Vic Wilcox in David Lodge's Novel "Nice Work"
In the opening chapter of "Nice Work" we are introduced to Vic Wilcox,
Managing Director of "J. Pringle & Sons Casting and General
Engineering". He lives in an upmarket house on the outskirts of
Rummage with his wife Marjorie and his three children. Raymond, Sandra
and Gary. Vic is man who is quintessentially British. So much so that
he refuses to buy goods made out of the country, the reason for his
annoyance at Marjorie wanting a microwave (96% manufactured in the
East) and for buying a Japanese clock radio. This is again shown in
his insistence on having a Jaguar as his company car, and the pleasure
he takes in beating a Toyota Celica away from a set of traffic lights.
Vic also holds some typically masculine ideals and perceptions, even
down to his dislike of female "gynaecological disclosures" and the
linear description of himself in the mirror, and the list like style
of his C.V.
The novel starts off with Vic Wilcox lying awake in bed worrying about
his career and the problems that will be facing him the next morning
when he arrives at work. "Worries streak towards him like enemy
spaceships in one of Gary's video games. He flinches, dodges, zaps
them with instant solutions." Interestingly Vic is not worrying about
his family at this time, which one might think he would. Perhaps
because his wife is on Valium in a response to the menopause, and one
of his teenage sons has recently dropped out of university, and his
daughter is more interested in a career in hairdressing than she is in
working for her final A-Levels. This early illustration of Vic's
anxiety shows that it is an important part of his character, as we are
introduced to it so early on in ...
... middle of paper ...
...
descriptions. There is also a lot of emphasis put upon his unease at
the female body and sex. This is shown by the fear of a discussion
about his daughter's sex life, both in what it could entail, and in
the probability that it would lead on to a discussion of Vic's own sex
life, which is presumably minimal. This unease is also shown at his
reaction to the pictures of his secretary's daughter who is trying to
become a glamour model. This is again masculine trait, along with the
list making, and the linear description of himself. This character is
built up by simply following the character around in his daily
routine, showing his reactions to everyday events. Subtle hints are
laid down, such as his views about politics, work, his family and
intellectuals. It is a very clever and concise as well as in depth
character construction illustrated here by Lodge.
“A&P” by John Updike and “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner both explore class conflict and the problems that arise from it. In “A&P”, Sammy, the narrator, comments on a girl that he calls Queenie, who is more upper class, while he works at the A&P grocery store. Updike suggests that those with money have more freedom than those without. In “A Rose For Emily”, the entire town watches Emily as she falls deeper and deeper into mental illness. Here, Faulkner seems to suggest that those with money have less freedom. In “A&P”, Updike suggests that members of the middle class have a particular fascination with the rich, which ultimately leads to their demise. In “A Rose for Emily”, Faulkner also suggests that members of the middle class have a particular fascination with the rich, but that this ultimately leads to the demise of those in the upper class. This is evident in point of view, tone, and symbolism in “A&P” and “A Rose for Emily”.
Throughout “Appearances,” Vàzquez strategically crafted words to persuade the reader to recognize the problem and to support her cause. A stark example of this is “It is a frightening reality” (p. 494, 1st paragraph). Instead of writing: “I find this reality frightening,” the author decided to write: “It is a frightening reality.” She clearly expresses not only how she feels, but suggests that it is reasonable for everyone to feel the same way. The words, “Sadly, it is on every level,” (p. 495, 2nd paragraph) are not only an indication that Vàzquez agrees with the statements made in the 20/20 interview, but “Sadly” serves as an indicator that she finds social progression necessary. Although Vàzquez could have simply stated her agreement with the interview, she left no room for misunderstanding when she suggested that the reader should not only agree with, but be saddened by such a truth. It is evident from these examples, that the author strategically used diction to le...
The Victorians thought that their woman should be motherly and uninterested in sex. Women were supposed to be pure and virginal, and even after marriage, they should still be uninterested in sex. The bed is nailed to the floor, which is a metaphor for the culture of male dominance at the time. The narrator's husband, John, is a very successful physician. He tells the narrator time and time again that she is sick. He can be viewed as a very controlling man in which everything must happen his way or not at all. John was a metaphor for the type of society in the 19th century. He is the image of a male-dominated culture where every woman and child had to follow the rules without complaint. The narrator is like a child taking order for the male doctors in her life, even going on to say, “personally, I disagree with their ideas.” She does not accept their diagnosis but has no other choice but to follow it’s harsh procedures, much like the woman of the 19th century. The wallpaper, rules, and opinions of other stood between the narrator’s imagination and intellectual desires, eventually driving her to insanity. However, she is not the only woman in the story to feel this snared feeling. John’s sister, Jennie, claimed that she wouldn't mind tearing the wallpaper apart herself, proving she also felt oppressed by the strict rules of society. The narrator finds
In “A&P,” Sammy is the typical teenager who believes to be distinct from the rest of his co-workers. Sammy works at the cash register noticing everything and everyone around him. For example, he enjoys every detail of the three girls’ physical appearance, “She was a chunky kid, with a good tan and a sweet broad soft looking can with those two crescents of white just under it, where the sun never seems to hit” (1). His sense of superiority is destroyed when he sees that in the eye of the rich, Queenie, he is just another working- class man. He finds Queenie to be the most attractive out of the three girls, his interest physical and mental interest grows as she gets closer to him, “she lofts as folded dollar bill out of the hollow at the center
In Fahrenheit 451 part 3 Montag discovers that Millie turned in the fire alarm but her friends Mrs. Phelps and Mrs. Bowles earlier made a big complaint that Beatty of course ignores it. Later on Beatty regrets what she has to do to Montag. Finally, after his conversation with Montag Beatty immediately makes Montag set his own house on fire little does he know that Montag finds pleasure when burning his own house but mostly the
His annotation of the “women with six children and varicose veins mapping their legs and nobody, including them, could care less” (Updike 159) and “the sheep” (Updike 162) in the checkout lines are an illustration of his everyday repetitious life working at the A&P. He compares these women to animals showing his undeniable sophomoric juvenile behavior.
