The Symbolic Meditation of Luck and Anger in Lucky Jim

張秋婷

【Abstract】Lucky Jim is set around 1950s. The novel is under the influence of “Angry Young Men” movement which has encouraged many authors to produce angry novels that criticize the outdated social and political values and condemn the distinctive class differentiation. This essay analyzes the luck and anger of Jim Dixon from the perspective of “Political Unconscious”. And the deeper reasons that are dug out behind luck and anger reflect readers symbolic meditation towards a whole generation of people.

【Key words】luck； anger； symbolic； meditation

“Political Unconscious” in Literature

Fredric Jameson has concluded in “The Political Unconscious” that “all literature， no matter how weakly， must be informed by what we have called a political unconscious， that all literature must be read as a symbolic meditation on the destiny of community” （Jameson， 1981， p.70）. He has revealed his main idea through the subtitle—Narrative as a Socially Symbolic Act and demonstrated that “Literature can be seen as the Socially Symbolic Act”. “Symbolic” means the act has little practical influence on a situation. That is to say， all the things are not real but fantasy in mind. Firstly， the conception of “Symbolic Act” is closely related to the understanding of “narrative” in Marxist theory. Marxism， which focuses on social criticism of the texts， utilizes symbolic act to analyze historical background and social reality of the texts （Su， 2008）. Secondly， the “Symbolic Act” can also connect with Freuds psychoanalysis theory （Su， 2008）. Consciousness may suppress the unconscious instincts and help unconsciousness achieve symbolic satisfaction in reality.

According to the ideas above， literary works can offer authors an ideal world to achieve dreams to obtain symbolic satisfaction and make readers get symbolic meditation and realization. Social conflicts that cannot be solved are transformed into literary works， especially narratives. Through the narration of experiences， social conflicts get symbolically solved and people attain some comfort although in reality nothing might be changed. In Lucky Jim， Kinsley Amis has written about the destiny of a generation of young people represented by Jim Dixon. Also， he pays attention on various social problems and makes Jim a “l(fā)ucky” man to accomplish his dreams that could never come true in reality.

Meditation of the Luck

Ideology of the texts usually shows strong political inclination of the author. Luck， to some extent， unconsciously reflects Amis political attitude. The “l(fā)uck” can be regarded as the “Socially Symbolic Act” created by Kinsley Amis. All the “l(fā)ucky” encounters of Jim relieve the depression of Amis and symbolically solve the conflicts in Amis real life. Also， Amis has made the “l(fā)uck” reasonable by connecting the historical background and social reality.

Frist， two important people offer Jim luck and Jim gets luck from God. Jims luck is closely related to Christines appearance and Gore-Urquharts timely help. They turn Jims misfortune into luck. Also， every time when readers think that Jim must be beaten by his misfortune， the luck will come to him. Jims luck is seemingly arranged by the God because the coincidences that happen to him are rarely possible to achieve in the real life. And the assistance provided by his two helpers also owns a sense of fantasy.

Second， the social background endows Jim with luck. After Industrial Revolution， new capitalists like Gore-Urquhart who call on the spirit of diligence gradually replace people of genteel class and begin to dominate British society. Those people usually own no land and start empty-handed. So they look down upon such lazy and easy life that the genteel class people live.

Despite of those two aspects， Jims personality of perseverance and his own wisdom stimulate luck to fall upon him. His spirit of not giving up and chasing his pursuits facilitate his success. In the novel， Amis has made himself become Jim Dixon to experience “l(fā)uck”. The “Socially Symbolic Act” of Jim Dixon has achieved Amis symbolic satisfaction in reality.

Meditation of the Anger

Jim is an anti-hero in the novel. All the things about him are completely unremarkable. The one thing that isn't ordinary is the comic strength of his contempt， which is derived from the special historical background， for those hypocritical people around him. In 1945， Labor Party won the general election and planned to restructure the country （Su， 2009）. It not only develops the welfare in the country but also issues the “University Reform System” so as to cultivate more intellects who are not from genteel class. In the novel， Jim Dixon is one of the students who benefit from the new education policy and he graduates from the Oxford University once merely opened to aristocratic descendants.

Jim Dixon is a figure that represents a large number of young people like him in society at that time. Although receiving higher education， they are still excluded from the elite culture and only can use their clownish humor to release the depression.

On the one hand， the part of anger of Jim comes from the difficulty in identity construction in society. Because of the rigid class stratification， Jims poor background is looked down upon by Professor Welch and his colleagues. Even his relationship with Margaret is unsuccessful. Under such circumstances， Jim must cater for people whom he despise to keep the job. Meanwhile， Jim is suffering from the disparity of his imagination and the reality. He desires to be accepted and to gain a sense of belonging. But the realistic world is far from his illusion. He fails to be recognized in society and also his dignity collapses.

On the other hand， his anger comes from his useless struggle in society. Actually， Jim is deprived of the freedom to choose what he likes. He hates being a history lecturer and fawning on others while he has no choice. Then the secretary job is offered by Christines uncle partly because of his relationship with Christine. Jim keeps receiving “l(fā)uck” given by others. Such a miserable fate makes Jim feel angry. And the anger is the reflection of “Angry Young Men” movement during that period.

Furthermore， the anger of Jim Dixon is paralleled to the anger of the Amis whose life experience consistently fosters the accumulation of anger. At the end， when Jim bursts into “a howl of laughter”， the anger of him and Amis seems to dissipate. But actually the laughter is not for happiness but for the satire to society. Kinsley Amis utilizes Jim Dixon to vent his own anger and is also laughing at the torture he experienced which arouses peoples meditation towards society and the country.

Conclusion

Amis has not only portrayed an anti-hero image of Jim Dixon， but also depicts the life of the generation of “Angry Young Men” and reveals the pain of them. From the perspective of “Political Unconscious”， readers understand the desperate wish of Amis to change social situations and solve social conflicts and his struggle to focus on the destiny of “Angry Young Men”. Through “Socially Symbolic Act” and “Symbolic Meditation”， the novel has shown the sorrow of ordinary people， even the sorrow of the country and the despair of society. Beyond “symbolic” acts and meditation， the “l(fā)uck” and “anger” need more practical meditation from readers in reality. References

References：

[1] Fredric， J. （1981）. The Political Unconscious—Narrative as a Socially Symbolic Act. New York： Cornell University Press.