...The decline west In the short story of “The Decline west” of Hanif Kureishi, we meet a confused and restless man who’s passed down because of financial crisis and has been fired. They live in a big house on the outskirts of London. He fears the family's reaction of been fired, but he tries to bring the news to his wife Imogen, but she wouldn’t let him introduce a single words about it. The author has made use of third person limited narrator and knows what the main character Mike thinks and feels. Its mikes views we have presented and it’s his emotions and thoughts are passed. Therefore, is the narrator limited, in that sense that he doesn’t know what his wife and children’s thoughts and feelings are. As a reader, we get a personal perspective by Mike’s point of view, since we see everything from his side. Therefore, are we also more likely to have sympathy with him, as we see how his kids treat him as an ungrateful father, rather it’s also because we don’t know their side of the story. From Mike’s point of view, the family seems unreasonable and greedy with the comments and requirements the family express them with, in relation to the guitar. “You promised Billy a guitar (…), so now you have to deliver”. Mike sees himself as the "delivery man" or the “money-maker”, because he feels that he gives and gives but gets nothing in return. He feels the world is evil and unjust. He feels that he is the victim in the house now, as the family is using him. He expresses himself...
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...‘The Decline of the West’ is a short story written by Hanif Kureishi in 2010. It deals with themodern western capitalistic society and the affection it has on family life. The text questionsthe ethic aspects of the capitalism.In the short story, the materialistic values conquer personal relations. We are introduced toMike who comes home from work where he has been fired. He is used to working late andtherefore has a complicated relationship to his family whom he rarely sees. Mike has a debt ofalmost two years’ income which makes the firing a severe blow. The family wants to improvetheir material things, and that makes a high income an important factor. With no income, Mikeknows the family will not be able to keep up appearances, and eventually they will have tomove out of their five floor house on the outskirts of London. His two sons, Tom and Billy,already want to live somewhere else because most of their classmates live in bigger places.They are used to the upper class lifestyle with their parents working all the time and the aupair being the most regular person in their home. This creates an unhealthy and complicatedrelationship between the family members.The children are used to getting anything they want, but they have never understood why andhow that is possible. They do not respect their father, particularly the oldest son, Tom,because he does not think his father has done anything for him. What he does not understandis that if Mike does not work, they would not have been...
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...The Decline of the West What happens when you get fired from your job, come home to a domineering wife, a self-centered brat of a son and a second material-obsessed son, who all three boss you around making you do their dishes and buy them, what they see as, vital objects? That is right! You reconsider life, but decide to let it all go instead… or that is at least what Mike does in this short story. The short story, The Decline of the West by Hanif Kureishi, takes place in London, where we meet Mike’s family, which consists of his two sons, Tom and Billy, and his wife, Imogen. Mike was a twelve-hours-a-day, hard-working man, yet who is recently fired. Mike is significantly divided between traditional values and modern values. On the first hand he refuses to let his wife, Imogen, work, because he could not imagine a home without a mother, who makes sure the kids behave. “He shows me neither love nor respect.” also he demands respect from his family, even though he literally does not spend time at home, because of his job, however on the other hand he lets them all boss him around, probably because of his declaration of him being the only provider. The short story only elapses over a day; however this day seems to turn out as being the most horrible of Mike’s life. “”My television’s broken,” said Tom. “Why don’t you get it fixed like you promised? What have you ever done for me?”” This is in the middle of a discussion between Tom and Mike. Through-out the entire short story it...
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...A: The Decline of the West All of us grow up with expectations. Go to school, get good marks, get a well-paying job, find a nice husband, have children and be happy. Are we fooled into thinking this is the lifestyle we’re all supposed to live? And will this even make us happy? In the short story The Decline of the West by Hanif Kureishi, the reader is introduced to a man who grew up with the exact same expectations forced upon him. After losing his job he realizes how unhappy he is, even though he followed every step society and his parents laid out for him. The short story takes place in the high end of London, where Mike lives with his family. They live in a large house with 5 stories and 4 bathrooms, yet Mike and Imogen’s two sons Billy and Tom do not think this is enough, because their school friends have bigger, better, faster houses, cars and so on. But they are fairly rich with a housemaid and au pair to take care of the children, when Mike is at work, and Imogen does her charity work. Mike is the main character and narrator of this short story. He is 45 and works every day to be able to afford this lifestyle, which he has been fooled into believing will make him happy. At one point Mike thinks about his father, the expectations and all the things in his life that has been laid out for him. And at first he seems to be grateful for the time, intelligence and the education the state provided me with, but it does not bring him happiness. “Mike you have been stalked...
