Masaryk University in Brno Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies
Reflections of British Society in the Campus Novel (B.A. Thesis)
Irena Žampachová
Supervisor: doc. Mgr. Milada Franková, CSc., M.A.
Brno, April 2006
I hereby declare that I have worked on this B.A. Thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography.
26th April 2006 in Brno:
... … … … … … … … … … … … …
I wish to express many thanks to my supervisor, doc. Mgr. Milada Franková, CSc.,
M.A., for her kind and valuable advice and help.
Contents
1. Introduction 5 1.1. The Thesis 5 1.2. Campus Novel 6
2. Post-war Period; Kingsley Amis 7 2.1. British Society After the Second World War 7 2.2. The Movement; Angry Young Men 8 2.3. Kingsley Amis – Lucky Jim (1954) 9 2.3.1. Biography of Kingsley Amis 9 2.3.2. Lucky Jim – Brief Summary of the Plot 9 2.3.3. Lucky Jim – Reflections of British Society 10
3. The Permissive Sixties; Malcolm Bradbury 16 3.1. The Age of Affluence and Liberal Society in Britain 16 3.2. Malcolm Bradbury – The History Man (1975) 18 3.2.1. Biography of Malcolm Bradbury 18 3.2.2. The History Man – Brief Summary of the Plot 19 3.2.3. The History Man – Reflections of British Society 20
4. The Ungovernable 1970s and Thatcherism; David Lodge 25 4.1. The Turbulent Seventies, the Iron Lady 25 4.2. David Lodge – Nice Work (1988) 28 4.2.1. Biography of David Lodge 28 4.2.2. Nice Work – Brief Summary of the Plot 28 4.2.3. Nice Work – Reflections of British Society 29
5. Conclusion 34
Bibliography 36
1. Introduction
1.1. The Thesis
The main intention of this thesis is to show the interrelation between society and literature. In my opinion historical context contributes to the shaping of a literary work, therefore knowledge of social and historical background is vital for the better understanding of a text. That is why I adopt the approach of literary historians and will focus on the social context in particular. Literary history studies elements that contribute to the composition of literary works, such as the author’s life, the culture and ideas of the author’s contemporary world, and the literary tradition (Stevens, p. 46). I will examine the social and autobiographical elements in three novels by Kingsley Amis, Malcolm Bradbury, and David
Lodge. However, I do not claim that it is possible to judge a literary work only according to its social and historical background. There are always more influences and thus there will always be manifold interpretations.
As the renowned sociologist Giddens put it “no culture could exist without a society, and equally no society could exist without culture” (p. 35). Considering literature as a significant part of culture, I completely agree with the sociologist – there is an interconnection between the two spheres. The authors under examination were undoubtedly influenced by the world around them and in retrospect their writing had effect on the people. Moreover, in this case it is obvious that the authors drew inspiration from the circles they, all being university professors, knew intimately – the academic world. I will illustrate the reflections of society in the campus novels Lucky Jim (1954) by Kingsley Amis, The History Man (1975) by Malcolm
Bradbury, and Nice Work (1988) by David Lodge. Along with social factors I will also concentrate on the historical and political aspects of British society and on the situation in
5 education, too. Structure, style or any such elements of fiction will not be in the focus of my attention.
The text of the thesis is divided into chapters in chronological order, therefore the post-war time and the period of the 1950s will first be discussed in connection with Kingsley
Amis’s Lucky Jim . Then the next decade and Bradbury’s novel The History Man will be dealt with and finally I will focus on the 1970s and the 1980s together with David Lodge’s Nice
Work .
1.2. Campus Novel
The campus novel has become a very popular genre in Britain and the USA since
Amis’s pioneer Lucky Jim , published in 1954. This kind of novel is characterised by being set at a university and professors, rather than students are in the focus of the author’s attention
(Hilský, p. 104). The university staff are ridiculed by writers for various reasons: Amis satirizes the dons in order to criticize the Establishment and the system of education;
Bradbury and Lodge are not concerned with the authorities so much as Amis and employ parody in order to mock trendiness or naivety of the professors. The plot is usually set in a provincial university and the hero is a member of the staff. The setting of campus novels is important in one particular aspect: those who know the academic world and its laws can appreciate the parody better than those who are not familiar with the academic context. The readership is thus, in a way, limited (Hilský, p. 104).
6 2. Post-war Period; Kingsley Amis
2.1. British Society After the Second World War
The period from 1945 up to the end of the 1950s was the prelude to the radical change in social attitudes in Britain in the 1960s. There were many factors contributing to the reshaping of society: both World Wars were a severe blow to the British Empire in the economic sense and the Second World War in particular highlighted huge social problems.
Britain was gradually losing its position as a global power. The Empire started breaking up and by 1964 most of the colonies became independent. Britain had to focus on its own affairs and the post-war Labour government realized the urgency of social reforms, being inspired by the Beveridge Report. This report, published in 1942, described the social problems as five
“giants”: want, sickness, squalor, ignorance, and idleness (Marwick, p. 46). The government passed a number social-reform laws, such as The Education Act in 1944, The National
Insurance and The National Health Service Acts (both in 1946), and the Housing Acts and
Rent Control Acts of 1946 and 1949 respectively. Britain became a welfare state and served as the best example of social democratic planning (Jones, p. 1).
People of lower and working-class origin benefited most from these innovations.
The new health service was free to all citizens and housing was gradually improved. The 1944
Education Act was of importance in particular as it established a statutory school-leaving age of 16 and abolished fees in secondary schools. Moreover, it provided the possibility of university scholarships for those who could not otherwise afford going to university.
Education has always been a vital factor in determining social mobility. Soon there appeared young scholarship graduates of lower-class origin on the scene, Kingsley Amis being among them. The upper-class intellectuals reacted to this new generation with contempt. The sense of being under threat from these new intellectuals was present in many comments such as the
7 one made by W. Somerset Maugham: “They do not go to university to acquire culture, but to get a job, and when they have got one, scamp it. They have no manners, and are woefully unable to deal with any social predicament. Their idea of a celebration is to go to a public house and drink six beers. […] They are scum.” (qtd. in Morrison, p. 59). Paradoxically,
Amis was awarded the prestigious Somerset Maugham Award for Lucky Jim in 1955
(Bradford, p.108). The upper class did not favour the social change, but as the government became involved in the social and economic field more than ever before, the process of levelling society was natural and inevitable.
