Discussion of Sexuality Representation in Literature

Name: Tali Ladd
Tutor Name: Kathryn Walchester
Module Title: Reading English
Word Count:
Literature in context
1 Discuss the representation of sexuality in one or more texts.
John Braine’s Room at the Top focuses on the life of Joe Lampton, an ambitious young man from a working class background seeking to rise up the social-economic position in post-war Britain. The Lonely Londoners by Samuel Selvon focuses on the poor and working class black West Indians in post-WWII London Lampton was demobilized after WWII and began working in the Municipal Treasury having studied accounting while a prisoner of war. Lampton notices a young man in an expensive car and a beautiful woman and aspires for that kind of lifestyle, and while he wants to secure his future, he is an adventurous young man with a high sexual appetite. On the other hand, Selvon looks into the experiences of the black immigrants in London characters them Moses Aloetta, the main character who seek sex from women without getting emotionally attached. There are sexual relations Room at the Top, and Joe uses sex to gain social status and marries for money. The black immigrants in The Lonely Londoners engage in anxious sexual activities and are pleased with their sexual exploits.
Joe Lampton in Room at the Top engages in clandestine sexual relations with Alice who is older and married Joe met Alice Aisgill and Susan Brown, while at Warley and his relationship with Alice with Alice was partly based on the need to improve his economic situation. Post war masculinity is linked to angry men who are frustrated with lack of progress and some engage in illicit sexual pleasures to reassert their positions in society. Joe goes through moral degradation as he pursues his dream and sexual relations are closely linked to social classes such that men and women are expected to be close with those from a similar socio-economic background. It is no surprise that Joe pursues an illicit sexual relationship that he hides from those who know him and in the class-conscious British society, there are attempts to prevent and stop relationships among people from different social classes
Joe comes from a poor background and vulgarity is linked to those who come from such background such that even when two people have sexual relations it seems that the common person lacks good morals and conviction. Social differences limit interactions but once the poor working class young men encounter the wealthier women they go through moral degradation, but they do not seem to mind engaging in sexual relations for their own selfish gains. “I mean unused by sex, by money, by making friends and influencing people, hardly touched by any of the muck one’s forced to wade through to get what one wants” (Brine 8). Joe realized he was different than when he was in his parent’s home at Warley where he was unused and innocent, but now having moved away he was used and realized there was an element of sexual exploitation in intimate relationships.
Besides Joe’s sexual encounters, experiences and observations are explored, the young men also make sexual innuendos and seem to be only inters in short-term sexual encounters. “‘He’s smashing,’ said Beryl. She stared at me impudently. She had unformed babyish features and no perceptible breasts, but there was about her a disturbingly raw provocativenes” (16). The passage highlights that the young men were keen observant and judged the young men based on their sexual attractiveness. The pursuit of money and climbing up the social ladder includes exploiting others as is the case of Joe who engages in sexual relations with a married woman to gain social status. However, Joe is also an angry young man who is apprehensive about the future and wants to show his masculinity and being in control.
There is a direct relationship between class and social relations, but Joe ignores the rules to be closer to Alice, but he then goes on to marry Susan Brown and as a result Alice committed suicide. The characters are shown to be more open to engage in sexual relations that do not confine them, but lust also brings negative consequences for those who use power to gain status. Joe manipulated his love interests and was not ashamed of this, but Braine seems to criticize his obsession with power and status, which leads him to exploit others where sexual desire is closely linked with lust for social status. Joe knew he was no longer innocent as he was once was in his hometown, and this is partly because he used sexual relations to further himself in life and attain a higher social rank.
Joe is a highly sexualized character who is class- conscious and Susan Brown gets closer to him partly because of the aura of sexuality. Yet, Joe is away from his family and natural environment where he relates with people from a different social class and he focus on social status rather than moral convictions. Thus, in a sense, Joe is alienated from his loved ones and his sexual encounters reflect one who is not comfortable with himself and is a user. “I’ve never in all my life felt so completely friendless” (128). In the passage,...