THE NEVER- NEVER NEST: CHARACTER SKETCH OF JACK

                            

    Jack is an easy-going person. He is an ingenious man since he is fooled by the advertisements on easy monthly instalments. He lacked worldliness as he seems to be unaware of difficulties which would fall on him shortly because of these instalments. Though it is good that he bought the house on instalments, buying luxuries too on instalments is not the right thing to do.

 "Jack: You see, Aunt Jane, we realized how uneconomic it is to go on paying rent year after year when you can buy & enjoy a home of your own for ten pounds ....... " 

    It is quite wise to purchase the house on instalment because if he had been a tenant, then he would have to pay rent to the landlord every month, & one day he has to leave the house & move to another. But, since he has taken a loan on his house, he would be paying monthly instalment to the bank & then a day will come when he would own the house completely. But, he should have considered his monthly income before buying this house even on instalments. His monthly income is six pounds & what he has to pay every month is ten pounds. He could have brought a small house in a not so good part of Britain, but he acted foolishly by buying an expensive villa in a posh area like New Hampstead. His gratification for leading a standard life made him a spendthrift. He had the responsibility of wife Jill & a baby, & then too he acted unwisely. 
     He seems to be very influenced by the endorsements around him. He, in fact, seem to be quoting advertisements. He brought a house, a radiogram, a piano, furniture, a car & even the baby on instalments. He has to pay seven pounds eight & eight pence a week. When Aunt Jane asks him how he will pay this amount of money out of his income of six pounds, he modestly says of borrowing more money.

"Jack: .......... all you have to do is to borrow the rest of the money for the payments from the Thrift & Providence Trust Corporation."

      He is in-cognizant of the vicious, never-ending circle. He doesn't seem to realize the after-effects of taking a loan. He was a loving husband & doing well in his job.

"Jill: ....... Why, only last year he had a five-shilling rise ......

 Jack (modestly) : ...... I'm expecting ten this Christmas."

     Though he is grateful to Aunt Jane because she gave the couple a cheque of two hundred pounds as a wedding gift & then later, a cheque of ten pounds, he seems to be offended by her hysterical behaviour & calls her 'a tartar' when she is gone. He didn't unmask his attitude towards her, instead, he said "we owe it all to you", showing his gratitude towards her.

THE NEVER- NEVER NEST: THE THEME OF THE PLAY

        "The Never- Never Nest" centres around the popular modern practice of living through hire- purchase system, which enables the low- income group to have things, which they cannot at once buy with their money. This system makes people extravagant. It encourages lavishness & taking the loan.

           Purchasing things on instalments is easy, but to pay back is difficult. It is like struggling under the burden of the loan until it is paid off. The couple in the play, Jack & Jill acted ostentatiously by purchasing luxuries such as a car, radiogram, piano. This shows their indulgence rather than their necessity. Their desire for a sumptuous lifestyle compelled them to take a loan. Though they lived in voluptuous magnificence in the present day, they will have to suffer the encumbrance of paying back a huge amount of money altogether in the near future.

           The play is a satire on the materialistic bent of the modern man.

THE NEVER- NEVER NEST: SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TITLE ---"THE NEVER- NEVER NEST"

       "The Never- Never Nest", whose playwright is Cedric Mount, is a one-act play, depicting a naive couple Jack & Jill, who bought each & every luxury of life on instalments & are living cheerfully without even being aware that they would be struggling under the burden in the near future.

         The title of the play ---- "The Never- Never Nest" has two 'never' in it, ensuring that the nest would never be built. The double negative is emphasizing the impossibility of home. The 'nest' in the title, literally refers to the home of birds. Birds make their home by collecting straws & twigs of various trees. The nest acts as their temporary home as they do migration with respect to the changing weather conditions. Also, they are not safe, as different animals might attack their nest anytime. The same is the case with Jack & Jill.

         The word 'nest' is a suggestion of instability. It is suggesting a temporary home. The couple can be attacked by the money-lenders anytime if the instalments are not paid on the designated time.

         Moreover, they have not just purchased the home on instalments, rather they brought each & everything of the house like furniture, piano, radiogram & even the car on instalments. At the end of the play, humour takes on wings when we got to know that the couple had their baby on instalments.

"Jill: ........just one more instalment & BABY'S REALLY OURS !" 

          Since every opulence of their life is based on buy- now-pay-later marketing system, they were not secure at all. The family's income is very low as compared to the total instalment which is to be paid every week.

"Aunt Jane: .........How can you pay seven pounds eight & eight pence out of six pounds" 

          This situation tells that if anytime they would be unable to pay the instalments, they might have to leave the house, which simply shows the insecurity of the luxuries of their life.

          The word 'nest' in the title may also be interpreted as a source of humour, especially satire, which the playwright tried to bring. Birds take a lot of time to build their nest as they have to collect several straws & twigs from different places. They work very hard. But, in this play, both Jack & Jill show their instant gratification for luxuries & had brought them on instalments without saving any money. That is, the word 'nest' acts as a contrary word for such a house.

           Therefore, the title of this act is appropriate as it connotes the theme of the act ---- the pathetic condition of the couple, leading a luxurious life on an instalment basis under their charming nest, which is too on easy monthly instalments.