The Decline of the West by Hanif Kureis
The Decline of the West by Hanif Kureishi
We have now reached the stage in our society, where material goods have become a big influence and importance for us, especially in the Western capitalistic society. We are generally so focused on the material goods that we easily forget to carry about our family, but not least about the important life values. The recession is a great wake-up call, to get an opportunity to see things in a different way and a change disadvantageous behavior.
The story “The Decline of the West” is a short story written by Hanif Kureishi, which is published in 2010 in Collected Stories. The story starts in media res and takes place at the edge of London. The story is described and told by a 3st. person narrator, who knows about the main character’s thoughts and feelings. As a reader we get the main character’s point of view. In the story, there is an emphasis on the relationship between the main character named Mike and his family. Mike has a wife named Imogen and his two boys’, who is at the age of fifteen and eleven. The family is financial and emotionally strained. The relationship in the family is now built up of a façade where they aren’t talking about the important problems they individually deal with. The love in the family and connection is almost “dead” because the material goods overcome their attention and carrying for each other.
Mike has a picture of how he´s going to be a great husband to his wife and a great father to his children as well. Mike knows exactly which kind of relationship he wants to have for his family, but he is in doubt about how he must do it. Mike admits the family’s au pair sees his family more than he does, but he says he is still looking forward to coming home after a busy and at least a long day at work. Always when Mike comes home, the reality faces him and it’s far away from how his dream of a future looks like. When he
We have now reached the stage in our society, where material goods have become a big influence and importance for us, especially in the Western capitalistic society. We are generally so focused on the material goods that we easily forget to carry about our family, but not least about the important life values. The recession is a great wake-up call, to get an opportunity to see things in a different way and a change disadvantageous behavior.
The story “The Decline of the West” is a short story written by Hanif Kureishi, which is published in 2010 in Collected Stories. The story starts in media res and takes place at the edge of London. The story is described and told by a 3st. person narrator, who knows about the main character’s thoughts and feelings. As a reader we get the main character’s point of view. In the story, there is an emphasis on the relationship between the main character named Mike and his family. Mike has a wife named Imogen and his two boys’, who is at the age of fifteen and eleven. The family is financial and emotionally strained. The relationship in the family is now built up of a façade where they aren’t talking about the important problems they individually deal with. The love in the family and connection is almost “dead” because the material goods overcome their attention and carrying for each other.
Mike has a picture of how he´s going to be a great husband to his wife and a great father to his children as well. Mike knows exactly which kind of relationship he wants to have for his family, but he is in doubt about how he must do it. Mike admits the family’s au pair sees his family more than he does, but he says he is still looking forward to coming home after a busy and at least a long day at work. Always when Mike comes home, the reality faces him and it’s far away from how his dream of a future looks like. When he