DENOTATIVE ANALYSIS OF "NICE WORK" Second Chapter

The reader can divided the chapter in two parts.

In  the first part David Lodge describes a woman, named Robyn Penrose in opposition to Vic Wilcox. The writer describes the ideas and the attitudes of the woman . From this accurate description the reader can understand that Robyn Penrose, Lecturer in English Literature, believes that "character" is a bourgeois myth, because the novel rose with capitalism in 18^th century, triumphed with it and fell into crisis together with capitalism in 20^th century. According to her both follow Protestant ethic by which individuals can control their destiny. The novelist is a capitalist of the imagination, producing subjects the consumers didn't know they wanted until they are available, manufacturing them and selling them in competition with others. On her opinion capitalism and the classical novel are not founded on the "self", but they express a subject position on a web of discourses. According to her every text is a product of intertextuality, with no origin, only production.

In the second part of the chapter the writer describes a typical morning of Robyn Penrose. In particular David Lodge describes the movements of the woman, describing every small detail. Robin Penrose gets up at 7.30 am, later that Vic Wilcox. She sleeps well and worries after waking up. She is rational. She worries about her lessons. She is anxious about the beginning of the new term. She is a good and self-confident teacher. The writer also introduces us a new character named Charles.