2.2. The Movement; Angry Young Men
Kingsley Amis was associated with two groupings in the post-war time: “The
Movement” and the “Angry Young Men”, both being inventions of journalists, because the artists themselves did not form any kind of association. Since 1956 nine British poets, including Amis, D. J. Enright, Thom Gunn, Donald Davie, Philip Larkin, and John Wain have been linked with the former group (Morrison, p. 3). They were labelled The Movement according to the article title “In the Movement”, published on 1st October 1954 in the
Spectator (Morrison, p. 1). The article commented on the emergence of poets (of whom many wrote prose, too) who were against the traditional system and values. They also reacted against Modernist trends and foreignness.
The title “Angry Young Men” is derived from the title of John Osborne’s play Look
Back in Anger (1957). Authors associated with this group wrote about the oppressed and disillusioned young male hero of working or lower-class origin in the changing post-war time.
Other authors described as “angry” were Allan Sillitoe, Colin Wilson, and John Braine.
Despite Amis’s disagreement with being classified as a member of these two movements, the label has stuck.
8 2.3. Kingsley Amis – Lucky Jim (1954)
2.3.1. Biography of Kingsley Amis
Kingsley William Amis was born in London in 1922. His parents were of lower middle-class origin, Amis’s father worked as a senior clerk in the export department of
Colman’s Mustard. Amis was admitted to St. John’s College at Oxford due to a scholarship provided by the welfare state. The Education Act of 1944 enabled people of lower-class origin to receive better education and get opportunities to move up the social ladder, which was exactly Amis’s experience. Jim Dixon, the hero of Lucky Jim , is also the “scholarship man” of lower-class origin. When Amis completed his university studies, he worked as a lecturer in
English at Oxford, Swansea, and Cambridge, which probably provided the academic setting for his novels (Literature Online). It is obvious that Amis drew inspiration from his life.
However, Amis himself claimed in an article Real and Made Up People , published in 1973 in the Times Literary Supplement , that his characters and situations (with one exception) were entirely fictional (Bien).
Amis’s work also includes poetry, literary criticism, journalism, television plays, and the James Bond novel. Kingsley Amis was knighted in 1990 and died in 1995 at the age of 73
(Literature Online).
2.3.2. Lucky Jim – Brief Summary of the Plot
The novel Lucky Jim earned Kingsley Amis huge popularity among ordinary readers as well as critics. The hero Jim Dixon became a prototype of the new post-war man who rebels against conservative institutions and traditions. Walter Allen described the “new hero” in his review of Lucky Jim : “He is consciously, even conscientiously, graceless. His face, when not dead-pan, is set in a snarl of exasperation. […] He is at odds with his conventional
9 university education, though he comes generally from a famous university” (qtd. in Morrison, pp. 52-3). Amis was categorized as an “angry young man” and his parody of middle-class hypocrisy came to be one of the fundamental literary works of the 1950s.
Jim Dixon is a junior lecturer of medieval history at a provincial university and struggles to keep his job. The paradox is that Jim hates his job, in fact. There is nothing of interest in the subject for Jim; he is keener on drinking beer and picking up pretty girls at the university. The object of Jim’s hatred and ridicule is the head of the department, Professor
Welch. He is the one who decides whether or not Jim will be unemployed the next year and that is why Jim tries to make a good impression on him, although he hates the Professor. Jim had been having bad luck from the beginning of his stay at the university and gradually makes rather a bad impression on the whole Welch family. He is unwillingly pushed into pretentious behaviour in relationships with the Welches and his neurotic colleague Margaret. Jim is involved in many embarrassing events during the year and is sacked because of his scandalous public lecture. As the title suggests, Jim is lucky and happy in the end, when he gets a well-paid job in London and the girl he is in love with – Christine.
2.3.3. Lucky Jim : Reflections of British Society
Amis dismissed opinions that Lucky Jim was a class-conscious novel and that it responded to social change. He said that “the social element in what I write has largely been invented by reviewers” (qtd. in Morrison, p. 68). Patrick Swinden, in his study The English
Novel of History and Society 1940-1980 (1984), claims that the character Jim Dixon expresses the author’s own dissatisfaction and annoyance with the world (p. 195). In my opinion the characters in realist writing (and Amis is considered to be a realist writer) are not real, they are the author’s inventions and have a particular purpose or point: the writer may use them as a mouthpiece of his/her own views, for instance; therefore I agree with Swinden. However, I
10 am not trying to prove whether there is or is not a social element in the novel. The focus of my attention is in the social context of the novel (which, I believe, actually shows there is a social aspect incorporated in the text). The essential point of this analysis is to show the representation of the class system, its members and their typical values and lifestyles in the novel.
Although it is not directly expressed in the text, Jim is considered to be of lower or working-class origin and to have gained his university degree due to a scholarship provided by the welfare state. An argument to support this claim may be Jim’s aversion towards books and intellectual staff in general. Jim is completely disinterested in – even disgusted by medieval history and prefers forms of entertainment, particularly drinking beer, which are not considered suitable for a university lecturer. In Britain accent has always been a factor indicating one’s geographical and, above all, social origin. Jim’s flat northern accent (Amis, p. 9) and his financial situation also contribute to the assumption that he does not come from the middle or the upper class. He finds it difficult to manage on his salary and has his own rationing on cigarettes and drinks. He can not even afford to buy a new pair of trousers when they get damaged. The irony is that empty beer bottles represent Jim’s only sure method of saving money (Amis, p. 155). Typical forms of middle-class entertainment, such as college balls, are a waste of time and money for Jim.
Professor Welch and his family are members of the middle class. Mr. Welch is the head of the History Department at the provincial university. Mrs. Welch’s occupation is not mentioned, but I assume she has a well-paid job, probably even better-paid than her husband’s, as it is suggested in the text (Amis, p. 66). They have two sons of whom Bertrand is of importance. He is portrayed as a big-headed and ignorant would-be artist who looks down on Jim. Amis depicts the Welches as hypocritical snobs who try so much to be higher on the social ladder, but will never achieve it because of their rather low intellectual
11 capacities. The Welches nevertheless try to lead an intellectual lifestyle and indulge in high- brow entertainment and that is why they become a target for Jim’s hatred and farce. Jim does not suppress his natural feelings, however sometimes he is forced into pretensions in order to keep the job. Bertrand and Jim become rivals as Jim falls in love with Bertrand’s girlfriend
Christine and his final victory over Bertrand could be perceived as a victory of genuineness over pretensions.
