Lucky Jim Alcohol and Drugs Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

"Yes, you're right, I admit. But I'd give anything for three quick pints. I've had nothing since the one I had down the road yesterday evening, before I showed up here." (4.47)

Three quick pints? Most (healthy) people might think that three pints is an entire night's worth of drinking. Jim, though, talks about it as if he'd take less than three minutes to slam three pints and come back to the party. The guy must have a pretty high alcohol tolerance if he feels like he can do that and still act normal at a party.

Quote #5

[T]he local pubs, unlike the city pubs and the hotel he went to with Margaret, stayed open till ten-thirty in the summer, and the summer had now officially begun. His gratitude had been inexpressible in words; only further calls at the bar could repay the happy debt. (5.1)

The sad thing about this passage is that it probably marks the happiest moment that Jim has in this entire novel. And that includes getting together with Christine. Sure, he's happy to kiss Christine; but the book never talks about a "gratitude [that] had been inexpressible in words." And why does he feel all this gratitude? Because the bar is going to serve drinks for an extra half hour.

Quote #6

As a result he'd spent more than he could afford and drunk more than he ought, and yet he felt nothing but satisfaction and peace. Rebounding painfully from the gatepost, he began creeping round the cobbled environs of the house. (5.1)

They say that drunk people don't have a great sense of time, and this passage definitely proves that. Notice how Jim goes from drinking in the bar to knocking into the Welches' gatepost in just two sentences. It's like his night is one giant blur (which it is) because he's totally hammered. Now this might sound really unpleasant, but being the alcoholic he is, Jim feels "nothing but satisfaction and peace."