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Corkish Alan P a g e | 1 Them and Us; an examination of working-class culture, politics and attitudes in selected British twentieth century novels Alan Corkish BA (Hons), MA, MSc A Thesis submitted to Edge Hill University in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2017 P a g e | 2 Contents Declaration by candidate……………………………………………………... 3 Abstract…………………………………………………………………………. 4 Chapter one: Introduction and methodology ……………..…………… 5 Chapter two: Working-Class novels…………………………….……….. 24 Chapter three: The voices of the Novel…………………………………… 38 Part one: identification Chapter four: Sport and education…………………….…..…………… 44 Chapter five: MPs …………………………………………..…………….. 62 Chapter six: Gender ………………………………………..……………. 98 Chapter seven: The underclass……………………………….……………. 117 Part two: ‘them’ Chapter eight………………………………………………………………..…. 139 142 173 Part three: ‘us’ Chapter nine……………………………………………………………………. 188 End words Chapter ten…………………………………………………………………….. 270 233 Literary Bibliography……………………………………………………………. 272 Critical Bibliography……………………………………….…………...………. 274 329 P a g e | 3 Declaration: This thesis is entirely my own work and has not been submitted in any form for the award of a higher degree at any other educational establishment. Dedication: For my amazing Mum & also Mum2 (Mig), and of course; for ‘us’ P a g e | 4 Abstract: ‘If only 'them' and 'us' had the same ideas we'd get on like a house on fire, but they don't see eye to eye with us and we don't see eye to eye with them, so that's how it stands and how it will always stand.’1 The thesis seeks to investigate and identify specific instances of them and us in selected British twentieth century working-class novels. The methodology employed is qualitative with a heuristic/psychological underpinning that relies in part on the theories of Clark Moustakas and which then supports a Marxist, feminist aspect centring on reader-response theories. The aims include identifying, defining and deconstructing the nature of the working-class novel having first identified the term ‘working-class’ and the reasons for the selection and identification of the novels chosen which may be termed ‘working-class’; it explores the difference between novels perceived to be ‘working-class literature’ as opposed to ‘proletarian-writing’ and examines specific areas which arise including culture, the System, religion, the nature of authority and attitudes to women and minority groups in conjunction with an examination and identification of what may be termed pervasive ingrained machismo dogmas which may in turn lead to a better understanding of the terms them and us. The central focus of this thesis is on the texts, the novels themselves, what the author(s) or the narrators are actually saying more than what the critics have to say. Although the nature of ‘class’ has been investigated many times the specific identification of the phrase ‘them and us’, though in common use, has seldom previously been subject to scrutiny with regard to an investigation of specific literary texts and it is my belief that the term has become accepted as though there was but one definition of the term. Further, the term has come to encompass and to be applied in general to novels in a manner which has then categorised these novels while failing to examine the actual texts in depth; this is something I will examine particularly in section three. The thesis is divided into ten chapters with further sub-division to three sections. The first section seeks to identify them and us in general terms, by investigating instances of them and us in selected novels of the twentieth century. In section two the focus is upon novels which may be inclined to favour them while the third section conversely examines novels which might lean more towards us. Key words: working-class, socialist, feminist, proletarian, Marx, System. 1 Alan Sillitoe, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (London: Harper Perennial, 2007), p.7-8 P a g e | 5 Chapter one Introduction and methodology The methodology, my guideline for arriving at a satisfactory conclusion, will be qualitative. What seems to be the way to progress is to rely on what the literary texts actually say, what the narrative reveals, and what the author’s opinions, if they recognisably intervene, lend to both the historical significance and to what Assman refers to as the ‘cultural memory’2 within the dialogue. Seeking to establish how this approach relates to these selected twentieth century novels especially with regard to the issue of them and us. It is my contention that the critical commentary relating to the culture of a them and us perspective is lacking and with that in mind I should make it clear from the outset that close reading of the author’s texts is my priority; the content of the novels taking precedence over literary theories. My aim is to identify and to clarify exactly what