Jim is also uncomfortable in the relationship with his colleague Margaret, who can be classified as a member of the middle class according to her pretentious behaviour. She would like to be more attractive, but will never be and is not able to realize it (just as the
Welches in their effort to become more sophisticated). Margaret wears arty clothes – particularly the quasi-velvet shoes – and makes up too heavily (Amis, p. 43), but the mask lacks refinement. She manipulates Jim and forces him into pretensions. At the ball, when the prominent Gore-Urquhart appears on the scene, Margaret fawns upon him (Amis, p. 121) and her overall behaviour is rather base.
Christine’s uncle Gore-Urquhart is the representative of the upper class. He is one of the old school and his formal behaviour puzzles Jim, because he has probably had no experience of meeting such a distinguished person before. Therefore at the ball, when Gore-
Urquhart stands up as other people join his table, Jim wonders whether he is about to oppose their approach by physical force (Amis, p. 109). Gore-Urquhart is a kind of a fairy-tale character: throughout the novel he quietly sympathises with Jim and in the end helps Jim to get what he always wanted: a well-paid job in London. There is one interesting thing about
Gore-Urquhart: he has a strong Lowland-Scottish accent (Amis, p. 109). This fact suggests that although Gore-Urquhart is a member of the upper class he wants to be distinguished from the English aristocracy.
12 The clash between Jim and the Professor comes at Welch’s arty weekend, which is supposed to be a party full of sophisticated entertainment, such as part-songs, play-reading, recitations, and a chamber concert (Amis, p. 23). The Welches try to show off their intellect as much as possible and some journalists are expected to turn up at the party too. Jim is horrified – he can neither sing nor read music – but accepts the invitation in order to improve his impression on the Professor. Instead, Jim spoils everything he can. Jim’s interests differ from those of the Welches: he longs for a pint of beer. Jim’s colleague Margaret is too anxious to go to a pub in the middle of the party, but Jim does not care what others think and later on gets drunk in a pub. The gulf between the “simple” Jim and the “sophisticated”
Welches is obvious.
At the beginning Jim believes he must try his best to stay at the university as he has no chance of getting another job, though he hates lecturing. Later Jim realizes he is no longer able to stand the absent-minded Welch and his pretentious middle-class family and at his end- of-term public lecture, being drunk as a lord, dismisses Welch’s values (Amis, p. 227). The
Professor idealizes the historical period of Medieval England and believes the old days were better. Welch looks back on the magnificent history of the British Empire, whereas Jim has both feet on the ground and lives in the reality of the 1950s.
There are many indications of Jim’s disinterest in the traditional subject of history earlier than his open outburst at the public lecture. When Jim leaves his office after being sacked, he collects only two or three reference books and some lecture notes instead of the many tomes appropriate for a university lecturer (Amis, p. 230). Jim explains to his colleague
Beesley why he chose medieval history when studying at university. The reason was simple – it was the easiest way to get a degree.
No wonder W. Somerset Maugham was furious when Lucky Jim was published; such an attack on the university institution was undoubtedly impudent and deserved the
13 criticism. The situation reflects the reality of the British post-war educational system, when the less bright students were admitted to university and thus could get a degree, although they did not deserve it. Jim’s colleague Beesley is dissatisfied with this situation and criticizes the authorities, which prefer quantity to quality (Amis, p. 170). However, criticism is not aimed at the low achievements of students only, the teaching staff are attacked too. Professor Welch is described as an absent-minded person who is not capable of being the head of a university department. Jim is wondering how a person such as Welch could ever become a Professor of
History.
The effective tools Amis uses to ridicule the middle class are irony and satire.
Countless examples can be found throughout the text. Bertrand is ridiculed for his effort to distinguish himself from others, as he pronounces some words in a very peculiar way (Amis, p. 51). There are many local worthies coming to Jim’s public lecture, but when it actually starts, Jim notices one of them is missing. Jim assumes the knighted physician came for the drink only (Amis, p. 222). The main target of Jim’s ridicule is Welch. Jim has a scale of faces which express his inner disgust, and uses them very much in connection with the Professor or the university. The scene when Jim meets Welch in front of the library door, which the
Professor is unable to open, is extremely ridiculous. In addition, Jim observes the remains of an egg-yolk on Welch’s tie, which adds to the picture of Welch’s clumsiness and stupidity
(Amis, p. 172).
The Movement authors expressed their aversion to abroad and such feelings can be perceived in Lucky Jim , too. Morrison explains this “little Englandism” as a result of the post- war socio-political climate, when the British Empire gradually dissolved and the government focused primarily on the recovery from the Second World War (p. 60). Jim despises the fact that Welch’s sons have French names, although they are not French. There is one more allusion to the anti-foreignness, in this case anti-French again, in the text. When the reading of
14 an Anouilh’s play is on the programme at the Welches’ art weekend, Jim has to endure it and later on wonders, why a French and not an English playwright was chosen (Amis, p. 44).
I have already mentioned some aspects of the situation in British post-war education and now I will summarize them. Jim Dixon, a beneficiary of the new welfare state legislation, graduated due to a scholarship. He would have probably never studied at a university without the state grant. Now he has a degree and a lecturing job but is satisfied neither with the salary nor the contents of the job. Jim feels uncomfortable in his position and lacks self-confidence, but nevertheless he must persist, because he fears he would not get another job as he has no other qualifications. He is trapped. At the time Lucky Jim was published many young graduates of lower-class origin, who were not appreciated accordingly by society, identified with Jim Dixon. This new generation of graduates was called the Angry Young Men. Britain was slowly recovering from the Second World War and the government adopted new policies: its aim was to provide the people with social security and help them get a better education and jobs. The old generation of “true” intellectuals argued that university standards were falling and the new graduates were ungrateful, but the Labour government wanted to gain support among the numerous working-class people and continued to promote social-reform legislation. The post-war economic situation was miserable. Britain had immense debts and the period of austerity was not over yet. Unemployment reached a peak of 800,000 in 1947 and rationing lasted up to the 1950s (Marwick, p. 19). “Angry” men as well as others had few opportunities to get jobs in the post-war time and that is why Jim stays at the university – simply because of economic necessity (Amis, p. 26).
The novel Lucky Jim reflects the post-war social structure in Britain despite Amis’s contrary declarations. The Division of society into social classes and their characteristics can be demonstrated on the characters of Jim Dixon (lower class), the Welches and Margaret
(middle class), and Gore-Urquhart (upper class). Moreover, some autobiographical elements
15 are obvious in the novel, above all the character of Jim Dixon and the setting in the academic world.
