Loneliness of Long Distan :: essays papers

nakedness of Long DistanBorn in Nottingham in 1928 to a works class family, serving in the AirForce, and going by homoy struggles, Alan Sillitoe is known as aneffective representative of the English working class. Through his storyThe L mavenliness of the Long-Distance R unner and the other storiescontained within the book, Sillitoe effectively criticises the goodsystem of England, which deprives individualism from its people, isineffective and interferes with peoples lives. His stories UncleErnest, On Saturday Afternoon, and The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner show these themes. The issues presented still are pertinent today. Sillitoeeffectively criticises the legal system in Uncle Ernest. Uncle Ernestis a working-class lonely military man who lives an isolated, despondent existence. Joan and Alma, whom he befriends, are very poor and in pick up of a fatherfigure. Ernest has lost all of his old friends. His family has left him. He is need of company. He can no longer cover up his loneliness like hecovers up the sofas he re-upholsters for a living. Ernest buys intellectual nourishment forthem, clothes, and gifts. All three are happy in the rela tionship theyhave with one-a nonher. However, one day, he was told, Now look here, wedont want any more knock over from you, but if ever we see you near thosegirls again, youll find yourself up earlier a magistrate (57). Ernest isdeprived his life, w hat makes him happy. He is deprived the scarcelyfriendship he has because the unwritten social figure suggests that a mansuch as himself befriending young girls as such means that he is apaedophile. The detectives interfere with his life. Sillitoe shows t helegal system not only makes false assumptions, but goes by an unwrittensocial code that is accusational. The issue of conformity is centralErnest is not a normal share of society, therefore he is furtherostracised. In On Saturday Afternoon, Sillitoes narrative is of an accountancy of a bloke hanging himself. The man survived. When found by acopper, he was told, Its against the law. It aint your life. Andits a crime to take your own life. Its killing your self. Itssuicide. (103). The legal system is ineffective the man proved to thecoppers whose life it was. He jumped come out of a hospital window to hisdeath. Furthermore, the legal system is questioned. In this some spooky