Lucky Jim presents a view of education—or at least the British means of getting one—as something questionable at best, and downright pathetic at worst. Amis pays special attention to showing how Professor Welch, a man with a Ph.D. in history, is completely incompetent when it comes to commonsense stuff like driving a car or paying attention to a conversation. And for Amis, despite how much education you might have, if you can't be a humble, half-decent, and interesting person in day-to-day life, you're not worth much. Jim lives among scholars, but he feels like he's surrounded by idiots.
Questions About Education
- Is there anything positive about university life in this novel?
- If Jim dislikes university life so much, why is he seeking a university job in the first place?
- Would Jim be any happier at a different college?
Chew on This
In Lucky Jim, Kingsley Amis shows us that modern education is completely pointless, since it teaches us about things that only professors care about – stuff we'll never need to know in the real world.
In Lucky Jim, education is not necessarily a bad thing. It's just no guarantee that you're smarter or better than anyone else.