John wayne
John Wayne was a representative of British critical realist literature in the 1950s, including "Deteriorating Situation" and "Lifeguard".
Lifeguard
The protagonist of the lifeguard story, Jimmy Townsend, is a young man who lives in the seaside town of Red Rock. He is traditional in his thinking, content with the status quo, and single-mindedly wants to live in Red Rock. He hated the life of working in a machine factory all day long, and his only hobby and strength was swimming.
Mr. Prendegist wanted to develop tourism in Red Rock and wanted to attract more tourists to the Red Rock Bathing Sea with safety and security as a selling point, so he paid for Jimmy to be a lifeguard. However, the number of visitors to Red Rock remains limited. Jimmy has nothing to do all day except swim and bathe, let alone save his life.
To highlight their own value and the importance of the work. Jimmy and his playmate Hober prepare for a life-saving show. He asked Hobper to pretend to drown before being rescued by himself. In return, he promised to pay Hobble £10. Unexpectedly, this fake drowning turned into a tragedy. Despite Jimmy's best efforts to rescue him, Hobper drowned.
On the one hand, Jimmy blames himself, and on the other hand, he instinctively finds various excuses for himself. At this time, Hopper's sister Agnes accused Jimmy of killing Hobper for eavesdropping on Jimmy and Hopper's conversation. Jimmy first uses force against Agnes, then realizes that no matter what happens, he is about to leave Red Rock.
"Getting Worse"
The protagonist of the story of "Getting Worse" is named Charles. He is a highly qualified graduate of the History Department. Although he comes from a middle-class family, that is to say, the family conditions are OK, which is more than enough, but he has a lot of personality. He insisted on his convictions, insisted on not following the path of life arranged by his parents, and felt contempt and weariness of the hypocrisy, snobbery and indifference of the middle class. There is a literati high, not accustomed to flattery and so on.
So after graduating from college, he refused to contact his parents and rushed back to his hometown just to see his fiancée Sheila, but was humiliated by Sheila's sister and brother-in-law, a typical representative of the middle class, resulting in a rupture in the relationship.
In order to be independent of class, Charles chose to work as a window-cleaning worker, a hospital handyman, a rich driver and a bar janitor, and even lived on the streets when his life was at its worst. No matter how much his former classmates and alumni mocked him and encouraged him, he was not moved.
However, his faith was shaken for the first time when he saw that Flaurich, whom he considered himself a fellow man, was supported by his wife, Betty, who supported the family as a mistress.
Although he chose to become a worker, he was unwilling in his heart, he was not willing to be the bottom of society, so he would change into decent clothes every weekend, mix in high-end restaurants, and taste food. So I met Veronica, a beautiful woman from high society.
Before meeting Veronica, he met Rosa, a hospital worker, who liked her for her authenticity and had the idea of marrying Rosa. But he was obsessed with veronica, a high-society man.
He fell in love with the graceful Veronica at first sight, and he declared that he could do anything for her. But the huge identity gap makes it impossible for the two to do so. Therefore, in order to pursue Veronica, he must change his economic status quo as soon as possible, get rich overnight, break away from the bottom of society, and squeeze into high society.
Unfortunately, the social environment at that time relied on some universal principles, such as diligence and hard work, which were simply powerless to change their destiny. When a channel for social legitimacy to climb up becomes unfeasible, more and more people will be obsessed with miracles and get-rich-quick means, and even desperate.
To this end, Charles did not hesitate to serve the drug trafficking gang. When the drug gang was surrounded and suppressed, he was seriously injured in order to escape, and when he was taken to the hospital, he discovered that Veronica, whom he had always loved, was someone else's mistress.
After experiencing a series of events, he finally recognized society, acknowledged reality, and finally he returned to life and became a writer.
Charles was hypocritical, no matter how much he despised the upper class, but deep down he very much wanted to be a member of the upper class. He despised it only because he couldn't get into the upper class. He was confused and angry that no matter how hard he tried, he could not change his fate in the society at that time, and even fell to the bottom of the society.
So he began to escape from society, escaped from reality, wanted to be outside of society, but had to integrate into social life. The purity of the literati made it difficult for him to move forward in a money society, and he was ruthlessly eliminated by society.
Charles was a microcosm of the low-class graduates of the British university in the 1950s.
Story backdrop
In the 1950s of Britain, although the war had ended, the British national strength at this time was weak, the economy was declining, the material shortage was scarce, social contradictions intensified, a large number of people were unemployed and could not find a job, even if they could find a job, they were mostly a temporary worker and a low wage, and from time to time they had to sell their labor. Even the highly educated college students of the time were the same.
Although they accepted advanced ideas, the economic environment at that time did not have so many jobs to accommodate them, and they had to face the social reality of unemployment after graduation, and it was difficult to find even subsistence jobs. What is more difficult is that they are educated, and they cannot do the work of the average worker, and they cannot find the non-worker type of work. The channels for the whole society to climb upwards are getting narrower and narrower, and it is basically impossible to change their own status, making them more and more wandering, confused, and even disillusioned.
Urban prosperity, realistic dilemma, hopeless life, where is the way out? Almost every day is very anxious, emotional depression, anxiety, depression as the norm.
Moreover, in the British society at that time, the knowledge taught in schools was empty and illusory, and it could not be integrated with social life at all, and the rigid teaching mode could not cultivate the correct values and ways of thinking of young people. Even the basic ability to survive is lacking, and the mentality of "high-handedness and low hand" has made them repeatedly frustrated in a society with a depressed economy and solidified classes.