Forms and Functions of Social Criticism in Evelyn Waugh’s satire "Decline and Fall"

Abstract or Introduction

The aim of this paper is to analyse how and why Evelyn Waugh as a late modernist writer voiced social criticism in his satire Decline and Fall. To do so, I will firstly demonstrate Evelyn Waugh’s representativeness for the literary genres of modernism and satire. Furthermore, I will examine exemplarily Waugh’s attacks on the education system and the penal system, both represented in the novel by Scone College, Llanabba Castle, Blackstone Gaol and Egdon Heath Prison. I do so based on the assumption that for Waugh it is in those systems that the flaws and faults of British modern society originated.

In the early 20th century, Britain went through a process of change and became more modern. Industrialisation and its rapidly growing cities led society to shake off Victorian ideals and principles. And the Great War from 1914 to 1918 changed the British people forever. Although it was firstly considered as a great adventure and brought about the empowerment of women, it left the country and its society in a profound crisis and raised endless questions. New ways of coping with reality in this age of uncertainty were needed. The literary genre which today is called modernism dealt with this era particularly through experimenting with literary forms and styles. Late modernism on the other hand was more focused on social criticism and preferably used satire as a means of expression.

Evelyn Waugh was a late modernist writer who wrote a number of famous social satires to criticise and to pillory the British society of the 1920s. For him, it was made up of indifferent, overly class conscious people who were incapable of having profound feelings and who placed more importance on status and money than on anything else. Moreover, an overall lack of piety, morals and most importantly boundaries, has led to a self-indulgent, mercenary society in constant decline.