Identity Crisis in Martin Amis's Money and London Fields

Main Article Content

Abdelrahman J. Othman
Rebwar Z. Mohammed

Abstract

Martin Amis’s novels are known for their representation of the dilemma of human beings in facing the problems of their age. Problems that may lead them to the status of crisis and expose them to sever psychological pain. This paper deals with issues related to identity and the traumatic conditions of the characters in two of Martin Amis's outstanding novels which are Money and London Fields.  Using a descriptive analytic approach, I will be highlighting how these characters pass through a status of crisis while living in an era of material idolization and greed that results in death of love and human noble emotions which consequently lead them to the verge of apocalypses. Although the setting of these novels are United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (USA), the author wants to present the case as an international problem that may affect human life in different places of the world. Through a harsh language and a realistic manifestation, Amis is disclosing the true face of modernity which apparently is very attractive but deep inside is full of atrocities and disaster. I will also indicate how some of the main characters overcome the challenges they face and are able to find out their lost identities after paying high prices both emotionally and psychologically.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Article Details

How to Cite
Othman, A. J. and Mohammed, R. Z. . (2021) “Identity Crisis in Martin Amis’s Money and London Fields”, Koya University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 4(1), pp. 60-69. doi: 10.14500/kujhss.v4n1y2021.pp60-69.
Section
Articles
Author Biographies

Abdelrahman J. Othman, Department of English, Faculty of Arts, Soran University, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Mr. Abdelrahman has graduated from the English department of the College of Arts in Salahaddin University in 1994 (Later changed to the College of Languages). He has worked for many years in the Humanitarian field in the International Committee of the Red Cross and Norwegian Refugee Council between 2001 and 2017. He has got his MA in English literature from Salahaddin University in 2012. He works as a faculty member in the English department of the Faculty of Arts at Soran University. Currently, he is doing a Ph.D. dissertation in English literature at Soran University.

Rebwar Z. Mohammed, Department of Translation, College of Languages, University of Sulaimani, Kurdistan Region, Iraq / V. P. For Scientific Affairs and Postgraduate Studies, Cihan University Sulaimani, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Dr. Rebwar  Zainadin Muhammad  is the vice-president of Cihan University-Sulaimani. His major is English Literature, English  Modern Drama.  He received his doctorate in  English Modern drama from University of Sulaimani, Iraqi Kurdistan region. His publications are about English Drama. He currently teaches undergraduate students at Cihan University - Sulaimani and postgraduate students (Ph.D.) at the University of Sulaimani and Soran University. He has attended many international conferences inside and outside the country. His objective is to foster student's appreciation through teaching works of literature that are relevant to their lives, showing them that literary works have merit and meaning.

References

Amis, M. (1984). Money: a suicide note (2010 published by Penguin Books ed.). London: Jonathan Cape.

Amis, M. (1989). London Fields (1st Vintage International Edition April,1991- New York ed.). London: Jonathan Cape.

Bentley, N. (2008). Contemporary British Fiction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Berman, M. (1982). All That Is Solid Melts Into Air: The Experience of Modernity. New York: Penguin Books.

Britannica, T. E. (Ed.). (2020, March 27). Martin Amis: British Author. Retrieved April 13, 2020, from Encyclopedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Martin-Amis

Campañón, C. S. (2004, December). Through the Looking Glass: America in Martin Amis's “Money: A Suicide Note”. Atlantis, 26(2), 87 - 96. Retrieved March 26, 2020, from https://www.jstor.org/stable/41055163

Craib, I. (1994). The Importance of disappointment. London and New York: Routledge.

Finney, B. (2008). Martin Amis. New York: Routledge.

Frosh, S. (1991). Identity Crisis, modernity, psychoanalysis and the self. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and Self-Identity. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Haffenden, J. (1985). Novelists in interview. London & New York: Methuen.

Keulks, G. (Ed.). (2006). Martin Amis: Postmodernism and beyond. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Lea, D. (2005). One Nation, Oneself: Politics, Place and Identity in Martin Amis' Fiction. In J. Acheson, & S. C. Ross (Eds.), The Contemporary British Novel. Edinburg: Edinburgh University Press.

McCrum, R. (2015, June 29). The Guardian. Retrieved April 13, 2020, from The 100 best novels: No 93- Money: A Suicide Note by Martin Amis (1984): https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/29/100-best-novels-93-martin-amis-money

Miret, M., & López-García, P. (2016). Effect of Economic Crises on Suicide Rates. In P. Courtet (Ed.), Understanding Suicide From Diagnosis to Personalized Treatment (p. 195). London: Springer International Publishing.

Mulalić, A. (2015). The Treatment of Violence in Martin Amis’ Money and Pinters’ The Caretaker. Epiphany: Journal of Transdisciplinary Studies, 8(1), 57-67.

Pesetsky, B. (1990, March 4). Lust Among the Ruins. The New York Times Book Review. Retrieved March 23, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/04/books/lust-among-the-ruins.html

Scura, C. (2013, December). Martin Amis: London Fields 1989. Retrieved February 5, 2019, from London Fictions: https://www.londonfictions.com/martin-amis-london-fields.html