PRVA GIMNAZIJA SARAJEVO

FINAL ESSAY
Kingsley Amis Lucky Jim

SOCIAL SATIRE

Student: Emina Ibievi

Mentor: Lejla Havi

Sarajevo, April 2009

CONTENT:

IBiography................................................................ IIBibliography........................................................... IIIShort summary........................................................ IVKey facts about the book......................................... VIntroduction............................................................. VISocial satire (Satire, Social satire in Lucky Jim).... VIIHumour through satire............................................ VIIIJames Dixon............................................................ IXJames as antihero................................................... XJames Christine relationship................................. XIDixon Margaret relationship................................ XIILuck in Lucky Jim.................................................. XIIISymbols.................................................................. XIVConclusion.............................................................. XVLiterature................................................................

2 4 6 8 10 11 13 15 17 18 20 21 22 23 24

BIOGRAPHY
Kingsley Amis was born in Clapham, south London, the son of William Robert Amis, a mustard manufacturer's clerk.[1] He was educated at the City of London School, and in April 1941 was admitted to St. John's College, Oxford, where he read English and met Philip Larkin, with whom he formed the most important friendship of his life. After only a year, he was called up for Army service in July 1942. After serving in the Royal Corps of Signals in the Second World War, Amis returned to Oxford in October http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/12/30/articl 1945 to complete his degree. Although he e-1103322-02EB04D0000005DCworked hard and got a first degree in English 771_468x610.jpg in 1947, he had by then decided to give much of his time to writing. In 1946, he became a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain. In 1946 he met Hilary Bardwell, and they married in 1948. He became a lecturer in English at the University of Wales Swansea (1948 61). In 1963, Hilary discovered Kingsley's love affair with novelist Elizabeth Jane Howard. Hilary and Kingsley separated in August; he went to live with Jane. He divorced Hilary in 1965, and then married Jane the same year; Jane and Kingsley divorced in 1983. In his last years, Amis shared a house with his first wife Hilary and her third husband, Alastair Boyd, 7th Baron Kilmarnock. Hilary and Kingsley Amis had three children, among them novelist Martin Amis, who wrote the memoir about the life and decline of his father. In one of his memoirs, Amis wrote: "Now and then I become conscious of having the reputation of being one of the great drinkers, if not one of the great drunks, of our time". 1 he enjoyed drink, and spent a good deal of his time in pubs. Kingsley Amis was knighted in 1990. In August 1995 he fell, suffering a suspected stroke. After apparently recovering, he was re-admitted to hospital, and died on 22 October 1995 at St Pancras Hospital, London. He was cremated; his ashes are at Golders Green

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Crematorium.He came to be seen as an irascible guru of political incorrectness with a distaste for feminism2 .

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
2

The Washington Post, October 23, 1995, p.67

BRIGHT NOVEMBER, 1947 A FRAME OF MIND, 1953 POEMS: FANTASY PORTRAITS, 1954 LUCKY JIM, 1954 THAT UNCERTAIN FEELING, 1955 A CASE OF SAMPLES: POEMS 1946-1956, 1956 I LIKE IT HERE, 1958 TAKE A GIRL LIKE YOU, 1960 NEW MAPS OF HELL, 1960 MY ENEMY'S ENEMY, 1962 THE EVANS COUNTY, 1962 ONE FAT ENGLISHMAN, 1963 THE JAMES BOND DOSSIER, 1965 - Raportti James Bondista (suom. Matti Salo) THE ANTI-DEATH LEAGUE, 1966 A LOOK AROUND THE ESTATE, 1967 I WANT IT NOW, 1968 COLONEL SUN, THE GREEN MAN, 1969 ON DRINK, 1972 ed.: TENNYSON'S POEMS, 1973 THE RIVERSIDE VILLAS MURDERS, 1973 ENDING UP, 1974 THE CRIME OF THE CENTURY, 1975 RUDYARD KIPLING AND HIS WORLD, 1975 THE ALTERATION, 1976 COLLECTED POEMS 1944-78, 1979 COLLECTED SHORT STORIES, 1980 ed.: THE GOLDEN AGE OF SCIENCE FICTION, 1981 STANLEY AND THE WOMEN, 1984 THE OLD DEVILS, 1986 THE FOLKS THAT LIVE ON THE HILL, 1990 THE AMIS COLLECTION, 1990 MEMOIRS, 1991 5