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...The Decline of the West In todays world we are getting more and more materialized. When being a kid in school it is all about getting the newest phone, wearing the most expensive clothing and every other materialized thing, to show off how much money we have. We measure our happiness in things, clothes, cars and so on. The greed of getting more and new things is decreasing. Before the financial crises in 2008 every family lent money to buy new things all the time. No worries were to be shown in any family, until the crack happened. Nowadays the crisis has slowly turned around again and in school it’s still about collecting the newest items. In the short story from 2010 by Hanif Kureishi, the problem of greed and a materialized world is a central theme in the story. The main character in the short story “The Decline of the West” is man at 45 called Mike who works in the financial department. Mike is married with an unsatisfied woman called Imogen, he has to kids and they are living in a big house outside of London. He is rarely home and sometimes works more than 12 hours pr. day. He has an unsatisfied wife who quickly takes a bath when Mike is coming home from work, so she won’t face him. His youngest son Billy seems happy to see his father until it turns out he just wants to ask his father for a guitar: “I like you sometimes, Daddy. But I want guitar lessons. So first I’ll need the guitar and the amp, like Tom has” (p. 4 l. 74-76). Here the son even compare himself to his...
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...Side / Antal ark i alt: Side 1 af 3 Eksamenstermin: Kursistens navn: Fag/niveau: Engelsk A Holdnr.: Dato: Eksamensnr.: Opgave A ‘The Decline of the West’ is a short story written by Hanif Kureishi in 2010. It deals with the modern western capitalistic society and the affection it has on family life. The text questions the ethic aspects of the capitalism. In the short story, the materialistic values conquer personal relations. We are introduced to Mike who comes home from work where he has been fired. He is used to working late and therefore has a complicated relationship to his family whom he rarely sees. Mike has a debt of almost two years’ income which makes the firing a severe blow. The family wants to improve their material things, and that makes a high income an important factor. With no income, Mike knows the family will not be able to keep up appearances, and eventually they will have to move out of their five floor house on the outskirts of London. His two sons, Tom and Billy, already want to live somewhere else because most of their classmates live in bigger places. They are used to the upper class lifestyle with their parents working all the time and the au pair being the most regular person in their home. This creates an unhealthy and complicated relationship between the family members. The children are used to getting anything they want, but they have never understood why and how that is possible. They do not respect their father, particularly the oldest son...
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...For a long time wealth has determined a person’s worth and status. It is an ugly fact, but a fact it is. We live in a capitalistic world where materialism is a bigger characteristic than anything else. Harif Kureishi has in 2010 written the short story “The Decline of the West”, which deals with the ethics behind capitalism in the western world and questions if money and status is everything. In the beginning of the story we meet the businessman Mike who has a wife, Imogen and two sons, Tom and Billy. They live in a big house in the outskirts of London, they are rich, and keeping up appearances seems to be an important thing in this community which they are a part of. Mike has just been fired from his job and seems determined to let his wife know as the first thing when he returns. That is until he steps into the house. His wife is somewhat ignoring him and he cannot seem to break it down for her. As every night, he is returning late, so the wife probably does not think further about it. Because of Mike’s work, he rarely sees his family and their family life altogether along with their sons, seems tense and complicated. The couple’s sons are very spoiled, they do not respect their father at all and especially the oldest son has never figured out that he has gotten everything that he wanted because his father has worked for it. The mother is aware of this, but asks of Mike to give them anything they want as always, since it is too late to change now. The children are used to not...
