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Nice Work: Victor Wilcox's Development as a Result of Interaction with Robyn Penrose.

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The development and changes in life and personality of Victor Wilcox throughout the novel as a result of interaction with Robyn Penrose.

David Lodges' books sell throughout the world in multitudes of copies. Many different characteristics of his style of writing gave rise to this success. His style is light, although reading his novels may be quite a challenge in terms of vocabulary for a non-native speaker of English. His favourite subject matter is the world of academics. It is always a source for an original set of characters and a bunch of grotesque situations. Some of his books focus only on the circle of society. `Small world' ridicules relations and customs of this closed world of lecturers. `British Museum is falling …show more content…

He has a dark brown eyes and a square face. His hair brown, but already flecked with grey. He usually dresses in one of his six suits which are a constant object of contempt of his eldest son. `If that's the charcoal grey worsted, it must be Tuesday'.2 Additionally, his life story reflects also the same way of ordering things. Since his graduation his mind has been fully engrossed in developing his professional career. His biography presents the stages that he went through to finally become the managing director of J Pringle & Sons Casting and General Engineering. What is more, we will not find in his biography any traces of diverging from this chosen root. Even in the short moments of reflection over his condition he concludes that `somebody has to earn a living in this family'.3 This rational attitude applies both to his work and to his private life. He took on himself a role of a breadwinner. Although he still disapproves of his wife sleeping till noon or his eldest son lazing around, he ceased trying to change it. He is certain that `she (his wife) has no intention of carrying out his instructions'.4 Wilcox treats the spreading gulf between him and each member of his family as something inevitable and irreparable. In that respect, his worries are not the one of the family, but are connected solely with work. The factory that Victor

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