Nice Work, chapter II, by David Lodge

This is an extract taken from the 2^nd chapter of David Lodge’s novel Nice Work.It works as an introduction to a literary trend: the Postmodernism.

It starts with the introduction by the 3^rd person omniscient intrusive narrator. It is a 3^rd person because it speaks in the 3^rd person. It is omniscient because he knows of everything that crosses the mind of any characters. And it is intrusive because, right from the 1^st line (“let us leave”) it is as if the narrator were talking to the reader and involving him/her; and “while we” includes the reader.

The 1^st sequence has the function to introduces a character that the narrator brings to life thought several category.

The 1^st category is the introduction by contrast with the knew character, Vic Wilcox (“a very different character”).

Immediately after the narrator uses the category of her convictions and beliefs to introduce her (“doesn’t herself believe in the concept of character”).

The 3^rd category the narrator exploits is gender. Because of the possessive reflexive “herself” the reader understands that he/she will read about a woman.

Next he refers to the character’s way of expression (“That is to say”).

The other category by means of which the character come to life is her name: Robyn. She has got a man name.

The name has strong potential because it reminds to Robin Hood who was an idealist who fought the rich to help the pours. So the reader may expect that such character may as well is an idealist.

An additional category is her surname: Penrose, which is interesting as well, because it reminds something you can write with.

Then the narrator refers to the character’s professional profile (“Temporary Lecturer in English Literature”).

Here he communicates that her working position too. Besides, her job conveys the idea of instability because she is a temporary lecture, she hasn’t got a permanent position.

In addition he refers to her knowledge because if she is a lecture at university this means she knows English literature.

And also he tells where she works: at University of Rummidge.

Moreover the narrator brigs her to life with reference to her philosophical and political beliefs and what her ideas about the character are (“’character’ is a bourgeois myth, an illusion created to reinforce the ideology of capitalism.”).

Indeed this is the most important opinion expresses in the 1^st sequence: besides her not believing in the concept of character, she thinks that a character is a only myth of the middle class, an illusion, not something realist. And above all, an illusion necessary to nourish the ideas of capitalism.

Then the character come to life as skilled in literature, economy, politics and argumentative abilities because the narrator provides her explanations about her convictions (“the rise of the novel … crisis of capitalism.”).

The main category used is the one of her idiolect.

Therefore, since she’s very skilled in argumentation, the character come to life by means of her skills in identify cause and effect relations and her argumentation itself (“Why the classic novel … The novelist is a capitalist of the imagination. … The novel was the first mass-produced cultural artefact.”).

So the 2^nd sequence makes Robyn come to life through her strong opinions, her strong convictions and her strong ability to create connections of cause and effect and justify them with argumentation.

The description by the intrusive (“At this point Robyn … from the wrist”) brings the character to life through her body language.

Again the narrator exploits the category of her vision and her conviction about the self, the identity and the world. (“there is no such thing as the ‘self’ … there is only a subjected position in an infinite web of discourses … there are no origins, there is only production, and we produce our ‘selves’ in language.”)