The Decline of the West - 1059 Words

The Decline of the West In todays world we are getting more and more materialized. When being a kid in school it is all about getting the newest phone, wearing the most expensive clothing and every other materialized thing, to show off how much money we have. We measure our happiness in things, clothes, cars and so on. The greed of getting more and new things is decreasing. Before the financial crises in 2008 every family lent money to buy new things all the time. No worries were to be shown in any family, until the crack happened. Nowadays the crisis has slowly turned around again and in school it’s still about collecting the newest items. In the short story from 2010 by Hanif Kureishi, the problem of greed and a materialized world is†¦show more content†¦From this view the kids seems rather ungrateful and rude to their father and we don’t see their side of the story. It seems like everyone is against Mike and that no one is happy about Mike working hard to delight his family. On the contrary it would look rather different if it had been from the wife or kids point of view. The title â€Å"The Decline of the West† can be a directly reference to the western worlds economic problems. This theme is clear throughout the short story, where especially Mike thinks about his choice of lifestyle that he and many others have had through many years. He considers whether the financial crises can be the punishment for this: â€Å"Like many people, Mike had also worried whether the present catastrophe was punishment for years of extravagance and self-indulgence.† (p. 4, l. 86-87) Another thing to notice about the short story is how values like love, closeness and indulgence is nowhere to be found. And the title can therefore be related to moral degeneration, which Mike’s family is an example of. The title can be a critical comment on the western worlds excessive focus on money at the expense of more important thing like family and Mike is actually thinking about the Marxism prediction, which affects him personally: â€Å"Since capitalism was cra cking under the weight of its contradictions as the Marxists has predicted †¦ they would have to find aShow MoreRelatedThe Decline of the West1199 Words   |  5 PagesA: The Decline of the West All of us grow up with expectations. Go to school, get good marks, get a well-paying job, find a nice husband, have children and be happy. Are we fooled into thinking this is the lifestyle we’re all supposed to live? And will this even make us happy? In the short story The Decline of the West by Hanif Kureishi, the reader is introduced to a man who grew up with the exact same expectations forced upon him. After losing his job he realizes how unhappy he is, even thoughRead MoreAnalysis of The Decline of the West1095 Words   |  5 Pagescapitalism itself, comes with a price. Mike, a hardworking father of two, and the main character of Hanif Kureishi’s short story â€Å"The Decline of the West† from 2010, is an example of one who suddenly finds himself in a very precautious situation when he loses his job after both he and his family have been used to his rather substantial pay. In The Decline of the West, Hanif Kureishi employs a limited third-person narrator, which is bound to the main character, Mike. As a result of this choice, theRead MoreAnalysis of The Decline of the West1086 Words   |  5 Pagescapitalism itself, comes with a price. 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