Evelyn, Waugh (1903--1966), was born in a scholarly family in Hampster (North West London), England. His father was a senior editor at the prestigious Chapman Publishing Company and a talented writer and critic, best known for Tennyson. Waugh's childhood was spent reading aloud from his father's rhythmic and musical masterpieces.
It was his father's appreciation and love for literature that gave Waugh a very nutritious spiritual communion, and opened Evelyn Waugh's literary path. Wo, who was still in middle school, started to write novels by using his unique and sensitive sense of life and the unbridled gallop of his imagination. However, the experience of loneliness in the process of growing up and the loneliness factor in his character gave Waugh an unusually mature view of his world. At that time, the trauma of the "World War I" to Europe inevitably left traces in the heart of this young man who loved to think about social issues. At a young age, he already had a certain pessimistic view of the absurdity of this society.
And such pessimism is reflected in his first novel, Declline and Fall (1928). The publication of Decline made Waugh famous. Someone exclaimed: "A real humorous genius has appeared!" Winston Churchill also gave the book as a Christmas gift to a friend. The book satirizes the social decline of the West, and its satirical themes and distinctive writing set the stage for his later mature works.
"The Loved One" or "The Loved One" (1948) has been called Evelyn Waugh's most mature and formidable satire. Relatives, that is, dear ones, are first of all reminiscent of the sweetness of love, but in the novel it is a euphemism for the deceased. The contrast instantly gives it a touch of irony and dark humor. The novel depicts the hypocrisy of love and the numbness of death in a short space, and Wo's irony talent is vividly displayed. The dark humor is chillingly cold, and comedy and tragedy take a dramatic turn at the end. The author is still laughing casually, but the reader is gradually no longer foolishly laughing with it.
We know that in any plot that can be loosely defined as "comedy," there are all kinds of deep, potentially contradictory possibilities: a satirical comment on the fragile side of human nature, and an ironic even destructive Witty and witty, yet sympathetic to the frailty of human nature. The mask of comedy sometimes transforms into a dangerous grimace close to tragedy. The comic language and tragic effect in Wo's works constitute a strong contrast, and the powerful shock wave formed by this contrast prompts us to think deeply after reading. Perhaps this is the infinite charm of his works.
In our ordinary world, lofty tragedies are often not staged, and all kinds of unexpected mishaps constitute a farce with a tragicomic color in life. We matured in scenes of excitement and sighs. In Wo's short novel, friendship cannot escape loneliness, love is a lie, and only death seems to be the best place to go.
The novel begins with: "They speak for their own pleasure. Nothing they say is intended for the listener", "This is the secret of social stability in this country," an understatement that immediately strikes the reader's mind A cartoon is presented: At a party with loud voices, the chatter rises and falls, while the smiling person gives birth to a desert in their hearts. Finding a pair of listening ears is more desperate than finding water in the desert. People are finally numb and start talking to themselves. It turns out that one day the ear can only "enjoy" the noise, and the mouth is only to discharge the noise it hears.
The protagonist, Dennis Barlow, came to Hollywood from England with a literary dream. After repeated setbacks, he had to come to the pet crematorium - "Happiness Hunting Ground" to work. His friend Sir Francis Hinsley, once a brilliant screenwriter in Hollywood, was brutally kicked out because he was old and useless. Unable to withstand the company's insults, he hanged himself. The British in the United States thought it was Barlow's lowly occupation that led to such a tragedy. They asked Barlow to take charge of the funeral. As a good friend, Barlow did not have the slightest affection for Sir Hinsley's death, but calmly visited the luxurious funeral home - "The Jungle Whisper Base" with professional curiosity. This place of mourning, which should be full of pain, has become a symbol of modern capitalist business society in the book, and the author's criticism of modern society is also contained in this book. This cemetery is divided into different levels of parks, including "pilgrimage resting area", "lover's home area", "poet's corner", etc. The cemetery seems to be full of artistic atmosphere, there are many classical art and ancient art "to make people's soul noble" Imitations of buildings. However, all the seemingly "warm" and "artistic" funeral arrangements and costumes, as well as the pleasant words of the operator, were suddenly overshadowed by the "that piece of meat" that the staff said when facing "relatives". Bright and beautiful took off the mask in a blink of an eye, and the terrifying truth was right in front of him. According to the author's description, these places are full of copper smell, extremely vulgar, and their original sacred spiritual value has been completely eliminated.
