Break of Dark | Social Sensitivity

Break of Dark Social Sensitivity

Although Westall may be considered a very humanistic author, his fiction sometimes demonstrates a glaring lack of sensitivity. Not one of his stories depicts a credible, positive, fully-rendered female character, and, when women are to any extent present, they are quickly dispatched either because they are threatening (as in "Hitchhiker") or they are culpable or silly (as in "Fred, Alice, and Aunty Lou"). In addition to its noticeably misogynistic slant, Westall's work has also been criticized for its questionable references to the lower and working classes (noticeable in "Fred, Alice, and Aunty Lou"), and for its explicit or implicit denigration of other races or cultural groups (notice the narrator's comments about the Scots in "Hitch-hiker," Gary's attitude towards Blackham the Yorkshireman in "Blackham's Wimpey," and the exotic, non-English last names of the vampires in "St. Austin Friars").

Another issue of concern regarding Westall's fiction is the amount of...
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