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Book Review of Decline and Fall

Abstract

This essay primarily focuses on the concepts of the wheel of life and hypocritical societal systems within the novel Decline and Fall, by Evelyn Waugh. The novel introduces the main character, Paul, who finds a living as a teacher after he gets expelled from Oxford. After being deceived by many of his friends and trusted ones, Paul escapes from prison, makes a new identity, and continues to study at Oxford. The novel presents the concept of “the wheel of life” in multiple different ways. For one, Paul’s experiences are carved into a wheel, where he ends up in the same situation from where he started, in the Bollinger's Club. This ‘wheel of life’ was originally introduced in the Buddhist culture, where people repeatedly get reincarnated and undergo a ‘wheel of life’. Another way the wheel could be interpreted in the novel would be the different social positions within Paul’s community. There are people who play the role of the performer in the middle of the wheel, ones who seek thrill on the edge of the wheel, the giggling masses, and the observers.

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Decline and Fall, by Evelyn Waugh, introduces the main protagonist, Paul Pennyfeather, an Oxford student. During the Bollinger Club, he is expelled due to unfortunate trouble and misunderstandings caused by other students. He is forced to join a private school, Llanabba, run by Dr Fagan, to support himself financially. At the school, he learns that all the teachers were failures in life, and that no one really cares about teaching the students well. Paul is later attracted by one of his students' mothers, a wealthy widow, Margot Beste-Chetwynde. After getting closer to her, he learns about her many other lovers and drug usage, not realizing that she was running illegal brothels., Margot, however, wants to marry Paul and sends him to bail out some of her girls. During the process, however, he is arrested for human trafficking on the morning of his wedding with Margot, and takes all of the responsibilities. Unable to wait until Paul gets out of prison, Margot marries a government minister who sends him to a private clinic run by Dr Fagan, where they fake his death and give him a new identity. Paul grows a moustache, changes his name to Scone, and resumes his studies in Oxford. The novel ends with Paul listening to the shouts coming from the Bollinger Club.


Often, some life experiences happen within a cycle, where certain moments may be revisited in the future. The “wheel of life”, or “samsara”, concept was originally introduced through Buddhist cultural backgrounds, where it is believed that people will continuously go through a wheel of life and be reborn again and again, with new identities each cycle. In the novel, the “wheel of life” is more precise and happens centering on one of the experiences of a certain person. Here, Paul Pennyfeather, the main character, goes through a cycle where he starts at Oxford College and ends up back in the same place at the end. “So Peter went out, and Paul settled down again in his chair. So the ascetic Ebionites used to turn towards Jerusalem when they prayed. Paul made a note of it. Quite right to suppress them. Then he turned out the light and went into his bedroom to sleep.” (Waugh, Epilogue). Paul starts his adult experiences by first getting expelled from Oxford due to an incident in the Bollingers Club, and finds a living by teaching in a private school, Llanabba. There, he finds that all the teachers are failures in life and don’t really care about the students’ grades and academic performance. After falling in love with Margot, he is arrested and blamed on due to one of Margot’s illegal organizations, and later escapes from prison by changing his identity and name. Paul goes back to study in Oxford, and the novel ends at the same place where it started: the Bollinger's Club. In Decline and Fall, Paul’s experiences from getting expelled from Oxford and restudying at the school several years later also reflect a cycle, or wheel-like structure, within his early adult life.


