Paper Example. Middle England

Published: 2023-03-22
Paper Example. Middle England
Type of paper:  Book review
Categories:  Politics Character analysis American literature Books
Pages: 6
Wordcount: 1442 words
13 min read
143 views

Middle England is a literary piece written by Jonathan Coe. It's one of the greatest written works in America. Also, its regarded as the third book which has featured some of the characters from Coe's novel known as The Rotter Club, as well as The Closed Circle. In his work, Jonathan has attempted to complete a successful finding of the sweet spot at a sore point. According to the writer, the Brexit vote is identified as a personal identity matter, and it's expected to continue being experienced. Therefore, this task will review some of the personal experiences I acquired while reading Coe's work, that is, what I highly liked and enjoyed, as well as what I disliked about the middle England novel.

Trust banner

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Some of the Features That I Liked and Loved in the Middle England Novel

The novel has discussed geographical location and local transport. This feature normally helps the reader to concentrate and also understand the book or the story in a better way. Coe has frequently shown in detail some places that are motioned in the novel. For example, on the fourth page of his work, I read that the hero in the story is driving through various towns. i.e., "Bridgnorth, Alveley, Quatt, Much Wenlock and Cressage." (Coe, pg 4) Then, on page 44, this hero changed his direction and started using a different route. The writer states that after he reached Cressage, he went back to Much Wenlock, Bridgnorth town, then branched to Enville, Stourbridge, and lastly, he arrived at Hagley (Coe, pg 44).

Coe explains that the garden center is not very far from M54, and it is not precisely in the middle of Birmingham and Shrewsbury. Also, the location of the pub is illustrated in a clear way; "Tucked away in a hard-to-find corner beside the Suffolk Street Queensway in Central Birmingham" (Guignery, pg 48). All these geographical features with official signs are very important to all the readers of this novel. In literature, giving clear direction is considered as a good deal as it directs the reader well about the geography of the place. For example, where the story is revolving; thus, it increases the level of understanding.

Although the novel has highly focused on political issues, it has really exposed too much in public transport, and it gives more details of the media and city politics. The writer does this in order to emphases by providing in-depth information about characters that are indicated in his writing. This emphasis on a character in a story helps in opening up the mind of the reader by helping him or her to view what is in the book in a different dimension. The novel has a wide range of characters who are emphases more as the story flows. For example, Benjamin Trotter, who is at his middle age, was longlisted as a man booker prize. Also, one of his old friends by the name Doug was listed in the newspaper as a columnist, and Sophie, who is her niece and a university lecturer, becomes a minor TV don (Guignery, pg 53). At this point, the writer plots his work by giving information about the characters in from of their ages, and also how the generation of these individuals is creating political tensions among them.

According to the writer, Colin, who is the father of Benjamin, has been voting conservatively in every election held since 1950 (Coe, pg 62). After arriving at one of the restaurants in London, Colin started complaining that he doesn't think whether he heard any English word being spoken while he was coming. Then, at this point, Colin's granddaughter realized that what his grandfather was complaining about in that city, it's what she liked. Also, the mother's quotes given from the infamous character on anti-immigration speech, as well as the address provided by the Lithuanian woman, are very suspicious in the novel. Almost in the whole story, politics is the main focus, but Coe tries to give space in his writing for playful humor.

In modern days, to create such a piece of writing, it highly requires some believable set pieces, and the author of Middle England is good at it. For example, in the year 2011, the novel explains riots in London at Birmingham. This is a true thing that had occurred, and most people are familiar with it. Also, there is an event whereby most of the characters from different locales were watching television during the opening ceremony of the Olympics in the year 2012 (Coe, pg 27). In this ceremony, Daniel Craig, together with Queen Elizabeth II, was present. These events are believable set pieces, and in literature, they help the reader to think and gain experience about real life and what happens typically.

Some of The Features That I Reviewed in The Novel and I Did Not Like Them at All

On the other hand, there are some of the things or features that I came close to, but I did not like them as presented in Coe's work. For example, in the novel, there is one minor character who gives a theory about white Europe races. However, he is quickly and profoundly condemned. Also, there are several characters who are against the correctness of political. For instance, they only prefer white privilege as well as preferential hiring policies. As the novel ends, there is a character who is assaulted in public because of speaking using a different language other than English (Simonsen, pg 45). This is not a good picture as it denies some individuals who are not good in the English language the freedom of speaking in public. Only people who know the English language can be in a position of communicating in public. Thus, this issue is viewed as a factor used for political gain in nationalism, but it's a fire that can be controlled or reduced.

Although most of the plots in the novel are highly warning against oversensitivity about politics, most of the Coe's political profoundly appear as a routine that is being roasted continuously on twitter. For example, the writer recount Jo Cox's murder, who was a member of parliament. In this case, the reader experiences a sense of chilling hallucination, which has been unchecked in recent years. Thus, it profoundly affects the reader, i.e., he or she may be full of fear, and as a citizen, he or she may feel unsecure. In most of the novels, the readers learn some lessons as well as some of the bridge gaps they should maintain, and in most cases, these writing arrives into a happy ending. It can either be a more or a less happy ending, but it depends on the story.

The modern novels about the way we as individuals are living now should be aspiring in order to recreate and build the feelings of their times as well as the details. In Jonathan Coe's writing, in most of his plots at Middle England novel, he does not feel people's particular now, or the modern life (Guignery, pg 162). Thus, I can state that Coe is curious, compassionate as well as a forgiving person in his work. Also, the Middle England novel its very construction, and the traditions it can make it feel disagreeing any moment it high hopes to capture. For example, at times, it seems like a street lamp that is trying to represent a bonfire.

Conclusion

To sum up, the Middle English novel can be considered as an essential writing presentation by Coe to the people. The book reviews what most of the people usually experience in their real life. For example, the characters that are used in the novel clearly illustrate a deep meaning which symbolizes something. Almost in every plot of the story Coe represent political matters; this can be considered as vital as it helps the individual to understand that even if there are political issues, they should be in a position of move on with their lives. Also, the analysis of Coe's writing is precise, and the story plotting flows in a good rhythm that helps every reader to have a clear understanding of what is going on. Thus, every writer should have a unique way of presenting their work so that a person who will be using the work can enjoy reading it as in the case of Middle England by Jonathan Coe.

Work Cited

Coe, Jonathan. Middle England. Knopf, 2019.Guignery, Vanessa. "The Way We Live Now: Jonathan Coe's Re-evaluation of Political Satire." Etudes anglaises 68.2 (2015): 156-169.

Guignery, Vanessa. Jonathan Coe. Macmillan International Higher Education, 2015.Simonsen, Peter. "" We Are Far More United":: Reimagining the Post-Brexit Nation in Ali Smith's Autumn and Jonathan Coe's Middle England." Anglo-Files 192.2 (2019): 40-50.

Cite this page

Paper Example. Middle England. (2023, Mar 22). Retrieved from https://speedypaper.com/essays/middle-england

Request Removal

If you are the original author of this essay and no longer wish to have it published on the SpeedyPaper website, please click below to request its removal:

Liked this essay sample but need an original one?

Hire a professional with VAST experience!

24/7 online support

NO plagiarism