Lucky Jim Allusions & Cultural References

When authors refer to other great works, people, and events, it’s usually not accidental. Put on your super-sleuth hat and figure out why.

Literary and Philosophical References

  • James Joyce, Ulysses. (4.121): When Jim first meets Bertrand, he suddenly remembers a line from a book (which he can't remember) that goes "And with that he picked up the bloody old towser by the scruff of the neck, and, by Jesus, he near throttled him."
  • This is a pretty hilarious reference, since it's very unlikely that Jim Dixon (a man who considers himself almost illiterate) would have read a book as difficult as Ulysses. Also, it's even more unlikely that he would've read it well enough to cite it from memory. It feels like Kingsley Amis is peeking from behind Jim here, and winking at us ;-)

Historical References

  • R.A.F. (3.3) The Royal Air Force, the aerial arm of the British military. Jim mentions that he was a corporal in the R.A.F. stationed in Scotland during the war, and that Michie was a commander of a tank unit in the army. Amis wrote Lucky Jim not all that long after the end of WW II. Many college students at the time were war veterans, but the social and economic effects of the postwar era aren't really dealt with in the book.

Cultural References

  • The Hokey-Pokey (12.66). Kingsley Amis almost slips this one past us because he swaps actual words for the sound of the band, but he can't fool us. The lines go: "You parp the Hawky-Cawky arnd ya tarn parp-parp,/ Parp what it's parp parp-parp." But if you count the syllables, you can tell it's, "You do the hokey-pokey and you turn yourself around, / And that's what it's all about." Admit it—you've done this dance at the roller-skating rink.
  • "The Picture Post" (2.31) A hugely popular photo-essay magazine in the U.K. at the time the book was written. Margaret tells Jim that a camera team from the Picture Post might come to the Welches' weekend musical event. This would have been a very big deal, like People magazine covering your Bar Mitzvah. (Source)