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...The Decline of The West Short story by: Hanif Kureishi The Decline of the West is a short story written by the English, half Pakistani writer Hanif Kureishi in 2010. The main theme in the short story is the capitalism and how material we have become in the West in the year of 2010 and how we strive to gain material comfort ahead of true happiness and greater meaning in life. The short story’s main character is a forty-five year old man named Mike who is on his way home to his family. It takes place in the upper class of the outskirts of London. Mike thinks that his family will appreciate that he is home early from work, which is not something that occurs since he is not working less than twelve-hour shifts. Mike seems as a hard-working man who does not spend much time with his family and we get a very negative picture of his family. There is a very cold attachment between him and he family since he is never home. But they can be demanding and the content that fills up their lives is material goods. At the short beginning the atmosphere and language is described very positive. Mike has endured the most desolate tube trip home and is looking forward to come home to his family and their home which is described as a nice and warm home he is looking forward to come home to; “Opening the door to a warm hall hearing the voices of his wife and children”. Though he has to tell his wife, Imogen that he got fired from his job. The language is well written in informal language...
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...The decline of the west is a short story written by Hanif Kureishi. The story is about a man who lives by the capitalistic values, but also experiences its weaknesses. The main character of the short story is a 45-year-old man called Mike. He lives outside of London with his wife and two children in a five-floor house. He works in corporate finance and makes a decent amount of money compared to the average citizen. Mike has always provided his family with everything they ever wanted and this have resulted in a very ungrateful son and wife. His youngest son does not yet show the same level of ungratefulness as the wife and eldest son does. Mike is a very patient and positive man, who seems to put his life in a more positive light than it is in reality. He has an expectation of his home to be a happy place, where he is able to relax and recharge: “He’d been looking forward to opening the door into the warm hall, hearing the voices of his wife and children (…)” . He has this dream of a life with a perfect wife and perfect children, where they all live in harmony and respect of one another. Through the short story though, he realizes that it is not the life he is actually living. In the beginning of the short story, there is a blackout in the house. He has been under a lot of pressure for so many years, and when he think he is going to die on the stairs, he suddenly feels some sort of release. This near-death experience changes Mikes way of looking at his world, and he realizes...
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...The Decline of the West “The Decline of the West” is a short story written by Hanif Kureishi who is an acclaimed English writer. Hanif Kureishi was born and grew up in England as the son of a Pakistan father and British mother. The short story “The Decline of the West” is about a man loosing his job. After years with more than 12 hours work per day, he gets fired, and is excited to see his family and relax. But the family does not feel the same joy as him. The short story is written with a reliable third person narrator. The story takes place in the main characters house situated on the comfortable outskirt of London. The house is with five floors and off-street parking, overlooking a green. The story last for one day in a contemporary environment with TV’s, dishwashers and controllers. There are four characters involved in the short story, Mike, Imogen, Tom and Billy. Mike is the main character, and Imogen, Tom and Billy are subordinate characters. Mike is forty-five years old, and is married to Imogen. Together they have two kids, Tom and Billy. Mike has been fired the same day the story takes place, and now he seems weak. “How easy it was to fall, and how tempting it was – suddenly would be best – to die!” Caused by the financial crisis he has been forced to execute his 40 employees and himself during the period of two weeks. He is an effective man whom used to work at least 12 hours a day. Mike wants to appear generous, and therefore let his...
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...Hanif Kureishi: The Decline of the West In a time where many people have gotten accustomed to having plenty of money and therefore buying a lot of stuff they do not actually need, a lot of these consumers have also experienced the downside of their materialism. The economic crisis has resulted in a lot of people losing their jobs, investments turning out badly and huge debts. But what happens when one of these individuals gets caught between a greedy family and his own desire to do what is right and stop spending money like there is no tomorrow? A desire emerging from not only being disgusted by the greedy consumerism but also from being laid off his job which forces him to take care of the family’s financial situation. This short story, The Decline of the West written in 2010 by the English writer Hanif Kureishi, deals with this theme and engages the reader in a brilliantly written story about a man who experiences the difficulties of the economic decline. Mike, a 45-year old man working in corporate finance, has been “stalked by good fortune [his] whole life” (l. 40) – at least that is what his father claims – but his luck turns when he is forced to dismiss his department of forty people and then get lost himself. Not ever having to worry about money before, his previous peace of mind is suddenly shattered to pieces. The short story starts in the middle of Mike getting ready to tell his wife the news but he is hindered in doing so when she does not even take the time to say...