the term ‘them and us’ refers to, for I suspect that although in most instances them are the people who control the economy and us are what students of Proudhon would have referred to as the ‘wage slaves’,3 there are surely diverse voices hinting at other interpretations and even voices which disguise their intent. I intend also to incorporate to some extent the ideas of Clark Moustakas4 and his research method described as the heuristic process in a book of his which framed part of my awareness prior to the research question being formulated clearly in my own mind. A phrase of Roads referred to by Moustakas haunts, intrigues and inspires me; ‘let go of the known and swim in an unknown current’5 meaning, to abandon preconceived notions and rely on the experience stimulated by the internal flow of raw and personal ‘knowledge’. I will seek for this raw and personal knowledge within the texts via a reader-response approach which will accommodate my own experience as an individual born into the working class and employed 2 Jan Assman, Religion and Cultural Memory, translated by Rodney Livingstone (Stanford: University Press, 2006), p.63 3 Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, No Gods, No Masters: An Anthology of Anarchism (Edinburgh, Oakland: AK Press, 2005), p.77 4 Clark Moustakas, Heuristic Research: Design, Methodology and Applications (London: Sage, 1990) 5 ibid; p.26 P a g e | 6 in manual tasks and the politics of Trades Unions for a substantial part of my life. Nearly all uses of a heuristic approach are confined to the areas of psychology and psychotherapy; however as the basis of my approach is to seek enlightenment by immersing myself in literary texts that have a particular meaning to this researcher I eventually concluded that I would be comfortable with a research methodology which would be appropriate to there being one single individual whose experience I could rely upon totally and whose personal experiences were in many respects similar to that of many of the characters outlined in various working-class novels. This individual is my ‘self’. To conform to my ethical code I should declare also that there is a protective element embedded within the heuristic approach which recognises the possible dangers of swimming in the unknown current. This is particularly true for me as I have been diagnosed as bipolar and although it has been controlled for over thirty years part of its effect upon me still is to heighten my emotional responses. Further, my decision to incorporate an element of the heuristic approach was taken with Moustakas’ point uppermost; that there are possible dangers inherent in immersing oneself in the past and in exploring the deeper relevance of narratives when they have close personal relevance; ‘The dawning of awareness may be refreshing and peaceful, or it may be disturbing and even jarring.’6 While the theories of Moustakas form part of the foundations upon which my methodological approach sits they are incorporated in part as a means of ethical self-protection and as such will be there in the role of support rather than the substance of the core approach. That said as a practising psychologist working in the field of psychotherapy I will also centre mainly on the actual texts as opposed to critical commentary. To explain; I find myself inclined toward Carl Rogers’ person-centred notion of psychotherapy that the ‘client’ is the most important source of truth, in this case the client being the authors of the original texts; Tressell, Gibbon, Hines, Holdsworth etc. It is right of course to listen carefully to the commentary which in 6 ibid; p.13 P a g e | 7 psychology stems from relatives, friends, ‘experts’ and of course in literature from the critics and theorists; but it is essential to hold fast to the notion that the essence of truth lies with the client/author. There is also a link with explorative psychology and reader-response theories which I also intend to incorporate, for example Selden suggests that the Gestalt approach to psychology observes that the human mind does not perceive things in the world as unrelated bits and pieces but as configurations of elements, themes, or meaningful, organized wholes. Individual items look different in different contexts, and even within a single field of vision they will be interpreted according to whether they are seen as ‘figure’ or ‘ground’. These approaches and others have insisted that the perceiver is active and not passive in the act of perception.7 The deduction is that all readers actively partake in an act of interpretation when experiencing texts and that just as individual objects look different in different contexts so will texts be observed and ‘translated’ in various ways as the reader progresses through experiences; further, that text itself is not an immutable object to be observed as-is but is instead symbolic of something intended.
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