MR BARRETT'S SECRET AND OTHER STORIES, 1993 THE RUSSIAN GIRL, 1994 YOU CAN'T DO BOTH, 1994 THE KING'S ENGLISH: A GUIDE TO MODERN USAGE, 1998

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SHORT SUMMARY
The action takes place in the period after World War II. Jim Dixon is a 35-year-old lecturer at a provincial English university. He is at his first, probation year, and he has not made a good impression on his superior Professor Welch. In fact, he can`t stand his mentor, but he has to flatter him if he wants to keep his job, because his career at that University depends on Mr Welch. Because of that Jim has to make a lecture at the end of the term, and to spend a weekend with Welch at his house at some kind of arts and music party. Margaret is Dixon`s colleague, with whom he has sort of up and down relationship. She is pressuring him to move further with their relationship, but he doesn`t fancy her. On the other hand, he feels petty for her and doesn`t have a heart to leave her, because she is at the Welchs recovering from a recent suicide attempt caused by breaking up with her ex boyfriend called Catchpole. At the party Jim meets Welch`s son Bertrand and his girlfriend Christine. First impression between them wasn`t so good. Jim thinks that Bertrand is pretentious, and that Christine is uptight. Jim escapes from the house and goes for a drink, and comes back later that night.He goes to Margarets room, but she kicks him out, and he falls asleep in his room while smoking a cigarette. When he wakes up he finds out that he has burned holes in bedsheets. Afraid of losing his job, he tries to hide the damage he made, and calls Christine for help, and she agrees to give him a hand. Dixons starts to think more about Christine, but not in a friendly way. He doesn`t see her for the next two weeks, when he goes to the colleges Summer Ball. Gore Urquhart, Christine's rich uncle, who Bertrand hopes to work for, is also attending the ball. Dixon's friend Carol Goldsmith reveals to him that she is having an affair with Bertrand and encourages him to make a move on Christine. Finally, he tells Christine he will be waiting her in thirty minutes in front of the house to take her home early. She comes along and during the ride she tells him how Bertrand is mistreating her. When they arrive to Welch home she asks if he wants to come in, and they kiss. But the Welch family came soon afterwards and he is forced to run through the balcony. However, when they meet again they decide not to see each other again,with consolation to their obligations both to Bertrand and Margaret. The date of Jim`s lecture is coming closer and he wants to get his head around it but Welch is constantly asking him to do thing for him, so Jim couldn`t find time for his own work. On the day of Dixon`s lecture, Bertrand comes to Jims room and accuses him of trying to steal 7

Christine from him, and he tells him how he won`t succeed in his attention, because Christine loves him, her boyfriend Bertrand. Dixon is fed up with all the things that he has been dealing with lately, and Bertrands speech makes him even more nervous and he knockes him down, but Bertrand gives Dixon a black eye. To calm himself down Dixon drinks quite a lot at the reception before his lecture. When he is about to start his lesson, he is so drunk he can`t talk or think properly so he starts to imitate Welch`s voice. In short time he passes out. The next day he receives a phonecall from Welch informing him that he has been fired. Not long after that he finds out that he has been offered a job in London by Gore-Urquhart. That same day Jim meets with Catchpole, who reveals that Margaret has faked the suicide attempt just to gain sympathy from both Jim and Catchpole. That came as a relief because Jim is no longer feeling pitty for Margaret and he decides to end his relationship with her. When he gets back from the meeting he finds out that Christine is going home and she wants to meet him at the station. He does his best to make it on time ,but he is late. Just when he thinks he has lost every chance he has had with Christine he sees her standing at the station. Luckily , she is late too. She tells him she knows Bertrand has been cheating on her and she has ended their relatonship. Dixon surprises her with his good news about the job offer and the two of them go down the street. Soon they run into the Welch family and Jim salutes them with a big boastful smile.

