Linguostylistic Means Expressing the Antithesis "Materialism − Moral Values" in John Braine’s Novel "Room at the Top" Exemplified by the Images of Susan Brown and Alice Aisgill

The study explores the linguostylistic means in John Braine’s novel "Room at the Top" (1957), which enabled the author to show the character’s inner conflict between his craving for wealth and power and his morals, or the conflict of social stereotypes about happiness and authenticity treated in this article as the real self of Joe Lampton. The true self makes itself evident through the contradictions that torture him in the course of his efforts to overcome social barriers and renounce moral values. The research objective was to analyze the interconnection between the expressive means in the novel and the sense they imply. The linguostylistic, motivic, contextual, and definitional analysis revealed that the antithesis "materialism – moral values" is presented in the opposition of the images of two women. Both play a significant role in the main character’s destiny. The antithesis is conveyed with the help of expressive means, such as contextual antonyms, evaluative vocabulary, syntactic parallelism, irony, climax, metaphor, etc. Susan Brown’s image embodies Joe Lampton’s material values, while that of Alice Aisgill personifies his moral values and the gradual loss of his authenticity.