Dennis And Mr Joyboy example essay topic

Essay- The Loved One Evelyn Waugh satirises death and life by centring his novel "The Loved One" around two funeral parlours, the Happier Hunting Ground and Whispering Glades. Through death, the characters lives are based. It is through the Happier Hunting Ground and Whispering Glades, both places of death, that we see how they live their lives. By openly satirising death, it satirises life by implication.

We see the Hollywood industry, romance, English life, and the death of a pet satirises. When Dennis Barlow enters the Whispering Glades, the "Dreamer", Wilbur Kenworthy uses euphemism and propaganda to attract people to the funeral parlour. The sculpture of a large open book made out of marble, reads: Behold I dreamed a dream and I saw a New Earth sacred to Happiness. There amid all that Nature and Art could offer to elevate the Soul of Man I say the Happy Resting Place of Countless Loved Ones. And I saw the Waiting Ones who still stood on the brink of that narrow stream that now separated them from those who had gone before.

Young and old, they were happy too. Happy in Beauty, Happy in the certain knowledge that their Loved Ones were very near, in Beauty and Happiness such as the earth cannot give. I heard a voice say: 'Do this. ' And behold I awoke and in the Light and Promise of my DREAM I made WHISPERING GLADES. ENTER STRANGER and BE HAPPY. (pg 34) This message at the gates of the funeral parlour is there to make you feel like they have opened this especially for the good of their customers, this is good propaganda but underneath this is a modest wooden sign that says "Prices on inquiry at Administrative Building. Drive straight on". (pg 34).

This reminds us that they are not there for you, but to make money for themselves. Like the Hollywood Industry, they make you believe that they entertain us for us, but in reality they are there just to make money. Waugh also satirises how you can be needed one day, then completely forgotten about the next. This is shown when Sir Francis goes back to work after a week's vacation to find out he has been replaced without a word of warning. This satirises the film industry of being known one day then a stranger the next no matter how long you have been in the industry for.

Sir Francis is so distraught at the loss of his job that he commits suicide. This also satirises how some people just give up when one thing goes bad in their life. Waugh satirises romance through the life of Mr Joyboy, Aimee and Dennis. One could say that Waugh is satirising Shakespearean tragedy as Aimee, their loved one dies at the end and the novel is full of death. Unlike Shakespeare's plays, Dennis and Mr Joyboy are not terribly upset by the death of Aimee, the girl both of them wanted to marry.

This satires the Hollywood Industry of fans falling in love with a celebrity, but as soon as they are gone, move on and get on with their lives and only look out for their best interests, not caring what has happened to them. This is shown as Mr Joyboy is more concerned about losing his job rather than let anyone know what really happened. He rather not give Aimee a proper goodbye, his fianc " ee and the woman he supposedly loved. He would rather save his skin from the police, his mum and Dr Kenworthy.

Dennis Barlow too, cares nothing for Aimee after she has gone. All he wants is money and a nice flight back to England. The two characters only seem upset by their choice of words and not by their actions. The fire roared in the brick oven. Dennis must wait until all was consumed. He must rake out the glowing ashes, pound up the skull (Aimee's) and pelvis perhaps and disperse the fragments.

Meanwhile he entered the office and made a note in the book kept there for that purpose. (pg 127) Here this shows that Dennis was not too concerned or upset about the fact that his loved one was being cremated in a brick oven used for cats and dogs. In fact, the last sentence of the book leaves us with Dennis reading a novel left for him by his secretary. This is satirising the love some people claim they have for one another and how quickly they fall into and out of relationships. Even though Dennis is cremating his fianc " ee, he is relaxed enough to just sit down and read a book, as if what he is doing is the norm. By the death of Aimee, we see how some people live their romantic lives. "The Loved One" satirises the way of life for the English who have moved out to America and stayed within the period of time that they came from, instead of moving along like the rest of their country has.

This is shown at the start of the novel, the opening scene of the novel starts with the English, sitting down, talking about the England they had come from and their outdated magazines piled up in the background. Even with the sweltering heat of June, Sir Ambrose can still wear his dark flannelette's, an Eton Rambler tie, a monocle and a boater hat. This shows how much of his heritage and background he wants to keep as his lifestyle even though living in America. He even frowns upon any English gentlemen who moves along with the times. On page 13, Sir Ambrose criticizes a scene designer who "went completely native". The irony here is they look down on him because he adjusts to the American way, and doesn't uphold English reputation, but back in England, they have moved on with the times and are not what Sir Ambrose knows of England anymore.

Waugh also satires the English way of not being direct with people and how they say things obliquely. It is shown here as he tells Dennis Barlow a story about a scene designer that chose another career path. He says that an Englishman should only have a job that is suitable for an Englishman. What he really means is that he knows about Dennis's job as an undertaker and he does not approve. He wants Dennis to get a new job.

Instead of saying this outright, he hints towards it by telling Dennis about the scene designer who died in the war alluding that he died because he didn't chose an "English" job. Waugh satirises how much of a big deal people make over their pets when they die. Mrs Heinkel is an example of this when her dog Arthur dies. When she rings up Dennis, Waugh leads you to believe that her child has died.

It also satirises the rich and the spoilt. When Dennis arrives to discuss the funeral of the dog, Mr Heinkel just says yes to everything Dennis suggests to keep his wife happy, not caring about the amount of money involved, but the waste of it. In conclusion, Waugh satirises death and by implication satirises life. We see this throughout the whole book, in themes such as the Hollywood film industry, the love triangle between Dennis, Aimee and Dr Joyboy, the English and their way of life and thinking, and the death of a pet.