KEY FACTS ABOUT THE BOOK

FULL TITLE AUTHOR

Lucky Jim Novel

Kingsley Amis

TYPE OF WORK GENRE

Comic novel; Campus novel; Satire English 19511952, Great Britain 1954

LANGUAGE

TIME AND PLACE WRITTEN

DATE OF FIRST PUBLICATION PUBLISHER NARRATOR

Gollancz Press Third person The third person narration follows Jim Dixon's point of view. The narrative

POINT OF VIEW

describes what Jim thinks and feels, and describes other characters as Jim would see them.
TONE

The narrator has an objectively comic tone. The novel shows what some characters

are doing, and mocks their attributes and manners. Jim is also a fan of mockery, but it is self mockery, and it shows us how Jim is strict toward himself.
TENSE

Present The late 1940s or early 1950s A university in the English countryside,Welche`s house

SETTING (TIME)

SETTING (PLACE) PROTAGONIST

James Dixon Jim Dixon tries to convince his mentor, professor Welch that he is good

MAJOR CONFLICT

enough for the job he wants to do, which is to be a lecturer of Medieval History. He also has to decide if he will stay with Margaret, whom he doesnt particulary like, or if he will go for Christine, a girl from higher class. James gets drunk and invites Margaret to go with him on a Summer Ball,and

RISING ACTION

makes their relationship even more complicated; and after that he sets fire at Welch`s house, which endangered his job as a lecturer even more Jim Dixon takes Christine home from the Ball; he has a fight with Bertrand and

CLIMAX

finally tells him everything he thinks about him; Jim gets drunk and gives a Lecture about Marry England insulting his superiors and because of that loses his job 9

FALLING ACTION

Gore-Urquhart gives James a well-paid job; Jim learns that Margaret

faked her suicide only to get his attention, and knowing that he doesnt feel responsible for her anymore and he ends up with Christine. "Luck" in 2 ways:good luck and bad luck; the value of straightforwardness over

THEMES

pretense; the difference between social classes

MOTIFS

Facial features as an indicator of ones true personality;

Kingsley Amis began work on Lucky Jim in 1951, and it took him 3 years to finish it. The book was very popular, although the immature behavior of James Dixon was extremely judged. His novel won the Somerset Maugham Award for fiction and Amis was associated with the writers labeled the Angry Young Men. Lucky Jim was the first British campus novel, and Time magazine included the novel in it's TIME 100 best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005 . In the year 1957 a movie was made according to the book.Cast: Ian Carmichael James Dixon Terry Thomas Bertrand Welch Hugh Griffith Pforessor Welch Sharon Acker Christine Callaghan Jean Anderson Mrs. Welch Maureen Connell Margaret Peel In 2003. a newer version came out.Cast: Stephen Tompkinson Jim Dixon Robert Hardy Professor Welch Stephen Mangan Bertrand Welch Keeley Haves Christine Callaghan Hermione Norris Carol Goldsmith Helen McCrory Margaret Peel http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b6/Lucky_Jim_1 .JPG

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INTRODUCTION

At the time when Lucky Jim was writen it was better to leave some things unspoken, because society didn`t want to accept anything that was inconvinient for its members. But, there are always people who will say anything that is on their mind, not thinking about consequences or reactions of others. They always find a way to express their opinion, often not directly but at the end they succeed in their intention. One of that kind of people was Kingsley Amis who introduced us through extraordinary satire to problems of an ordinary man and the problems of society he lives in. The way he used satire with a bit of irony in some cases is a proof of an excellent writer who did his best to show us his view on the world. He strictly judged any kind of obsequious behaviour toward people who are positioned above us. That shows the facts that Amis decided to leave his main caracter, Jim, with no job, though Jim was trying to satisfy all his bosses` demands, and was willing to sacrifice himself and his wishes to convince Welch, his mentor, to keep Jim at his workplace. Kingsley mocks at attributes that almost every man has, but everyone of us wants to hide those not so good characteristics. James Dixon is limited because of his fear of losing his job, and he is forced to ignore his feelings and desires due to working at a place he doesn`t even like. In order to realise some things, Kingsley decides that Jim will be unhappy as long as he thinks that the surface we represent to our surroundings is the most important thing. Publishing a novel called Lucky Jim, this fantastic author using satire wanted to teach us that we should be less discouraged and more determined in everything we do, no matter if those things are irrelevant or life-changing.