3. The Permissive Sixties; Malcolm Bradbury
3.1. The Age of Affluence and Liberal Society in Britain
The time of post-war austerity was followed by a period of rapid progress and affluence in the 1960s. The growth of the consumer society could already be seen in the mid- fifties (Ford, p. 17), but it was primarily in the 1960’s when this type of the society evolved.
Although the economic situation was still unstable, the average person’s living standards rose, people became richer and could enjoy greater freedom. Improvements arrived in various areas: incomes, housing, technology, entertainment, education, family relationships and social attitudes in general. The sense of revolution and new expectations vibrated in the air.
Weekly wages rose an incredible 88% between 1955 and 1969 (taking inflation into account) (Marwick, p. 114). Housing improved as the old slums had been cleared away and new houses were built. More people could afford to buy property. Innovations in technology constituted probably the most important factor in the change of the British lifestyle.
Television became a form of entertainment for people of all social levels and had an important cultural influence on them (Ford, pp. 13, 15). The fact that by 1971 91% of families had a television proves the widespread popularity of this invention (Marwick, p. 117).
Many labour-saving devices made life easier, such as washing machines and vacuum cleaners. The automobile boom came in the early sixties and the number of car owners has risen ever since (Marwick, p. 118). As life was becoming easier people had more time to spend on leisure activities. Football grew popular and new sports and leisure centres were built (Marwick, p. 152). People could also spend more money on gambling and in 1961 the
16 first betting shop was opened (The Hutchinson Encyclopedia, p. 377). Immigrants made themselves visible by opening authentic restaurants, so that British people could taste cuisines from all over the world. Indian restaurants in particular came to be in demand.
In the sphere of education the change from the traditional to the innovative arrived.
The idea of comprehensive schools promoting equal opportunities was introduced in the post- war time (Ford, p. 31). However, the expansion of comprehensives came in the sixties, under the Labour government of Harold Wilson, when the number of these schools increased ten- fold (Sked, p. 249). Some colleges were up-graded or even became full universities (Marwick, p. 150). New universities were built outside the city centres. Another innovation was the establishment of the Open University in 1969 (Marwick, p. 178) which provided extramural degree courses for virtually anybody. The relationships between parents and children also underwent a modification – the most important members of a family were the kids and they were considered to be equal partners to their parents.
The true revolution arrived in sexual attitudes. First the “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” trial in 1960 indicated the relaxation of old-fashioned morals (Marwick, p. 147). Then various acts passed by Parliament during the sixties only confirmed what was obvious in the changing atmosphere: more freedom in sexual matters. In 1967 the Abortion Act and in 1969 the
Divorce Reform Act were passed. Homosexual intercourse was no longer a criminal offence and contraception started being provided by the National Health Service (NHS) (Marwick, pp.
147-8). The sexual revolution was associated with the young generation in particular. Youths have always rebelled against traditions and authorities. In this period the young people expressed their defiance by wearing miniskirts and hot pants, having pre-marital sex, and listening to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Various youth cultures evolved during the sixties, most notably the Mods and the Rockers (Ford, p. 21).
17 New fields of study were introduced. Richard Hoggart established a Centre for
Contemporary Cultural Studies at Birmingham University in 1964 (Ford, p. 34) and focused its attention towards subcultures as well. Sociology became a fashionable subject at the time
(Ford, p. 22). People started being more concerned with human rights; the feminist movement was revived in the late sixties and gradually gained strength and importance. What is more,
“alternatives” were trendy, such as alternative medicine or organic farming. The intellectual left rose in the sixties in correspondence with the election of a Labour government in 1964.
The left was also a driving force behind the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND).
The period of the 1960s was a time of massive improvement in the social, educational, and economic spheres in Britain. However, there was a negative side to it, too.
More people became dependent on tranquillisers and alcohol and youths started experimenting with dangerous drugs, such as LSD (Marwick, p. 142). Manifestations of racist attitudes towards immigrants occurred and the young radicals were often connected with aggressive actions and anarchy. Moreover, the whole world was under threat of a nuclear war.
3.2. Malcolm Bradbury – The History Man (1975)
3.2.1. Biography of Malcolm Bradbury
Malcolm Stanley Bradbury, the British novelist, dramatist, scriptwriter, poet, and critic, was born in Sheffield in 1932. His father worked as a railway clerk and Bradbury admitted he was of lower-middle-class background. As well as Kingsley Amis, Bradbury received a scholarship and studied English at the University of Leicester. He finished his postgraduate study at universities in London and Manchester and also received the Fulbright
Scholarship to study in the USA. He met David Lodge while working at Birmingham
University in the 1960s. Bradbury later worked at universities all over Britain and was a very
18 active person in British intellectual society. He was awarded Commander of the British
Empire in 1991 and was knighted in 2000. Malcolm Bradbury died in 2000 (Literature
Online).
3.2.2. The History Man – Brief Summary of the Plot
Malcolm Bradbury brilliantly depicted the atmosphere of the revolutionary sixties in
Britain on an ordinary middle-class couple in the novel. The Kirks undergo their own little revolution along with the society. Howard Kirk, a lecturer in sociology in one of the newly built campuses, converts from conservative beliefs to radical ones and gains a reputation as a great “revolutionary”. He enjoys affairs with his students as well as colleagues while being married to Barbara. She does not object to Howard’s promiscuity; on the contrary Barbara respects it and herself has a lover in London. A lot of attention is paid to the intellectual transformation of the Kirks. As the author put it “they were conventional nothings”
(Bradbury, p. 21), but after Barbara’s “accidental” affair with an Egyptian both Howard and
Barbara open their eyes and see the world from a different point of view. They feel new enthusiasm and consciousness, start experimenting in sex and making new friends of various political, social, and religious beliefs. The Kirks’ parties grow famous for being mixtures of people of all sorts.
Howard is portrayed as a self-centred and pretentious person promoting radicalism, him being still somehow conservative in the sense of holding a traditional post. He firmly insists on his left-wing radical opinions. Barbara too is associated with the trendy tendencies of the sixties. The ending is rather pessimistic: it is the year 1972 and Barbara, completely unnoticed, commits suicide in her own house full of partying people. At the same time
Howard makes love to one of his colleagues in the study. This tragedy shows that permissiveness and affluence do not protect the people from depression and scepticism and
19 that neither the sexual revolution nor any radical movement can rid the people of the miserable reality of everyday life.
