Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Although the 1920s and 1930s had seen a growth in Scottish nationalism, Scotland emerged from the World War II with a renewed faith in its Union with England. For many Scots, the massive governmental intervention required by wartime society held the promise of a post-war British state that could actively protect its citizens from economic insecurity: “Full employment, the Welfare State, and social reconstruction made it sensible for Scots to think of themselves as British” ( “National Identity” 2001 : 444). However, the Scottish short story in this period is marked from the beginning by skepticism towards the growing influence of the British state over community life – a skepticism that intensifies as narratives of British identity continue to wane in the decades after the war. The Glaswegian author George Friel (1910–75) began his writing career during the 1930s by publishing a number of short stories that specialized in phenomena such as prostitution, the drudgery of female labor, the failure of the general strike, and the effects of unemployment. One might expect, then, that Friel would welcome the post-war construction of a more meritocratic society. Yet the short story “A Friend of Humanity,” first published in 1952, examines skeptically this narrative of improvement. It tells of a young lower-middle-class man, Mr Glanders, who, after leaving the army, decides to train as a ... log in or subscribe to read full text