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SOCIAL SATIRE
SATIRE Satire: a literary tone used to ridicule or make fun of human vice or weakness, often with the intention of correcting, or changing, the subject of the satiric attack. Satirical works often contain "straight" (non-satirical) humour - usually to give some relief from what might otherwise be relentless "preaching". This has always been the case, although it is probably more marked in modern satire. On the other hand, some satire has little or no humour at all. It is not "funny" - nor is it meant to be. Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their own; which is the chief reason for that kind of reception it meets in the world, and that so very few are offended with it.3 A work of literature that mocks social conventions, another work of art, or anything its author thinks ridiculous.Its tone may vary from tolerant amusement, as in the verse satires of the Roman poet Horace, to bitter indignation, as in the verse of Juvenal and the prose of Jonathan Swift . SOCIAL SATIRE IN LUCKY JIM After World War II a lot of things were different all over the world, especially in Great Britain. The differences between social classes were bigger than ever. The lower classes were felt underestimated by those on higher positions. Many people saw what`s going on, but only few of them, like Kingsley Amis, had the nerve to talk about it. Using satire in Lucky Jim he mocks at the society he lives in. He made characters who belong to all kind of social classes, and made obvious differences between them. The plot is about James Dixon, who is trying to win himself a position in a social group that he despises. Even though he can`t stand it, that is the only way he can make for living. He is constantly exposed to people who are tormenting him by manipulation and silly demands. The real action begins when Welch makes an artsy party and brings all of the characters together. There we can see the similarities and differences between them and they literally bounce one of another. Differences of clothing, manners , hobbies and ideas show the gap between classes. The whole party seem made to put Dixon at his place. Mr. Welch and his son
3

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Bertrand seem to work as a tandem to remind Dixon of his inferior class status. The two of them use every possible situation to make Dixon feel less worth. One of those situations was when Dixon and Bertrand were talking about art, and Bertrand won by saying: The point is that the rich play as essential role in modern society. More than ever in days like these. That`s all: I`m not going to bore you with the stock platitudes about their having kept the arts going, and so on. The very fact that they are stock platitudes proves my case. And I happen to like the arts, you see.4 Here, Jim was left speechless knowing that he doesnt even play secondary role in modern society. And after his speech about the arts and the rich, Bertrand continues to provoke Dixon proceeding : And shall I tell you what else I happen to like? Rich people. I take pride in the contemporary unpopularity of the statement. And why do I like them? Because they are charming, because they`re generous, because they`ve learnt to appreciate the things I happen to like myself, because their houses are full of beautiful things. That`s why I like them and that`s why I don`t want them soaked. 5 When Dixon replied on Bertrand`s statement he felt underestimated because most of the other people who were there were at Bertrand`s side because of his father, and because they belong to upper class. Dixon believe that they are all fake, because they feel they need to prove their upper class standing. For example the Welch`s are trying hard to show they are high class by displaying the markers of it : Ned smokes expensive cigarettes, their house is full of labeled furniture and statues, and Bertrand keeps showing off with his talent for painting, for which he believes is the label of the rich. Carol Goldsmith shows the hypocrisy of social mores when she convinced Dixon that he would be better off without Margaret, and that he should pursue Christine because that is his moral duty considering he is in love with Christine. But on the other hand, she cheats her husband with Bertrand and doesnt have the courage to announce to the world who she really loves. Ironic, isn`t it? It is only Christine who alerts the class anxiety in him. She is the one with true markers of high class: she is beautiful, she has good taste, her manners are not perfect, but still she has them. In short, she is everything Dixon is not, and he is intrigued by her because she is the kind of girl who he doesn`t have a chance with. Amis is obviously on the side of those who belong to under classes, because he mocks with no hiding to the Welch`s, who are rich and have the leading role in society. One more prove is that he lets James to win a heart of Christine who is true presenter of high class but still downt to earth women.
4 5