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...A The Decline of the West Hanif Kureishi published “The Decline of the West” in 2010 in Collected Stories. The story deals with the modern western capitalistic society and which affects it has on family life. The materialistics values have marked the West, which affect the family life. The father in the history want the family to look good outwardly, even if the family is in disorder, specially between the father and the oldest son. The father, called Mark, obvious thinks that happiness is given by material amenities, but instead the family bond falling apart. In the story we meet the father Mark, his wife Imogen and their common children Tom and Billy. We meet Mark immediately after he has been fired and arrives to his house. Mark is used to working late and because of the firing he has a complicated relationship to his family. The family has also been used to have their material things, but after Mark has been fired, the family must get used to live the more poor life, which would be a problem since the to boys already talks about they want to live somewhere else, a place which is more bigger just like there classmates. The two boys are used to get what they point out, but still the boys feel they are being neglected by their parent, maybe because Mark show his love to his boys through material values. Mark isn’t the typically family man if you ask his family. Mark just get fired and it’s hard to tell his wife, especially because he has a problem with women who...
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...Poachers are still targeting the animals despite the forbidding goverment's laws. The continuous state of war caused by people living in West Africa are affecting the giraffes massivly. Infact, they are not doing anything to stop the massacre, and that increases the problem even more. Many people are making way for crops by cutting down the vegetation that the giraffes eat. Now tourists travel to Niger to see the nation's West African giraffes. The government makes money from these visitors. In return of leaving the animals, and their vegetation, alone, the Association helps the villagers. The Association also lends money to people who help the giraffes. Due to the arrears of people's experience with the past decline of giraffes, I think that they, alongside the government, will do whatever possible in order to diminish the future decline causes, and will work back to back in improving , and growing the factors that would encourage giraffes to live in peace once again, and hopefully, forever after. It's that people will be be able to explore and look at the era of giraffes in West Africa, after being on the edge of extinction. Before the harsh hands touch most of the giraffe habitats in West Africa, they used to exist in large numbers, but in this day and age they live in extremely fewer packs, and that was happening day by day without anybody noticing. However,Poachers still target the animals regardless of the forbidding laws of the government. Giraffes are also affected...
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...Between the years 376 to 476 A.D., the Roman Empire in the west “saw the political Germanization of the western empire,” and the Roman Empire in the west had declined and collapsed. The Roman Empire did not particularly collapse solely because of the barbarians who invaded, but rather a variety of factors influenced her downfall. While there were certainly barbarian tribes who raided and sacked Rome and quickened the decline, there were also other barbaric tribes that actually helped Roman civilization from completely dying out. There was more of a series of causes that led to the decline of Rome. One other appropriate note to make is to say that Rome did not fall, like the fall of Carthage for instance, but rather simply changed. During...
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...Decisions made by individuals, groups and governments regarding urban growth and decline, are ways in which each are involved in addressing the issue. Urban growth and decline are the geographical processes that are constantly shaping Australian cities. Managing these issues within a city is a key role of geographers as they work to make cities desirable, efficient and sustainable areas to live. This response will examine range of decisions made by governments, groups and individuals. Therefore this response will explain how decision making by individuals, groups and governments, is involved in addressing urban growth and decline. The various Governments have been involved in the decision making process, in order to address urban growth and decline. There are many government decisions and responses. These include the City-West Redevelopment Program, the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority and the Honeysuckle Development Corporation. The City-West Redevelopment Program was when the government constructed new urban infrastructure in the city of Pyrmont such as roads, lighting, communication, water, sewerage and telecommunication. This government response is highly effective because it brought 22,000 residents as it was an affordable housing program, which built houses which had water views and it also brought a working population of 26,000 people. Another government response is The Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority. This administered the urban renewal of Ultimo-Pyrmont. This...
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