Life Goes on: Sillitoe parodiando a Sillitoe

Abstract

This article considers the novel Life Goes On, by Alan Sillitoe, as a self-conscious parody of his previous work. The self-conscious dimension of this novel is apparent not only in narrative style but also in the relations between writer, characters and reader, and in the social circumstances of the heroes. Sillitoe also explores the limits and examines the conventions of the novel as a genre. It is concluded that Life Goes On achieves the state of self-parody by means of a well studied ironic strategy that shapes the structure of the novel.