

It presents explicitly the psychological and emotional effects of natural disasters on rural communities that survive entirely on the land. Lessing conveys the intensity of disaster and its terrifying beauty through vivid imagery of the sky darkening with locust swarms or trees bending beneath insects’ weight.

Margaret in the story,  serves as the emotional anchor, unlike seasoned farmers like Stephen and Richard. Margaret shows a wider perspective. She is an empathetic yet unprepared individual who is thrust into the harsh realities of rural life. Her reactions from initial helplessness to final acceptance reflect the process of confronting and coping with critical situations. Her resilience symbolizes hope amidst despair.

Lessing uses the narrative tone to combine realism with irony. The title of the story is paradoxical, as the locust attack is far from mild. This irony denotes the normalization of such hardships in the lives of farmers who are bound to bear and rebuild repeatedly.

In addition,  we find the broader relationship between humanity and nature. The villagers’ attempts to fend off the locusts show ingenuity and determination; they ultimately highlight the limits of human control over the situation. After reading the story, we come to know that survival lies not in conquering nature but in accepting its challenges with courage.

The Use of Literary Devices 

No literary work is without literary devices. Doris Lessing employs a number of literary devices in A Mild Attack of Locusts to enhance the beauty of his narrative.

Symbolism: The locusts symbolize nature’s destructive force. The locusts filled with eggs symbolize hidden danger and unseen problems that can be increased if not addressed. Fire and smoke symbolize human struggles when the villagers use them to combat the swarm.

Paradox / Irony: The title of the story is deeply ironic. The attack of the locusts is mild, as it destroys the crops and is a threat to the livelihoods of the villagers. The villagers eating supper with a good appetite after the destruction gives a stark contrast between the grave situation and their resilience.

Imagery: A Mild Attack of Locusts presents vivid imagery in these sentences.

The sky looked darkened because it was covered with swarms of locusts, 

The trees were in a bending form because they were under the load of insects.

These images create an overwhelming scale and menace of the invasion.

Personification: The locusts are personified 

They looked like driving rain.

They were heavy with eggs and in search of a suitable spot to lay them.

Metaphor: Margaret’s experience of the attack is metaphorically likened to surviving a war, highlighting the psychological toll such events can take.

Allusion: The story depicts the locust swarm that alludes to biblical and historical accounts of locust plagues, 

Tone: The tone of the story changes from calm, and descriptive to the tense situation, reflecting the changing mood as the villagers face the crisis.

Realism: Lessing’s depiction of the villagers’ methods of lighting fires and making noise to repel the locusts, adds realism to the story. 

Questions and Answers

1. What are locusts?

Ans. Locusts are just like the grass-hoppers that ruin the crop and vegetables. They fly in large groups.

2. How did the farmers throw wet leaves on fires?

Ans. The farmers threw wet leaves on the fire to make it more acrid and black.

3. What was the desire of every farmer?

Ans. Every farmer wanted to save his farms from the attack of the locusts. Therefore, each of them had the desire that the locusts might overlook his farms and go on to the next.

4. Did Margaret know what to do to keep the locusts away?

Ans. Margaret was very much upset at the time of the attack of the locusts. She knew nothing to keep the locusts away from the farms and fields

5. What was the condition of the trees?

Ans. All the trees looked lifeless. They were queer and still. The branches of the trees were clotted with the thick swarm of the locusts. They were bent down to the ground due to the heavy weight of swarms.

6. How did the old Stephen treat the stray locust which he found in his pocket?

Ans. He took the locust out of his pocket and crushed it down with his thumbnail. There were eggs inside the locust.

7. Are the hoppers different from the locusts?

Ans. The Locusts are fairly different () from the hoppers. The hoppers are the young ones of the locusts and are produced when the locusts lay eggs. The hoppers cannot fly like the locusts. The locusts are the grown-up insects.

8. Did Margaret lose heart on the loss of crops?

Ans. Yes, Margret lost heart at the loss of the crops. She left herself like a survivor after war. All the lands were ruined. She didn’t want to think of the locusts anymore.

9.Why are the locusts compared with the bad weather?

Ans. The locusts are compared with the bad weather as both are unpredictable and come suddenly. Both destroy and ruin the crops. The locusts and the bad weather are natural calamities which cannot be avoided.

10. Why did the men eat their supper with a good appetite?

Ans. The men did a great deal of labor throughout the day in order to save their lands from the locusts. They were now very much tried and hungry. That’s why, they ate their supper with a good appetite.

11. How did the farmers try to prevent the main swarm of the locusts from landing on their farms?

Ans. The farmers knew that if the locusts landed on their farms they would lay eggs there and then the hoppers would eat up every blade of grass. So, the farmers tried to prevent locusts from settling on the ground by beating the drums. They also threw wet leaves on the fire to make it more acrid and black and to raise more smoke out of it.

12. Why even after all the crops were destroyed did the men continue to fight the swarms?

Ans. The farmers continued to fight against the locusts because they were preventing their farms from the main swarm of the locusts heavy with eggs to settle down and lay eggs.

13. What was the condition of the land when the locust had moved to the south?

Ans. When the locusts had moved away to the south, they left behind a completely barren ruined and devastated land. There was not a blade of grass left to eat for a man or animal. Everything was to be replanted.

14. What are the measures the farmers should have taken to save their crops?

Ans. The farmers should have taken precautionary measures before the attack of the locusts. Firstly, they should have made huge fires to produce black smoke to keep away locusts. Secondly, they should have sprayed their crops according to the advice of the agriculturists. This way, they would have been able to save their farms from the sudden attack of the locusts. They should have prayed to Allah for bumper crops.

15. Write a note on the character of Margaret.

Ans. Margret was very sincere and considerate. She was very kind and caring. She was even ready to help the farmers by making fires and attending the phone calls. She thought of herself to be a survivor after war. She did not know how to help the farmers to keep the locusts away from their farms.