Through the Tunnel Lesson Plan

Doris Lessing was born on October 22, 1919, in Iran, to British parents. Her father was employed as a bank clerk, and her mother was a former nurse. After spending her early childhood in Iran, the family moved to the British colony of Southern Rhodesia (modern day Zimbabwe) in 1925, where her parents owned a farm. She received some education in Zimbabwe, attending school until the age of 13, but she was largely self-educated after that point. She became interested in politics and writing, pursuing these interests while working variously as a nursemaid and telephone operator. She married in 1937 and gave birth to two children in 1940 and 1941. By 1943, she had divorced and involved...