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HUMOUR THROUGH SATIRE

Humour is one of the main characteristic of Lucky Jim. The book wouldnt be this good if Amis didnt write it using good sense of humour. James Dixon often finds himself in more than embarrassing situations, and he doesnt know how to deal with them, so with his actions he makes them worst but funny too. At the Welch`s so called party he got drunk and he went to sleep not knowing he had forgotten to put out his cigarette. When he woke up a large, irregular area of the turned back part of the sheet was missing. He could see a dark brown mark on the second blanket through the three holes. He ran a finger round a bit of the hole in the sheet, and when he looked at his finger he saw a dark-grey stain. That meant ash: ash meant burning: burning must mean cigarettes. 6 So what did he do? We expect him to go to Mr. Welch and tell him what has happened, to say he is sorry and everything would turn out well. But, that wasnt what he did. He decided it that it was better to hide the consequences of his work. He asked Christine to help him and she found the situation rather funny so she agreed to help him. The two of them did their best to keep the sheets out of sight, but at the end the Welch family discovered his reckless secret, and werent so pleased about it. He could have done it other way, and share with them what had happened, but he decided to go other way around. Well this way, he at least made us laugh. We can see from the mentioned example that the effect of too much drinking had often led him wrong paths. In many cases he pretended he didnt do something. It`s an attribute that describes cowards, and Jim was one of them for sure. On the other hand, Amis used his cowardness to show us how simple James in fact is. Jim was exactly that ordinary man. Maybe that is what makes this book so funny- the main role who is just a simple man not hoping to be a hero. What makes this book witty and humorous are facial expressions which James imagined doing while he was talking with other people, but most often when he was talking with his mentor, whom he couldnt stand. He was talking about one thing and seemed normal, but mentally he was making a different face, promising himself he will make that face as soon as Mr. Welch turns his back to him. One of those faces was like this:He`d draw his lower lip in under his top teeth and by degrees retract his chin as far as possible. All this while dilating his eyes and nostrils.7 If we imagine him making the face he described it would be quite
6 7

Kingsley Amis, Lucky Jim , Penguin Group, UK, 1961, p. 68 Kingsley Amis, Lucky Jim , Penguin Group, UK, 1961, p.8 14

hilarious. Welch`s behaviour frequently made Jim think about the thing he would be so glad to put Welch through. One of the most funniest thoughts in James head was :He pretended to himself that he`d pick up his professor around the waist, squeeze the furry grey blue waistcoat against him to expel the breath, run heavily with him up the steps, along the corridor to the Staff Cloakroom, and plunge the too-small feet in their cap less shoes into a lavatory basin, pulling the plug once, twice, and again, stuffing the mouth with toilet-paper. 8 If he had had the guts to do it, he would have lost his job long time ago. But since Welch had power over his future he couldnt say or do the things he wanted to. He used obsequious behaviour in an attempt to make Welch likes him, so he makes a row of funny situations for the readers but not for Jim himself.

