...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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...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 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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...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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...‘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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...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...
Words: 1251 - Pages: 6
