Lucky Jim | Themes & Symbolism

Lucky Jim Significant Topics

As in all good comedy, the theme of this book is the difference between appearance and truth, between illusion and reality. The theme plays itself out through the conventional concerns of romantic love. Jim is caught between the falsity of Margaret Peel and the freshness of Christine Callaghan. He is caught between one job, the future of which involves kowtowing to Welch until he becomes an historical fossil like his superior, and another job the prospect of which offers a supportive employer and interesting work. Amis projects Jim through a series of complications during the course of which the author critiques the stodginess of England's moribund social system. The obligatory happy ending is fulfilled when Jim ends up with the proper woman and the proper work.