When the old Sir hanged himself, at the same time, he was despised by his fellow villagers in a foreign country, and loneliness and loneliness became his closest friends. Friendship also seems a little unreal in this world, and the conversation between Sir Hinsley and him has long since become separate conversations. It was just two people who seemed to have a mask when they were alone. Now that Jazz has committed suicide, the mask has lost its meaning, and Barlow has long been able to enjoy solitude. So instead of dealing with the usual grief, Barlow took an interest in a cemetery he had never been to before.
He began to live in real life, working in an animal incineration plant. He is no longer childishly striving to realize his once lofty ideals. From the UK to the US, the old ideals of the new living space seem childish.
Barlow, who is preparing for a funeral, meets Aimee, who is putting on makeup for a loved one at the funeral home. The innocent and innocent Aimee slowly fell in love with the "poet" Barlow in his romance, but she did not expect that all of Barlow's love poems were copied from books, nor did she expect that he was disdainful of him. "Happiness Hunting Ground" work. By the time Aimee discovers his true identity and deception, the balance of emotions tilts in favor of Dr. Joey Boy, an embalming expert she admires. While Barlow's reluctance to let go and Joey Boye's cowardice make Aimee hesitate and suffer, she turns to a mentor consulted by the "Celebrity Mentors" column. This mentor, because he was in depression, gave the guidance to Aimee, who was extremely confused, by flying in the sky and jumping off the building to his death. In the end, Aimee's suicide had to be related to the mentor's guidance. Aimee committed suicide in Joey Boy's office. The flustered doctor found Barlow. Facing the crying doctor and unexpected events, Barlow calmly and calmly. They ended up throwing Aimee's body into an animal incinerator. Barlow also calmly filled out a condolence card for the "family owner" according to the usual procedure: "Your lovely Aimee is wagging her tail tonight, missing you in the sky."
Aimee's good hope and belief have been exchanged for a tragic ending , but the game's Barlow became richer by Aimee's death. The strong contrast brutally outlines this hell on earth. Black humor roars from another world like a gloomy wind. Aimee ends up being called the animal "It" and disappears into the raging fire.
One of them came to prepare for the funeral, and the other made up for their loved ones. Maybe Barlow has long been detached from life and death, and simple Aimee never expected that one day she would end her life in the "happiness hunting ground" that she despised! And not only did she not put on makeup and say goodbye to the world, but in the animal incinerator She disappeared in a hurry, in the animal incinerator in front of the eyes of two admirers who had tortured her in her lifetime! This girl with a simple and beautiful belief in life, finally "shattered to pieces" on the road of pursuit - Barlow will " Her ashes were scraped out, her head and pelvis were shattered, and the wreckage was cleaned up." It seems that love is no longer so important, because life has passed away, and the flower of love is dim and withered, and the shadow of death can be faintly seen in the blackened leaves.
Facing the sudden death of Barlow, whether it is a friend or a lover, he calmly and naturally accepts the reality. No resistance, not even thinking about how and why it all happened. How similar his "detachment" is in a way to Camus' Meursault, the protagonist of The Outsider! Business as usual was unacceptable to everyone, and ultimately, absurdly, became the basis for convicting him of a crime. Waugh is not a modernist writer, and he shares the same ideas with modernist writers despite their different expressions. After experiencing the frenzy of war, they could not calm their hearts and find a fixed belief and standard for themselves. The ups and downs of life go by impetuously day by day, and perhaps the safest attitude in the face of the absurd world is their "passive numbness". Many of Waugh's works, such as "Decline" and "Evil Body", seem to express the zeitgeist of the time through the words and deeds of young people. It may be a choice in a chaotic world to choose stillness in the midst of the movement and watch the changes. It is this kind of "outsider" mentality in it that clearly interprets Barlow's irreparable loneliness and indifference to the death of Jazz and his lover.
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