3.2.3. The History Man – Reflections of British Society
The social change which began after the Second World War accelerated in the
1960s. People recovered from the war and became full of new expectations and hopes. The principal focus in this analysis is therefore on the radical change in British society during the period and its reflections in the campus novel The History Man by Malcolm Bradbury. The author’s critical point of view on the transforming society will also be examined, as it plays a significant role in understanding the work.
Howard was born in the north of England and grew up in a conservative working- class family. His parents, as did Howard, saw higher education as a means of getting up the social ladder (Bradbury, p. 23). Howard earned a scholarship and studied sociology, which was not yet fashionable at that time. Howard Kirk resembles Amis’s character Jim Dixon in two respects: social background and university scholarship. However, Howard finally is appreciated by the society as he is offered a well-paid job and gains wide recognition from others. I believe this is so because the differences between classes had been gradually levelling since the Second World War, in addition it was fashionable to promote classlessness and equality in the sixties. I also suggest that Bradbury, as well as Amis, was inspired by his own experiences when writing the novel because the hero again is a scholarship graduate of lower-class origin and the novel is set at a campus.
The opportunity for Howard to move southwest to Watermouth and get a perspective lecturing job comes in 1967 (Bradbury, p. 36). The sharp contrast between the north and the south is pointed out, as Birmingham is working-class and dull whereas Watermouth bourgeois and trendy (Bradbury, p. 38). The city of Watermouth seems to be full of amiable radicalism
20 and Howard is especially pleased by the fact that sociology is taken seriously at the university. In the 1960s sociology was becoming immensely popular at the newly established campuses in particular (Bradbury, p. 34). In the excited atmosphere of the late sixties both
Howard and Barbara firmly establish their reputation of a radical open-minded couple in
Watermouth. Barbara discusses contraceptive methods openly with her guests. Howard sympathises with the socialist groups at the university during the turbulent time of 1968, this being at variance with the conservative Vice-Chancellor (Bradbury, p. 48). The Kirks hanker after anything radical and get it.
Howard is the main hero and represents the changing society in his personal transformation. He dismisses his old-fashioned opinions and gets carried away by liberation and emancipation. During the 1960s the advertising industry started prospering as the importance of image rose (Ford, p. 17) and people realized that personal images should be cultivated as well. Howard is well aware of this fact. He expresses his allegiance to the radicalism and the left wing by wearing a leather jacket (Bradbury, p. 28) and a Zapata moustache (Bradbury, p. 51). The students also use clothes as a way of showing their allegiance to various movements, e.g. work-clothes come into fashion as the socialist Marxist and Maoist groups gain a huge support (Bradbury, p. 64).
Various students’ socialist organizations respect Howard as the true revolutionary hero and his reputation is even more strengthened after a politically-biased scandal involving
Howard and one of his students (Bradbury, p. 229). Howard fuels his image by being promiscuous, drinking alcohol and smoking marihuana (Bradbury, p. 90), which became a very popular drug among the youths as well as the intellectuals holding traditional posts
(Marwick, p. 143). Howard is also conscious of women’s emancipation and does everything in fairness and together with his wife Barbara (Bradbury, p. 219).
21 Howard may give the impression of a perfect man – he is intelligent, out-going, and successful. However, it is important to bear in mind that Bradbury employs satire in the characterisation of Howard in order to express his own disapproving attitude towards the radicalism of the 1960s (Hilský, p. 109). In Bradbury’s view it is not possible to retain liberal values in such a decaying environment. Bradbury dismisses the sexual revolution as a means of gaining complete intellectual freedom. In fact, he blames the permissive society for the general feeling of frustration and desperation among the people (Hilský, p. 112). Bradbury satirizes Howard to emphasize his pseudo-radicalism and thus mocks him in a brilliant way.
Barbara stays in the shadow of her husband, although she undergoes a thorough change as well – from the dull housewife to the radical emancipator. As she discovers the new energies Barbara becomes an out-going person and gets interested in the trendy movements.
Probably the most progressive aspect of her lifestyle is her promiscuity. The sixties are remembered as the time of the sexual revolution in particular. The fact that Barbara’s love affairs are openly tolerated by her husband (and vice versa) is evidence of the relaxation of the sexual morale. Sexual matters were no longer taboo in society and were accepted on the television and in the newspapers (Ford, p. 15). The women’s magazine discussing types of orgasm (which Barbara buys on her way to London) may serve as an example of this phenomenon (Bradbury, p. 193).
Barbara is involved in the latest activities: she attends a course of commercial
French (Bradbury, p. 99), gets into healthy food (Bradbury, p. 28), and joins a feminist movement (Bradbury, p. 50). She seems to be happy with her attractive lifestyle and the reasons for ending her life are not quite obvious. In my opinion Barbara feels depressed under the huge pressure of the new age and is in fact disappointed with the modern way of her life.
Ford argues that at the time middle-class women became dependent on alcohol and tranquilisers because the modern innovations such as supermarkets and motorways caused a
22 loss of locality (p. 33). Moreover, the relaxed sexual morals of the permissive society contributed to the loss of intimacy in sexual relations which surely was depressing (Hilský, p.
112). Bradbury’s intention of the tragic denouement may have been to show the negative effects of the overwhelming progress.
Another two female characters are worth mentioning: Howard’s colleague Melissa
Todoroff and his student Felicity Phee. Todoroff is an American lecturer studying English women in Watermouth (Bradbury, p. 146) and her sweeping feministic attitudes put Todoroff a step ahead of the British female emancipators. Felicity Phee has not identified with any movement yet, but is in the phase of exploring the possibilities: one day she is a lesbian
(Bradbury, p. 84), another day she is a Hare Krishna believer (Bradbury, p. 220). There existed manifold radical groups and youth cultures in the 1960s and it was very important for the young people to belong somewhere in order to assert their identities.
Although the Kirks’ children Celia and Martin appear on the scene only a few times, it is possible to see the relaxed relationship between them and their parents. It is against
Howard’s principles to exercise his parental authority over the children (Bradbury, p. 100).
When the daughter admits she had been rude to her teacher, no punishment follows; on the contrary Howard sympathises with Celia and is pleased with her “hereditary” radicalism.
Celia in particular is influenced by Howard. She combines her father’s sophisticated vocabulary with inappropriate words, such as “cornflake fascism” (Bradbury, p. 100). The
Kirks represent the evolving type of benevolent family.
