Analyse af 'The Mother of the Child in Question'

I have read the short story “The Mother of the Child in Question” which is written by Doris Lessing. In the story we are introduced to an Pakistani family consisting of Mr. and Mrs. Khan and four children - their son Hassan, their daughter Shireen and then two older daughters whom we don’t hear that much about. This introduction and observations are seen through the eyes of a social worker named Stephen Bentley. He has to convince the family to send their daughter Shireen to a special school because she is subnormal. But this isn’t easy for Stephen because the mother Mrs. Khan doesn’t want to admit that her daughter is different and then tries to prove otherwise.

In the following paragraphs I will try to make a clear picture of the setting in the story. Afterwards I will make a characterization of the social worker Stephen Bentley and the mother Mrs. Khan. In the end I will bring in the different smiles and what it means to the short story.

The setting in the story is described in details. It all starts on a walkway between two tower blocks with a lot of apartments. The narrator describes the place as a colourless place;