Saturday Night and Sunday Morning is a novel chronicling the rebellious life of twenty-two-year-old Arthur Seaton. Arthur spends his weekdays working in a bicycle factory and relaxes on weekends with many drinks in the company of various friends. The novel was written by Alan Sillitoe, known as one of the "angry young men". This group of writers were a dominant literary force in the 1950s and were extremely popular due to their accurate depiction of post-war and working-class Britain. Angry young men produced a number of books (among other things) expressing their contempt for the class system, the post-war welfare state, and the lack of class change after the war. The disregard for these issues is very visible throughout Sillitoe's novel. known as the "age of affluence", which was a period characterized by high employment rates, rising wages, and increased consumer purchasing. From 1951 to 1961, men's average weekly income rose from £8.30 per week to £15.35 per week. With rising employment levels and production, items once inaccessible to the lower classes quickly became everyday household items. For example, televisions were rare in the early 1950s, but by the early 1960s, 75% of households had one. Sillitoe alludes to this growth on Saturday Night and Sunday Morning when Arthur makes a statement that he sees antennas on almost every chimney on the street. The Angry Young Men were a group of writers who expressed their contempt for the government through their work. The authors were angry for a variety of reasons, but one was that after the war the British government had worked hard to implement the new welfare state. The legislation...... middle of paper ...... the book had to be changed for the film to be released: the termination of Brenda's pregnancy, the love scenes had to be toned down and the violent passages beating of Arthur by Winnie's husband when he discovers that Arthur has made fun of her during his absences. The novel and film became a success because of their accurate portrayal of the working class. Critics proclaimed the novel to be "a particularly true picture of industrial working-class life from the pen of a working-class writer". Sillitoe's novel Saturday Night and Sunday Morning provides a clear insight into post-war British society. The main character, Arthur, is a rebellious young man who lives his life doing just enough work to survive. The Angry Young Men were a group of writers who emerged in the 1950s and expressed their anger at the government and post-war life through their writings..