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Text Messages on Their Tiny Phones, Or Openly Carried on Conversations While Matthew Attempted to Address the Class Decline and Fall Michael Carbert A Thesis in The Department of English Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts at Concordia University Montreal, Quebec, Canada February, 2009 © Michael Carbert, 2009 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre r6f6rence ISBN: 978-0-494-63323-6 Our file Notre r6f6rence ISBN: 978-0-494-63323-6 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1+1 Canada iii ABSTRACT Decline and Fall Michael Carbert Decline and Fall tells the story of Matthew Roberts, a first year high school English teacher working in Caribou, a small mill and mining town on the north shore of Lake Superior. While struggling to adapt to his new circumstances, Matthew finds himself increasingly isolated and forced to confront the possibility that the ideals which motivated him to enter the teaching profession are obsolete in a time and place where formal education and literature have little value. The novel seeks to portray the conflict between Matthew's aspirations and a compromised educational system that has lost all integrity. Helping to dramatize this conflict are three other major characters. Amy Kimball is a troubled yet gifted young woman, a student in Matthew's grade ten English class who shares his enthusiasm for books and learning and who is regarded as a "freak" by most of her fellow students. Her mother, Donna, a custodian at the school, is a person of a completely different sort, a boozing, dope smoking, motorcycle driving woman who is increasingly frustrated by her daughter's eccentric behaviour and high ideals. Bill Brecker, Caribou High School's interim vice-principal, must accept the fact that the mode of education which he had worked to preserve for decades is giving way to a new pedagogical approach, one that values expediency and the appearance of right conduct over genuine progress and learning. It could be postulated that a fifth character in this novel is the high school itself. The physical setting of the school and the behaviour of its students are described in detail, revealing a learning environment which is anything but wholesome and nurturing. Set against a backdrop of labour unrest and a looming teachers' strike, the novel seeks to highlight serious moral and cultural concerns in a manner reminiscent of Mordecai Richler's Cocksure, Nathanael West's Miss Lonelyhearts, and, of course, Evelyn Waugh's Decline and Fall. Table of Contents Chapter 1 1 Chapter 2 7 Chapter 3 27 Chapter 4 42 Chapter 5 60 Chapter 6 119 Chapter 7 127 Chapter 8 141 Chapter 9 156 Chapter 10 186 Chapter 11 215 Chapter 12 239 1 Chapter One Bill Brecker arrived early to get a first-hand look at things before Vic McAuley showed up. It was dark, the driveway and parking lot still illuminated by the eerie glow of the sodium lights. Even from inside the car Bill could smell the sulphur, that wet, cloying odour from the pulp mill. One hand on the steering wheel, he slowly manoeuvred his Buick around the school, noting the yellowing shrubs, the run-down portables and the area of bare earth behind them covered in cigarette butts and plastic bottles, the weedy soccer field with its decaying wooden goal posts, the spots of crumbling concrete on the walkway and front steps of the big brown aluminum box that was Caribou High School. Another crappy school in another miserable little town. What Helen had said in the kitchen after Bill finished explaining who had called, the details of the offer, how much they would pay him. She'd muttered the words with a sigh, before looking up at Bill and quietly saying, "No thanks." Then she left the room, limping, her arthritic knee bothering her again. She returned wearing her big white sun hat and her gardening smock. Bill hadn't moved from the kitchen. She stopped and looked at him. "Well, there's nothing to discuss, is there?" she had said. "Fine. Go. I'm not coming with you, but go if that's what you want. It doesn't matter to me." And then she had hobbled out to tend to her zinnias, the screen door slamming shut behind her. Bill parked and slowly, in stages, extricated his six foot, six inch frame from the car, his back and knees still stiff from yesterday's long drive. Having left Winnipeg late morning, he had made good time, turning off the highway and coasting into the town of Caribou, "the Hub of the North Shore," just after seven. His first evening in town he 2 spent lying on his motel bed, the Sunday night game on, mixing himself rye and gingers and eating pizza. He had called Helen around eight to let her know everything was fine. "Tell me again," she had said. "What are they paying you?" When he'd made his reservation at the Superior Six Motor Motel, he'd requested a non-smoking room with a firm bed. As he moved about the room, he detected stale tobacco smoke and the mattress sagged under him like a hammock. The pizza had arrived soggy and warm, cheese adhering to the lid of the cardboard box. The television picture was intermittently obscured by a trembling black vertical column that slowly, maddeningly, drifted from one side of the screen to the other. The boisterous men in the room next door, employees of the Ministry of Natural Resources according to the pick-up truck outside, thoroughly enjoyed themselves until well after one in the morning. Another crappy school in another miserable little town. He stood next to the car, thinking about Helen, the night sky turning dark blue on the horizon, before a set of headlights turned into the driveway and moved towards him. A huge, white SUV pulled in and a man with a thick moustache and curly hair got out. Bill figured this had to be McAuley. Smiling, he came around to look up at Bill and extended a hand. "Bill?" he said. "Yeah," said Bill "Good morning." "Vic. Man, is it good to see you. Hope you weren't waiting long. How was the drive?" "No problems," said Bill. "Went fine." 3 "That's a long trip," said McAuley. "Long drive." There was an awkward pause, McAuley nodding. "Hell of a drive," he said. McAuley seemed to be still waking up. He stared out at the soccer field for a moment, blinking. "Okay then," he said. "Well, we're very glad you're here. I mean, really glad. So, let's see. We'll be meeting with Joyce and the director in..." He looked at his watch. "Jesus. Not for another two hours." He looked up at Bill again. "Why are we here so early?" "Well, you originally wanted me here a week ago. I thought we should hit the ground running." McAuley nodded. "Right you are. No time to waste, eh? All right. Let's go in and get you oriented." He turned and headed across the parking lot. Vic McAuley was the Assistant to the board's Director of Education, the man who'd called and asked if Bill would consider coming out of retirement to help a school that was "in crisis." "Our vice-principal's in the hospital and when he gets out he'll need another six months or more to fully recover," he had told Bill over the phone. "With all the early retirements, the school lost nine full-time people last year, some excellent teachers, and we've been forced to hire mostly young, untested staff to replace them, five of them brand new. Relations with the union aren't good; negotiations are deadlocked. We're looking for someone to come in immediately, interim vice-principal, and we're offering significant compensation for the person who can show leadership on a number of fronts." McAuley had recommended the Superior Six Motor Motel. 4 Following him across the parking lot and down a concrete walkway to the school, Bill took in the heavy gold watch, the expensive leather shoes, the overall look of affluence that went with his Escalade.
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