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JAMES DIXON
8

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The main character, James Dixon, is just an ordinary person caught up in events we are all familiar with, but most of us deal with them in a better way than Jim does. James Dixon is a 35-year-old history lecturer at a second rate University. He hates his job, but has to make for a living. He is in a two- year probation period and feels undermined by his boss, Professor Welch, because his further career is in his mentor`s hands. So now he has to do everything to convince his boss he is good enough for the job. And he does his best, at least he is thinking he is doing his best, but every time he tries to get closer to his boss he somehow manages to mess thing up. He is constantly afraid of being fired, and he doesnt know how to handle the pressure he feels caused by the possibility of losing his job. Furthermore, he knows he is barely competent lecturer and due to that his burden gets bigger as the time passes by. He is emotionally unstabile person and lacks confidence, so he often doesn`t say what he really thinks. There`s quite a difference between his thoughts and speech. Almost his every thought about his mentor and his son is mocking but he doesnt dare to speak up and let them know how he feels about them. But as we move on with reading we can notice how Jim slightly changes. At the end of the book he finds courage to oppose Welch`s son and tells him what he really thinks about him and his father. When it comes to girls he is not much different from any other aspect of his life. When he is surrounded by the girl he likes, he becomes clumsy and insecure. Considering that he is in his thirties we would expect him to have at least serious relationship if not a wife and children. But, Jim is immature and doesnt think or care about his love life. He lets everything else be at his first place but love. He is stuck in a relationship he doesnt want to be in. And as we read the book we get the feeling that he is totally indifferent about that, and doesnt spend much time trying to make it better. At first we dont even know what his feelings are, or if he even has them. In some situations we get the belief that he is sensitive but is very good in hiding his sensitivity. Even when he is attracted to a particular woman he doesnt do anything about that. All the time, we have the feeling that he thinks he is less important or less competent than the girl he likes. In fact, he is afraid of making the first step because he is afraid of rejecting. But as in other aspects Amis made him grow through the novel and at the end he manages to get over his fear. James lives at a place he doesnt like at all. Not just the exact place, but the fact that that`s a province. His thoughts make us believe that he thinks he is supposed to live in London , (which actually happens at the end of the book) or at least some less provincial place. He is 16

not satisfied with the kind of people he shares his surroundings with, and often gets irritated by their behaviour. Since he doesnt have the courage to confront them he finds relief in drinking. Sometimes he is ready to give away his last fifty cents on beer. Drinking often puts him in strange situations, and due to that not so rarely he made a fool of himself. And every drinking night is followed by enormous hangover. One of those kind of mornings looked like this: "The light did him harm, but not as much as looking at things did; he resolved, having done it once, never to move his eyeballs again... His mouth had been used as a latrine by some small creature of the night, and then as its mausoleum. During the night, too, he'd somehow been on a cross-country run and then been expertly beaten up by secret police. He felt bad." 9 None of us wants to have a life like James Dixon but unfortunately there are many people who live his life indeed, but doesnt want to admit it. However, Amis did make a character no one envies to, but Jim went through a series of character developments, which didnt make a heroe of him, but made a better person.

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JAMES AS ANTIHERO
Novels often contain character who do heroic act like saving the world, fighting with dragons and so on, but Kingsley Amis ` novel are about the opposite. In order to make the action of the novel more realistic and closer to common reader he made a character who is just an ordinary man, with flaws we all share. That ordinary man is everything but hero. In fact he is antihero, the main character who is characterized by a lack of traditional heroic qualities, such as idealism or courage. In other words, we can say that antihero is the exact opposite of hero. Usually the main role goes through a series of character developments in order to improve their courage and confidence. That is not the case with James Dixon. He is not able to gather his courage and tell other people what he really thinks about them and their actions. He thinks it`s better to keep his mouth shut when it comes to his mentor, professor Welch, because what mattered was that this man had decisive power over his future 10 .Welch`s son, Bertrand, seriously goes on James` nerves but again he can`t oppose him and tell him face to face what he really thinks about him. And when he finds himself in awkward situations his best solution is to leave that place. And heroes never turn their back and leave when there is some kind of problem they must handle. They always find the will to overcome every obstacle that comes on their way to happiness. All that James does is drinking, smoking, and being lazy. Everything about him is ordinaryhis appearance, his accomplishments, are all completely unremarkable. The only thing that makes Jim interesting is comic strength of those around him. At the end all we can say is that Jim is essentially a rebel against the society in which he is forced to live.