The structure of the campus is frequently commented on. The University of
Watermouth was established in the late fifties (Bradbury, p. 63) and since then expanded into a giant complex. In reality many new universities developed in the fifties and the sixties and education enjoyed a period of unusual boom. The Watermouth campus was designed by the
Finnish architect Jop Kaakinen whose cold concrete-glass architecture style was in concord
23 with the modern time (Bradbury, p. 34). Kaakinen incorporated a democratic vision into the arrangement of the campus canteen, its aim being to unite the students with the teachers by projecting one huge room for all. Although Kaakinen removed the physical obstacles, the financial differences remained and that is why the students still ate separately in the cheaper section of the canteen (Bradbury, p. 148). The multi-denominational chapel built within the university (Bradbury, p. 64) might be perceived as another sign of the creator’s equality dream.
The progress towards modernization is visible not only in the architecture, but also in the technological inventions introduced at the university. The audio-visual equipment helps the professors to be more effective (Bradbury, p. 128). A Computing Centre is established at the campus in 1970 and identity cards are issued to everyone (Bradbury, p. 65).
The new universities were often built outside the city centres and were self-sufficient in many respects. The geographical distance and the services such as the post office, supermarket, halls, and pubs present at the campus contributed to the sense of an enclosed intellectual community. On the other hand feelings of isolation within the university grew as the numbers of students and staff rapidly increased. The campus in Watermouth serves as an example of this phenomenon (Bradbury, p. 64).
The city of Watermouth gives the impression of a trendy touristy place. Yet there are unsightly slum clearance areas where the homeless and drug-takers squat (Bradbury, p. 41).
The slums are the remains of the old housing which was mostly pulled down after the Second
World War and replaced by new houses; however in this case the Watermouth council did not have sufficient money for the demolition. One of the Kirks’ many radical steps is to repair one of the empty slums and live in there.
The British multicultural issue is tackled in the novel as well. After the dissolution of the British Empire many foreigners arrived in Britain to settle. It was particularly easy for
24 those who came from the former colonies because they still had British citizenship. Thus
Indians, Pakistanis, and Africans started flowing to the British Isles in the post-war time and as a result the British people’s anxiety gradually rose (Marwick, p. 163). When the numbers of immigrants started growing rapidly, countermeasures were implemented but they did not prevent the spread of racism among the English. Enoch Powel’s open call for repatriation of the newcomers in 1968 highlighted the troublesome situation and started a huge media debate.
When Howard’s colleague Henry gets hurt, he is treated by an Indian doctor.
Henry’s comments on the doctor’s level of English suggest his disapproving attitude towards immigrants (Bradbury, p. 167). The British people did not realize at first that the newcomers enriched their culture in a way. At the Watermouth campus the students listened to reggae in the pub (Bradbury, p. 164), Indian music resounded through the Kirks’ house during the party
(Bradbury, p. 89), and Indian rugs decorated some British households (Bradbury, p. 183).
In the early 1970s the revolutionary atmosphere disappeared and disillusionment spread among the people. At one of the Kirks’ parties in 1972 Melissa Todoroff, the radical
American, disputes with Howard about the loss of enthusiasm and authenticity (Bradbury, p.
227). She argues that nobody cares about the radical problems of the age any longer. Again
Bradbury’s argument against the fashionable radicalism of the sixties and seventies in Britain is voiced in Melissa’s opinion (Hilský, p. 112).
4. The Ungovernable 1970s and Thatcher’s Revolution; David Lodge
4.1. The Turbulent Seventies, the Iron Lady
The people lost their illusions of the affluent society when the economic crisis arrived in the mid-1970s (Marwick, p. 185). The seventies were a rather depressing period full of confrontations and violence. The economic situation changed for the worse, scepticism
25 rose together with unemployment. The socialist welfare state was in ruins and a remedy was urgently needed as the discontent culminated in strikes and protests in 1979. When Margaret
Thatcher became the Prime Minister the same year she introduced radical right-wing reforms
(Marwick, p. 14) and together with her monetarist policies Thatcher cured economic depression in Britain. The term “Thatcher’s revolution” is sometimes used to describe the economic miracle of the 1980s.
The gap between the industrial north and the south which focused on trade grew and so did the differences between the poor and the rich. In the political sense British society polarized accordingly into the left and the right wings (Ford, p. 41). Unemployment increased all over Britain; however in the northern industrial areas the numbers of jobless were the highest. Factories went bankrupt and were closed down and the people were unable to re- qualify for other occupations. The issues of immigrant labour and racism were also connected with this phenomenon. The newcomers from the Commonwealth often became subjects of abuse and were forced to do the work of which the whites were scornful. Their education was not accepted in Britain and that is why they had to take on the low-paid jobs in order to earn their living (Marwick, p. 164). The immigrants were not recognized by the whites and the manifestations of racism towards them became frequent. The British citizens blamed the immigrants for their own desperate financial situation and for the shortage of jobs (Marwick, p. 218).
Privatization under Thatcher’s government constituted a great improvement in the economic situation. The huge sums of money invested by the former governments in the state companies gradually started to return in the form of taxes from the privatized enterprises
(Harantová). On the other hand Thatcher was criticized for some of her radical steps, the cuts in public spending in particular. These reductions had a negative impact, among other areas, on education. The higher fees, reduction of the university staff, and low salaries led to a fall in
26 morale (Sked, pp. 348-9). In response to the cuts the Oxford University refused Margaret
Thatcher to be awarded an honorary doctorate, which is traditionally given to all the graduates who become the British Prime Minister (Harantová).
Although Thatcher called for the return of traditional values, the transformation of society towards liberalism continued. Above all the relationships between the sexes and within the family became more tolerant than ever. The women’s liberation campaign expanded as the “Second Feminist Wave” reached Britain in the 1970s. Female writers asserted themselves, most notably the critic Germaine Greer with her revolutionary book The
Female Eunuch (1970) (Marwick, p. 150). The Sex Discrimination Act and the Equal Pay Act were passed in the mid-seventies and contributed to the growing confidence of women, although any direct results of the new laws were not evident yet (Ford, p. 37).
Youth cultures were mainly associated with the working class and were undergoing constant changes, thus the Punks and the Rastafarians appeared in the seventies and later the
Skinheads re-emerged to fight with the Punks (Ford, pp. 20-1). During the period of the 1980s a new phenomenon evolved: the yuppies. They were the young urban professional people employed in finance or the service trades (Marwick, p. 286) and supported Thatcher’s Tory
Party. Their considerable salaries afforded them to lead a luxurious lifestyle. The yuppies were in sharp contrast with the discontented and often violent youth movements.
