Suggestions
Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.Please wait while we process your payment
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
Please wait while we process your payment
By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy.
Don’t have an account? Subscribe now
Create Your Account
Sign up for your FREE 7-day trial
Already have an account? Log in
Your Email
Choose Your Plan
Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan!
Purchasing SparkNotes PLUS for a group?
Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more!
Price
$24.99 $18.74 /subscription + tax
Subtotal $37.48 + tax
Save 25% on 2-49 accounts
Save 30% on 50-99 accounts
Want 100 or more? Contact us for a customized plan.
Your Plan
Payment Details
Payment Summary
SparkNotes Plus
You'll be billed after your free trial ends.
7-Day Free Trial
Not Applicable
Renews February 7, 2023 January 31, 2023
Discounts (applied to next billing)
DUE NOW
US $0.00
SNPLUSROCKS20 | 20% Discount
This is not a valid promo code.
Discount Code (one code per order)
SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. You may cancel your subscription on your Subscription and Billing page or contact Customer Support at custserv@bn.com. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. Free trial is available to new customers only.
Choose Your Plan
Payment Details
Payment Summary
For the next 7 days, you'll have access to awesome PLUS stuff like AP English test prep, No Fear Shakespeare translations and audio, a note-taking tool, personalized dashboard, & much more!
You’ve successfully purchased a group discount. Your group members can use the joining link below to redeem their group membership. You'll also receive an email with the link.
Members will be prompted to log in or create an account to redeem their group membership.
Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Continue to start your free trial.
Please wait while we process your payment
Your PLUS subscription has expired
Please wait while we process your payment
Please wait while we process your payment
In the first chapter of Lucky Jim, Dixon thinks forward to his upcoming meeting with Margaret, wondering what she will wear. He decides that he can make himself compliment anything but her green Paisley dress and quasi-velvet shoes, which is, of course, what she is wearing that night. Margaret wears the dress again in Chapter 16 when she and Dixon officially break off their relationship. All of Margaret's clothing seems to be unattractive, but this dress is clearly something that Margaret likes a lot and thinks that Dixon will find attractive. The fake quality of the quasi-velvet shoes also seems to be specifically indicative of Margaret's lack of sophistication. Thus, the dress is symbolic of Margaret's unawareness when it comes to Dixon. The comedy of her wearing the one thing Dixon can't stand is also symbolic of the more general comedy of bad luck.
Mr. Welch's fishing hat and Bertrand's beret are symbolic of their pretentiousness. Mr. Welch fancies himself a man of traditional England, and therefore a man of the people, but the comedy of Professor Welch's hat lies in the implication that he has never fished in his life, or even met a fisherman, but still sees nothing amiss in wearing a fishing hat himself. Bertrand's social pretensions are more ambitious and continental, as signified by his beret. Dixon makes fun of Bertrand's beret specifically for its uselessness. It does not block rain or keep him warm, and is worn only for effect. Bertrand and Professor Welch are wearing each other's hats when Dixon meets them on the street in the final scene, and Dixon's comic enjoyment of this reversal and of the silliness of the hats more generally sums up his contemptuous feelings for the Welches throughout the novel.
Please wait while we process your payment