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JAMES-CHRISTINE RELATIONSHIP
"Nice things are nicer than nasty ones." The sight of her seemed an irresistible attack on his own habits, standards, and ambitions: something designed to put him in his place for good."11 This is the first thought in Dixon`s head when he sees Christine at the Welch`s home, and that is also the first indication of Dixon's tormented feelings about Christine. She is unavailable to him not only because she is dating Bertrand, who is Welch`s son, and Dixon could easily lose his job if he tries anything with her, but also because she is from a different social class than the kind of women he dates. At first Jim doesnt even dream about getting closer with Christine, because he thinks that a girl like her could never be with a man like him. But after spending some time in her company Dixon realizes that she is quite normal person, and not as far from him as he thought she was. He notices that she isnt perfect, and her irregular teeth, unmusical laugh and things like that which every ordinary man has, make her even more attractive. There were a couple of situations where Christine and James were accomplices. First time, when he burned the sheets at Welch`s home, and she agreed to help him, finding the situation rather funny. Second time, when James agreed to phone Welch on Christine`s behalf. Both occasions were consequences of Dixons immature behavior, which put Christine many times in embarrassing situations, and that didnt make Christine to like James less. James thinks Christine is someone whom he could never have, and she is now someone whom Dixon suspects he might want, and for reasons other than her beauty. He doesnt even suspect that Christine likes him, and wants him to like her as well. As a consenquence of that, there are some brief moments where the two of them do not connect. After some time he discovers that they mustnt think hard about loveit will simply happen, or not happen. "Dixon was interested by this conventional absence of conventional sensitivity; for almost the first time in his life a woman was behaving in a way alleged to be typical of women."12 Dixon is thinking about these words when he sees Christine eating like a man, with a healthy appetite, just some moments after she broke off every kind of their relationship. He is fascinated with Christine`s lack of pretense, and her less feminine habits. Those little imperfections made him think about her even more than he did before, and he realized that she won over Margaret in every aspect in a relationship. She was open and honest, and even shared bills, which Margaret never did. She made him look at life and himself from a whole
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Kingsley Amis, Lucky Jim ,Penguin Group, UK, 1961, p.39 Kingsley Amis, Lucky Jim ,Penguin Group, UK, 1961, p.198 19

new view, and for once in his life he did the right thing and fought for Christine and his own happiness.

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DIXON MARGARET RELATIONSHIP

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Margaret is a woman who is Dixon`s colleague and some kind of love companion. He is not with her because they share a fulfilling love story, or because he is madly in love with her. At first she was with her to kill the free time and boredom ( at least we get that feeling while reading the book): there wasnt any kind of commitment and obligations and he found that more than convenient. But after some time Margaret tried to commit suicide and now Dixon couldnt leave her although he wanted to. Their relationship was the source of considerable anxiety and distress for him ; he thinks she is person not worth spending time with, possessing minimal prettiness. Although Margaret is on higher position, and therefore has a higher salary, she still insists that he pay for all of their drinks, and thats just one more reason why James doesnt want to keep on going out with her. One of the most important things that reject Margaret from Dixon is her lack of feminism, and she is aware of that, so she spends most of her time acting as she thinks women should, which just makes her even less interesting. Even though this relationship brings nothing good for James, he makes no attempt at freeing himself from the situation he put himself in. One time Dixon tried to hit on Margaret trying to use the situation he is stuck in, but after that he worries that he's taking advantage of Margaret, even though she clearly knows what she does and does not want. This feeling Dixon continues to have until he finds out that Margaret faked the try to end her life. After that Dixon feels free at last and ready for a new relationships which will this time consist true feelings.

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LUCK IN LUCKY JIM

When we first see the title of the book Lucky Jim what first comes to our mind is that its main character must be followed by luck through every event and action he takes part in. But here, the situation is completely different. The main character, James Dixon, is everything but lucky. Most of the times we are the guilty ones for our unhappiness, but as the action moves further in this novel we realize that Dixon's choices and actions seem more like bad luck than bad choices. Everything he did eventually ended in the worst possible way for him. Firstly, he has to be kind to his professor and do the things his mentor likes. Even though he is trying to come closer to him he somehow fails in every attempt of getting Welch to like him. Secondly, he falls asleep while his cigarette is still on, and he burned Mrs. Welch`s sheets. Then he rips his pants getting out of Welch's car. He is convinced that bad luck is to be blamed for his parents not having enough money to set him off to London. There are many misfortunate events but bad luck culminates when he is giving lecture about Merry England. He is under influence of alcohol and he starts to imitate voices of Mr. Welch and his principal: The voices seem to rise up out of Dixon, and even though he tried everything to stop talking like them, he couldnt and therefore he loses his job. Just when we think bad luck has taken its toll on Jim, the arrow of good luck hits him and makes up for all bad luck that has followed him through the novel. He gets a new job and a new love and now when he has everything he needs for a happy life he moves to London, a perfect place to start a new, better life. In spite of the fact that James is unhappy most of the time, and the fact we all think he will end uncelebrated, in the end Amis turned his life for 180 degrees and we all see the term of luck with a different eyes.