Margaret Thatcher stayed in office for 11 years and 209 days (Harantová). Her reforms helped the country to recover from the economic crisis and re-established prosperous
Britain. The social transformation proceeded through the seventies and the eighties accompanied by a disturbing development: the rise of discontent and violence connected with it. Hooliganism spread all over Britain (Marwick, p. 351), strikes were held in protest against governments, riots took place in socially deprived areas (Jones, p. 25), and above all the IRA
27 bomb attacks killed over 3,000 people in the years between 1969 and 1994 (The Hutchinson
Encyclopedia, p. 191).
4.2. David Lodge – Nice Work (1988)
4.2.1. Biography of David Lodge
David Lodge was born in London in 1935. He is not an exception in terms of social background and education among the three authors who are in the focus of my attention – his father was a dance-band musician. Lodge also benefited from the post-war innovations of secondary and college education. He studied English at University College London and then lectured at University of Birmingham throughout the 1960s and 1970s, which probably provided the setting for some of his campus novels (e.g. the Rummidge University in Nice
Work ; Lodge, p. 7). Besides the academic theme Lodge, being brought up in a Catholic family, incorporates Catholicism in his novels, too. There is again no doubt about the autobiographical elements in his work. David Lodge writes full time and lives in Birmingham
(Literature Online).
4.2.2. Nice Work – Brief Summary of the Plot
Lodge puts industry and academia in contrast and at the same time skilfully depicts the atmosphere of the 1980s in the novel. Victor Wilcox, a Managing Director of an engineering company in Rummidge, is the representative of the pragmatic industrial world. It is the Industry year 1986 and the government introduces the “Shadow Scheme” aiming at bringing universities closer to industry. Therefore Robyn Penrose, an ambitious temporary lecturer in Women’s Studies, is appointed the shadow and is supposed to follow Victor at his work to learn more about the manufacturing processes. The clash between the two characters
28 is inevitable as their values are poles apart. Robyn’s naive socialist idea about a university for people of all social classes and colours (Lodge, p. 347) is crushed as she observes the foundry where mostly coloured people have to work under horrible conditions (Lodge, p. 121). Victor on the other hand cares only for money and profits.
Many misunderstandings arise between Robyn and Victor, but throughout the term they come to know each other better and eventually end up in bed together. Victor falls in love with Robyn and wants to leave his family, but Robyn is not interested in him any more.
They realize the Shadow Scheme enriched both of them and stay friends. Victor is fired when the factory is sold to a bigger company and despite the difficulties Victor reunites with his wife Marjorie. Meanwhile Robyn inherits a huge sum of money and accepts the offer of prolonged lectureship at the Rummidge University. Finally Victor decides to launch a new business being backed by Robyn’s capital.
4.2.3. Nice Work – Reflections of British Society
When the novels Lucky Jim and Nice Work are compared in terms of social aspects the immense progress of British society over nearly four decades can be perceived very clearly. In the 1980s life became more comfortable and at the same time more hectic. The horrors of the Second World War were forgotten as the British people entered the modern era of technological innovations and higher living standards. In the study of Lodge’s novel Nice
Work the emphasis will be put on further developments in the areas discussed before, i.e. the economic situation, housing, education, immigration, and social attitudes.
Victor Wilcox and Robyn Penrose inhabit two completely different worlds, although they both live in northern Britain in the 1980s. Victor believes in materialism whereas Robyn in social equality. Lodge demonstrates the division of British society on these two characters and the clash of the conservative and the socialist values is therefore a crucial element in the
29 novel. Victor recognizes traditional Victorian values; Robyn argues that they are hypocritical
(Lodge, p. 242). The study of women writers is useless in Vic’s opinion; Robyn considers this subject to be important (Lodge, p. 114). Victor sees everything in financial terms whereas
Robyn cares for happiness and justice (Lodge, pp. 115-6). The fact that in the end Victor starts reading women writers and accepts financial support from Robyn proves the victory of
Robyn and her ideology according to Hilský and suggests Lodge’s preference for the socialist and feminist rather than the conservative opinions (Hilský, p. 122).
However, Victor and Robyn have one thing in common: the constant worry about their jobs (Lodge, pp. 13, 54). Vic’s task as a Managing Director is to reorganize the factory so that it makes a profit. Despite the severe competition Victor makes slow progress, but in the end is defeated by a bigger company. Although the West Midlands (that is where
Rummidge – in the real terms Birmingham – lies) enjoyed a boom in the motor industry during the Second World War and afterwards (Marwick, p. 193), British manufacturing was outclassed by the new industrial giants of the Far East in the 1970s (Ford, p. 41) which caused the factory closures and the rise in unemployment in the West Midlands and elsewhere.
There is a connection between unemployment in the industry and the issues of immigration and racism in the novel. As I mentioned before, many immigrants settled in
Britain after the Second World War and constituted a significant part of the manufacturing workforce. The author presents the delicate issues on the case of an Indian worker Danny
Ram and the managers’ attitude towards him. Danny is ineffective, perhaps because of insufficient training, and that is why the management plots to sack him. At the meeting socially minded Robyn stands up for Danny and shocks the managers with her disapproval
(Lodge, pp. 143-4). The solidarity of the coloured workers is demonstrated as the only means of achieving workers’ rights (Lodge, p. 155).
30 The author’s criticism of Thatcher’s policies regarding education is evident in the instability of Robyn’s post depending on state subsidies. Even though Robyn is popular among her students and recognized by her colleagues, the Dean of Rummidge University cannot afford to keep Robyn for more than three years because of the money shortage (Lodge, p. 64). Robyn in her left-wing radical sentiment rejects passive acceptance of the government measures and joins the picket line in the strike. Lodge blames Thatcher for the lack of university posts and the devastation of higher education (Lodge, p. 50).
The wave of new theories however was not affected by the cuts in public spending.
Feminist critical theory and women writers were recognized and taught as subjects at universities (Lodge, p. 114). Literary criticism based on the revolutionary post-structuralism evolved in the 1980s and influenced Robyn in particular (Lodge, p. 46). Cultural studies focused on the pop culture and multiculturalism as well and other subjects such as
Commonwealth Literature were introduced (Lodge, p. 351).
The young generation is criticised for its aggressive and graceless behaviour. Again
Thatcher’s measures and the consequent unemployment are blamed for the discontent among the jobless youths (Lodge, p. 241). The conservative Victor is disappointed with his children who care neither about education nor a proper occupation and take everything for granted.
Raymond, a college dropout, finds drinking alcohol and lounging around the best entertainment. Vic’s daughter Sandra does not even want to go to university (Lodge, pp. 238-
9).
