A Study Of Space And Power In Amis’s Lucky Jim And The Old Devils

Kingsley Amis(1922-1995)is one of the most representative satirical novelists in the twentieth century.Lucky Jim contributes to Amis’s reputation as a popular British comic writer,while The Old Devils,the Booker Prize winner in 1986,is Amis’s most rounded work.Most of the published essays in domestic studies are devoted to Amis’s Lucky Jim in terms of its comic features,social context,feminine perspective,identity,anti-heroes,etc.Amis’s other works receive much less academic attention in China.This thesis is aimed at analyzing the interactions between space and people in Lucky Jim and The Old Devils based on Foucault’s theory of space and power.Foucault’s theory of space and power is mainly illustrated in Discipline and Punishment,and some of his interviews and letters.Foucault’s explanation as to Bentham’s architectural model of panopticon shows that space is not an inactive container but a political instrument.Besides,power is not limited to the confrontations between states or classes,because the architectural mechanism takes a grip on individuals and their behaviors.Therefore,the execution of power is more likely to manifest itself in the detailed aspects of people’s life.In fact,it is the details that unite the disciplinary forces with people’s daily routines.Thus,one focus of this thesis is the detailed form of power in space which influences individuals and their relationships.Spaces in Lucky Jim and The Old Devils have multiple forms.Lucky Jim is set in an academic institution.To maintain his position in the college which is a hierarchical structure,Jim has to abide by the rules.Besides rules,requirements and standards also constitute the ideal form of a certain space.The story of The Old Devils happens in the South Wales.The forces of space,whether in the material or the ideal senses,always exist as the setting changes from an institution to a region.When Amis describes Welsh-ness,he is actually dealing with provincial snobbery,pretention,etc.The inhabitants,though leading a peaceful life,are discontent and grumpy,which canBesides people’s outer life,Amis pays close attention to people’s inner life.The psychological space of Amis’s characters is a pole opposite to the physical space and becomes a place where the characters can have freedom and autonomy.With reference to Foucault’s theory,this thesis explores the main features of spaces in Lucky Jim and The Old Devils,analyzing both physical and psychological spaces.Besides,it probes into the general and detailed forces of spaces which shape the everyday life of individuals and their relationships.Finally,it concentrates on the reactions of individuals,emphasizing on the potential of people’s psychological space which confronts the suppression of spaces in the outer world.This thesis concludes that the disciplinary power manifests itself in a certain place of Amis’s Lucky Jim and The Old Devils as well as in the regulations or the traditions of this place.The interactions between space and people are usually hidden in those details.