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SYMBOLS
1. Margaret's green Paisley dress and quasi-velvet shoes;

When Jim is supposed to meet Margaret for the first time after her suicidal attempt he was wondering what she will wear. He realizes that he can bare anything but her green Paisley dress and quasi-velvet shoes. And guess what, she wears that exact outfit. She wears the dress again in when she and Dixon officially break off their relationship. All of Margaret's dresses aren`t pretty, but this dress is clearly something that Margaret likes a lot and thinks that Dixon and other will find attractive. A sign of Margaret`s lack of sophistication is The fake quality of the quasi-velvet shoes. The dress is symbolic of Margaret's unawareness when it comes to Dixon, because we realize how little she knows about him. The comedy of her wearing the one thing Dixon can't stand is also symbolic of the general comedy of bad luck. 2. Professor Welch's fishing hat and Bertrand's beret Mr. Welch's fishing hat and Bertrand's beret are symbolic of their pretentiousness. Mr. Welch finds himself as a man of traditional England, but the comedy of Professor Welch's hat lies in the implication that he has never even met a fisherman or gone fishing. Bertrand's social wishes are more ambitious, which we can see by his beret. Dixon makes fun of Bertrand's beret because it serves for nothing. It does not save him from rain or keep him warm, and is worn only for effect so other people think how classy he is. Bertrand and Professor Welch are wearing those hats when Dixon meets them in the final scene, and Dixon sums up his feelings for the Welch`s throughout the novel. 3.London Jim lives in a provincial part close to London, but he had always dreamt of London. He thinks his place isnt where he lives at the moment, and London represents everything he always wanted: something bigger and more sophisticated.

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CONCLUSION Anyone who had ever hated the job they do, finding it unrewarding and empty, and never had enough money, pulling faces behind your bosses back an ordinary man with ordinary problems we all have. Kingsley Amis wanted to show us that we won`t achieve the ultimate luck unless we are willing to sacrifice some things which are less important than love. Because love is that thing that makes sure we are still alive, the thing that starts everything, the star we follow on a cloudy night, the leading role in every man`s life. I am talking about love even though it`s not the reason why Amis wrote this novel. He wanted to present the world his view of society and differences between societies, but still he managed to implicate that love is the motif for everything, and if we are one of those who are blessed to have love in their life than it doesnt matter which class we belong to. Everyone has met someone like Mr. Welch, a boss who managed to combine tyranny with incompetence, and felt the urge to slap them. But, we have to rise above them, and never let them make us drop down on their level. They might be rich and powerful but that doesnt mean anything when they dont see which things are really important in the life they are stuck in. Lucky Jim is enjoyable book which will make you chuckle and nod in agreement from time to time. There is a deep passage about the meaning of love and peoples attitudes to it, which is amazingly accurate and yet also funny at the same time. It may not be a laugh out loud book, or a classic, but it`s worth of your time. And when you read the last letter in the book you will know one thing: the wide cultural differences will always exist between social classes. So it was in the fifties, and so it is today. And even though we are improving as a race those differences will exist until the day Earth stops spinning around. But, no matter what, love will always be there to lead us and instruct us on the right path, where social classes arent the most important thing. has to like James Dixon, and sympathize with him. And even if Jim isnt like you, you will still love him because he is just

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LITERATURE:

Lucky Jim, Kingsley Amis, Penguin Group,UK,1961 Engleski roman xx vijeka, dr. Vida Markovic, Naucna knjiga, Beograd, 1965 The Washington Post,Washington, October 23, 1995 The Amis Collection,Kingsley Amis, Penguin Books, UK, 1991 The Life Of Kingsley Amis bu Zachary Leader, Pantheon Books, UK, 1991 The internet: www.wikipedia.org www.sparknotes.com www.oxonianreview.org www.shvoong.com www.bookrags.com www.bookrags.com

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