What makes John Cheever’s stories so uniquely American, aside from the obvious geographic setting of east coast America in the majority of his stories, is the way in which he writes, the so called New Yorker style narrative. This style is based around extraordinary stories about ordinary people which is also the crux of the American dream; that any person can, with hard work and determination, improve their position and quality of life. The land of a million opportunities for those with enough true grit to see their ambitions realised. In Cheever’s stories then we see the American dream projected onto the page as well as the American spirit of family values, capitalism and a classless society.
If we were to look at what makes a story uniquely British however, we could throw out the old clichés of cricket on a Sunday afternoon followed by warm ale and fish and chips down the pub. Or we could throw in the new clichés of multiculturalism, of the Tate modern and chicken tikka massala. However neither picture represents an authentically British experience, they are both opposite extremes of one another. For a novel to be truly authentically British I think instead of focusing on the physical attributes of our society it would be best to focus on the British spirit; of the central theme of humour and banter, talking about the weather and endless cups of tea, which though may be labelled clichés, are largely true to everyone I know. As Cecil Rhodes once said, “To be born British is to win the lottery of life,” and by Jove I agree with him! There are so many things that would make a story uniquely British, and what is considered uniquely British varies from person to person depending on family background, geographic location etc but fundamentally I would have to say tea, weather, banter, some kind of outdoor sport and a distrust of foreigners (particularly the French) are what would make a novel, or indeed a character, uniquely British.
I agree with you Nick, regarding what you say about neither the old or new cliches associated with Britain truly representing 'Britishness'. In modern society it is very hard to actually define what it is to be British due to the diversity and complexity of our culture. Indeed within Britain there are variations of 'Britishness'. What about 'Welshness' or 'Scotishness' contributing to this overarching idea. I think that in the end in order for writing to constitute an element of Britishness it should celebrate different aspects of our culture for the vibrancy and diversity it shows. I also think its vital to remember the good old days of the paper wrapped fish and chips and cricket on the lawns as that is integral to Britishness of the past. I do however have to pick you up on one point. I am a Briton, born and bred, but I hate tea with a passion :)
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm not a true Briton, then!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure Cheever's writing about the American dream like you say. To me, it seems like he's criticising it, calling it unfeasible (as in "O City of Broken Dreams"), or else saying that it doesn't make you happy. I don't know, that's just my interpretation of the stories that I've read, but I thought he was trying to give the impression of life being depressing and hopeless. Which, to be honest, I would have said fit better with "Uniquely British" than with "Uniquely American," given their stereotypically upbeat nature.