Apart from representing a repeating structure in Paul’s life, the figure of a ‘wheel of life’ also represents the corrupted and hypocritical community he lives in. Within the novel, there are four major figures or representations on “the wheel”. The most conspicuous figure in most societies would be the symbolic elites who control the community, taking the place of a performer at the center of the wheel. They are usually represented by a symbolic media figure who is paid by an external force to run the social system smoothly.  There are also some, like Margot, who aspire for thrill, who sit on the edge of the moving wheel. Although there is always the possibility of getting thrown off, her high social position and immense wealth secure her position on stage. She understands how to alter and control the rules of the community, including those of inexperienced people like Paul. In the novel, Paul is used and persuaded by Margot to help her bail out some of her workers, and then takes the blame for Margot’s illegal activities. The majority of the community, however, act as the oblivious crowd, who repeatedly get on the wheel, get thrown off, and attempt to climb back again.  They pursue thrill like Margot, but don’t have the power to secure their positions. Paul, however, represents one of the few people who stand on the side, watching the crowd make a fool of themselves. Otto reflects that “Life is like the big wheel at Luna Park … At first you sit down and watch the others. They are all trying to sit in the wheel, and they keep getting flung off, and that makes them laugh too.” (Waugh, 7). Due to recognizing his inability to be like Margot or the performer in the middle of the wheel, Paul merely chooses to stand aside. Life is oftentimes represented and seen in multiple perspectives; here, Paul’s experiences are carved into the structure of a wheel, where he ends up in the same position from where he begins.


Paul’s community is shown to be corrupted and controlled by hypocritical, upper-class elites. The influence and result of the corrupt society are evident in Paul’s unfortunate fate after getting expelled from Oxford. Although he was only a victim in a chaotic situation within the Oxford Bollingers Club, he was expelled due to his financial hardships. Institutions like Oxford favored and protected richer, upper-class citizens; if people like Paul were unable to pay for the damages they had caused on school grounds, they would be expelled. Similarly, Llanabba Castle, the private school Paul went to teach in, doesn’t seem to prioritize education like most schools should. When Paul started teaching in Llanabba, he realized that all of the other teachers were failures in life and were indifferent to the children’s academics. “And, Pennyfeather, I hope you will see that they are distributed fairly evenly about the school. It doesn't do to let any boy win more than two events; I leave you to arrange that.” (Waugh, 7). The teachers only care about the money the children bring, and even create schemes between one another to earn more money during the sports events. Throughout his years after being expelled from Oxford, Paul was repeatedly betrayed and abandoned by his friends and Margot. The only time when Paul was able to find peace was during his experiences in prison, after he was used and abandoned by Margot. In prison, Paul was separated from the madness and absurdity in the community outside, successfully pursuing mental freedom. Over the years, Paul recognizes the illusion of free will and the powerlessness of individual fate that his community has seemingly given to him. Similar manipulative and hypocritical societies are often seen across a wide range of novels, with a notable one being The Hunger Games. Within the novel, citizens live in a dystopian, fictional land, where they are forced to participate in deadly events to warn the citizens of the upper class’s power. The institutions and individuals taking part in controlling the community use excuses and prominent titles to obscure their hypocritical deeds.


Decline and Fall, by Evelyn Waugh, primarily highlights the concept of the ‘wheel of life’ and the hypocrisy or corrupted state of the community, most notably within the upper-class citizens. The ‘wheel of life’, or ‘samsara’, concept was originally introduced through Buddhist cultural backgrounds, where it is believed that people will continuously go through a wheel of life and be reborn again and again, with new identities each cycle. In the novel, the ‘wheel of life’ is more precise and happens centering on one of the experiences of a certain person. Here, Paul Pennyfeather, the main character, goes through a cycle where he starts at Oxford College and ends up back in the same place at the end. Another interpretation of the ‘wheel of life’ would be its resemblance to the different positions of the community. There are people who play the role of the performer in the middle of the wheel, ones who seek thrill on the edge of the wheel, the giggling masses, and the observers. The novel especially emphasizes the corrupt characteristics of Paul’s community and the hypocrisy of the upper-class elites. The influence and result of the corrupt society are evident in Paul’s unfortunate fate after getting expelled from Oxford. The only time when Paul was able to find peace was during his experiences in prison, after he was used and abandoned by Margot. Over the years, Paul recognizes the illusion of free will and the powerlessness of individual fate that his community has seemingly given to him.

Works Cited

Waugh, Evelyn. “Decline and Fall”, Project Gutenberg

Collins, Suzanne. “The Hunger Games”, MCLA Weebly

“Samsara (Buddhism)”, Wikipedia

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