Graham Swift’S Last Orders – Of Various Journeys

The title of the paper is given by the title of Graham Swift’s novel, followed by a comment pinpointing the most prominent aspect in it, which is analyzed from the perspective of cultural studies. We deal with the manifold material or symbolical journeys accomplished or attempted by Swift’s characters. Considerations on stability and nomadic tendencies try to explain behavior attributing certain attitudes to characters in connection with the generation they are part of. The space of the car plays an important part in the definition of individual identity, and we try to observe which drives of one’s personality it can fulfill. Starting from the physical expedition endeavored by Jack’s friends, the paper touches upon the subtle ones (of, for instance, life towards death), to the purpose of seeing how they contribute to the construction of identity for the fictional characters involved, and, why not, for the real people and their own travels of all kinds, which they mirror.