Violence and Escapism as Leisure for the Underprivileged in Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting and Glue

Authors

  • Amaury Garcia dos Santos Neto Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro / Brasil // Colégio Militar do Rio de Janeiro (CMRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro / Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6564-2424

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35699/2317-2096.2021.26766

Keywords:

Scotland, Irvine Welsh, working class, leisure, violence, escapism

Abstract

This article analyses representations of the experience of leisure by young characters who belong to the working classes of Scotland, in Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting and Glue, considering the historical context upon which the narratives are based, i.e. Thatcher’s era. Such experience – based on a reality of a shrinking welfare state, lack of opportunities and mass unemployment – is informed by two factors: escapism, evidenced by heroin use; and violence, evidenced by alcohol abuse and football hooliganism. I intend to discuss how the politics of Thatcher’s rule, as well as the neoliberal thought and agenda she followed, are represented as a key factor in shaping the experience of leisure of the youth of underprivileged classes in Scotland in the selected novels.

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References

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Published

2021-10-01

How to Cite

Santos Neto, A. G. dos . (2021). Violence and Escapism as Leisure for the Underprivileged in Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting and Glue. Aletria: Revista De Estudos De Literatura, 31(3), 187–208. https://doi.org/10.35699/2317-2096.2021.26766

Issue

Vol. 31 No. 3 (2021): The transfuge: migration and transgression in literature

Section

Varia

License

Copyright (c) 2021 Amaury Garcia dos Santos Neto (Autor)

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