The disappearance of the “authoritative father” and the tendency towards greater tolerance towards children meant that youths could enjoy more freedom and comfort without actually deserving it, as is demonstrated by Victor’s children. What was the most important thing for the young generation? To belong to a particular group and assert their identities.
Raymond identifies himself with the Punks. Among the peculiarities of this youth culture
31 were safety-pin jewellery and brightly coloured hair in cockatoo plumes (Ford, p. 21). Sandra does not seem to belong to any particular group but also cares about clothes and hairstyles very much. Robyn agrees that adopting a certain image is very important for young people’s self-expression (Lodge, p. 238).
Robyn also has an image – of a radical feminist. She supports movements promoting the legalization of marihuana, animal rights, abortion or nuclear disarmament (Lodge, p. 45).
Robyn leads an attractive lifestyle just as Barbara in the novel The History Man but seems to be genuinely happy with it as she asserts herself in society. Robyn is successful at work as well as in her relationship with her boyfriend Charles. They swap the traditional roles: Charles undertakes the role of a house-husband and stays in Robyn’s shadow (Lodge, p. 45). They eventually split up and Robyn comes to the conclusion that she does not need a man to complete her (Lodge, p. 380).
The author’s parody can be perceived in his demonstration of social progress on such a basic thing as a toilet. Victor’s grandparents lived in a back-to-back house with an outside toilet in the post-war time. His parents had an indoor toilet. Owing to his hard work and conservative values Victor worked his way up to a house with four toilets (Lodge, p. 16).
The right-wing yuppies’ snobbery becomes an object of Lodge’s ridicule as well. Robyn’s brother Basil and his girlfriend Debbie work in finance in London. Particularly Debbie’s attempt at looking like a noble lady is ridiculed. Robyn quickly reveals her true nature by observing her behaviour and accent: Debbie is dull and of lower-class background (Lodge, p.
181).
The yuppies and the upper class preferred living in the southwest of England because their businesses were centred there. The sharp contrast between this part and the industrial north of England is depicted in the novel. Firstly, there are hardly any black people in the south. Secondly, there is no industry there. Thirdly, the result of the first two points is
32 the non-existence of the working class in southern England (Lodge, p. 305). A critical point is made in Robyn’s comment that the upper class placed the industry far from London intentionally (Lodge, p. 306). David Lodge has lived in Birmingham for a long time and was surely very much aware of the problems connected with the jobless working class in the
1980s.
The policy of multiculturalism was adopted in Britain in the 1980s after the failure of the immigration policies promoting assimilation and integration. Lodge raises this issue in
Nice Work and seems to be rather sceptical about this strategy. He believes the British way of treating race differences must be changed first (Lodge, p. 384) and only then the process of greater recognition of other ethnicities as equals can be successful. The scene when Robyn gets lost in a deprived Rummidge district and is offered drugs by a West Indian shows the desperate situation of the immigrants. Unemployment was high especially among the youths and drug dealing was their only source of income (Marwick, p. 343). When Robyn remembers the previous year’s rioting in the district (Lodge, p. 99) there is almost no doubt that Lodge drew his inspiration from the brutal event which took place in Birmingham in 1985. On 9
September minorities revolted against earlier police interventions and as a result of the violence two Asians were killed (Marwick, p. 343).
It was a paradox that although some people were living on or below the breadline, others concerned themselves with animal rights or preserving the environment. What is more, slimness became fashionable and women starved in order to be thin. On the other hand there existed the poor people who had virtually nothing to eat. Victor’s wife Marjorie also becomes influenced by the new cult of slimness and attends a “Weight Watchers’ club” (Lodge, p. 14).
She is a typical consumerist middle-class housewife whose hobby is spending her husband’s money (Lodge, p. 238).
33 Robyn’s disappointment with no taboos left to break (Lodge, p. 43) is in comic contrast with Victor’s personal revolution consisting of trying an unusual sexual position
(Lodge, p. 294). Although people were convinced that nothing new could ever surprise them after experiencing the shocks of the sixties’ revolution, there still remained some taboos to be broken. In the seventies sex became an ordinary conversation topic and shocking sexual scenes appeared on television instead of Victor’s favourite soccer (Lodge, p. 161). Moreover, earning one’s living as a topless model was considered an ordinary thing (Lodge, p. 36).
There are many paradoxes, or rather opposites in the novel Nice Work . Victor’s long-lasting marriage and traditional family life is in sharp contrast with Robyn’s independence and loose relationship with her partner. The class differences are pointed out, especially in comparison of wealthy managers and businessmen with the poor blue-collar workers. Lodge also touches on the race problems and unemployment. The overall tone of the novel is anti-Thatcher as Lodge describes the impoverished higher education and lets Victor
(the Thatcher supporter) lose in the battle of conservative versus socialist values (Hilský, p.
122).
5. Conclusion
As described in the Introduction the principal goal of this thesis was to demonstrate the reflections of British society in the campus novels written by Kingsley Amis, Malcolm
Bradbury, and David Lodge. The novels were written in the 1950s, 1970s and 1980s respectively, which means that almost four decades of British history are discussed in the thesis. Therefore my focus was primarily on the factors I considered the most important concerning the topic, i.e. the social, economic, and partly autobiographic aspects.
34 The world changed immensely since the Second World War. New inventions were introduced and most notably social attitudes were transformed. The people rejected Victorian traditions and adopted the consumerist lifestyle. Social progress can be perceived in the novels. The hero in Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis is conventional and rebels against the old- fashioned values only in his imagination. The author expresses his critical opinion on social stratification and the authorities. The outburst of radicalism and the battle for intellectual freedom is depicted in Bradbury’s novel The History Man . Finally the comparison of conservative and radical opinions is the subject of Lodge’ Nice Work .
The autobiographic element is of importance as well, because the authors each provide a critical picture of British higher education based on their own experience. Since I believe that the literary characters are the authors’ inventions and have a particular purpose, it is also possible to assume the authors’ personal attitudes towards the whole of society in the campus novels. Amis, Bradbury as well as Lodge more or less satirize society. Amis criticizes the Establishment and the pretentiousness of the middle-class members, whereas Bradbury ridicules the tendencies of the permissive society. David Lodge attacks the conservative government of Mrs. Thatcher and defends the socialist values.
The principal idea of this work is that history, society, and personal experience reflect themselves in literary works. The overviews of the relevant historical periods and the examples provided in the analyses of the campus novels by Kingsley Amis, Malcolm
Bradbury, and David Lodge seem to support the thesis sufficiently.
35 Bibliography
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37