He makes it clear that the main theme is extreme feminism, so that readers can get a better understanding about how the men feel about the women. The author appears to support the customary parts of men and women. For instance, he suggests that “femininity” should incorporate passivity, subordination and nurturing, while masculinity incorporates strength, aggression and predominance. However, he has strategically flipped the gender roles in order for the readers to view the men as “victims”. As the female figures in this novel depict `masculine characteristics` Ken Kesey makes it appear as though they are threatening and that they shouldn't be expected to show such things. In this essay I will be talking about nurse Ratched’s behavior and justifying it. Secondly, I will be criticizing the patient’s mothers and the manner in which Ken Kesey portrays them and their relationships with their sons. Thirdly, I will be discussing the general portrayal of women in the story in contrast to
Victor and Elizabeth’s childhood reflects a part of the main meaning of the whole as a commentary on the power of wealth in society. Victor was born with a not silver but golden spoon in
The trial of Jude and Sue evoke a sympathetic response from the reader because the couple reflects the values which are prevalent in modern society. They suffer persecution for yielding to emotions which are no longer considered unacceptable or forbidden, as they were then. This portrays Victorian society as being cruel and unnatural, thus creating affection for the characters. Hardy understood the tendency for society to swing like a pendulum from one extreme to the other. He knew that the Victorian era would not last indefinately, and that future generations would become more liberated. This is beautifully illustrated in this reflection of Sue's: 'When people of a later age look back upon the barbarous customs and superstitions of the times that we have the unhappiness to live in, what will they think?’ (p.276) According to modern values, it is wrong to condemn people for following their pure and natural instincts, though they ‘have wronged no man, condemned no man, defrauded no man.’ (p.378) Therefore, by predicting these shifts, and exposing the injustice of Victorian society, Hardy evokes sympathy in the reader for Sue and Jude.
...s still in a patriarchal profession. Marlene could take a job from a man but she still had to deny parts of being a woman such as motherhood. Much is made of the last scene of the play when Angie declares the whole thing "frightening". It seems that the idea of Marlene completely denying her past to climb the ladder of her future was just as frightening as Britain ignoring its past all for the "aura" of a national heritage that ignored the ugliness of imperialism and sexism.
From the story The Great Fire Sullivan has been described with many traits especially from the beginning of the story. One of the first ones that he was described by was him being very neighborly. What this character trait meant was that he would be very social with his neighbors. The text states “Sullivan ambled down the stretch of the land between the O’Learys’ and their neighbors, crossed the street, and sat down on the wooden sidewalk in front of Thomas White’s fence to enjoy the night.” From this anecdote it can be shown that Sullivan is a very neighborly person. Every single time that he had some free time he would go visit his neighbors which is something that someone who is very neighborly would do. If someone goes and visits their
James Cooper and Washington Irving allow us to perceive the contrast between a new America and the old world different ways; Cooper through new American idealism and Irving via a transitory approach.
Post World War Two was a period when industries were crucial as this was when the country needed an economic improvement. To be involved in part of a growing industry was a real social boost, and was thought highly of within the working class, and provided a good salary. Arthur Seaton was part of this industrial growth as he worked in a bicycle factory. However he seemed to take a laid back and unperturbed approach towards the factory, both in his work and towards his ‘gaffer’. “…if the gaffer got on to you now you could always tell him where to put the job and go somewhere else” , which provides the reader with an insight into what Arthur is really like. This shows us that Arthur does not really care for his job, and that he is really only
...ces them outside of the normal perception of society. They both are seen as non-conventional or troublesome women, Vivie for her distance from traditional interest in romance and art, and Mrs. Warren for her moral choices in profession, and as such are treated as other from the more traditionally set men in the play, who question each woman’s value. The interesting fact of this though, is that they both look down upon each other – instead of bonding over their rejection of societal expectations in unique ways, they stigmatize each other in a imbalanced relationship, not only alienating themselves from societal norms in the process, but also from each other.
A Companion to Victorian Literature. Ed. Herbert F. Tucker. Oxford: Blackwell, 1999. “Industrial” by Herbert Sussman.