satirical response to deceit and falsehood
“A satirical response to deceit and falsehood” A prominent theme of Evelyn Waugh’s 1948 novel ‘The Loved One’ is deceit and disguise, involving many aspects of the American way of life, such as sentimentality, culture and specifically their way of death and grief. I shall explore this theme of falsehood under five key headings. First, the theme of falsehood is developed both in the media promotion of a film actress, and media pretence of a journalist acting as an agony aunt under an appealing guise. ... As a group, the British living in California form a third aspect of the theme of falsehood, having “a peculiar position to keep up”. Waugh by no means limits his satirical attack to Americans; he also criticises the British and their pompous manner. ... The attempt to veil the garishness of Whispering Glades is the final, fifth facet of the overall theme of falsehood which Waugh presents in his novel.