What is ‘Englishness’ and how can it be distinguished from ‘Britishness’? Why do we need these national identity concepts and why do they pose a problem? The purpose of this essay is to discuss these questions by means of a careful analysis of two selected books: Julian Barnes’ England, England and Andrea Levy’s Small Island. While both novels deal with the concept of ‘Englishness’, they do so in different ways. While Barnes exposes the constructedness of collective identities like ‘Englishness’, Levy reveals its excluding function and the paradoxes between ‘Englishness’ and ‘Britishness’ from the perspectives of Jamaican ‘Windrush’-migrants.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. 'Englishness' as a Problem
2.1 'Englishness' as a construct in Barnes' England, England
2.2 'Englishness' as an excluding concept in Levy's Small Island
3. Conclusion
Objectives and Core Themes
This essay examines how the concept of 'Englishness' is portrayed as a problematic and constructed identity in contemporary British literature. Through a comparative analysis of Julian Barnes' 'England, England' and Andrea Levy's 'Small Island', the work explores how national identity functions as a malleable tool for commodification, political exclusion, and the maintenance of imperial hierarchies.
- The constructed nature of history and national identity
- The commodification of culture for tourism and profit
- Post-war migration and the paradox of 'Englishness' versus 'Britishness'
- Social exclusion and racism within the British Empire
- The role of individual memory and perspective in narrative construction
Excerpt from the Book
'Englishness' as a construct in Barnes' England, England
Julian Barnes’ England, England is a brilliant satire and beautiful piece of postmodern historiographic metafiction, as Barnes exposes that history is no account of past reality but a cultural construct that tries to give historical continuity to the present and allows the legitimization of national identities. In his novel Barnes reveals the constructedness of identities on collective and individual levels and exhibits how collective identity constructs can be instrumentalized to exploit the ignorance of tourists.
In the first part of his novel, which is just called “England”, Barnes introduces the reader to the main topic of his book: the constructedness of identity and history in any form. The reader is introduced to this topic by one of the main characters of the story, Martha Cochrane. By telling the reader about her upbringing from an adult perspective, she explicitly stresses the constructedness of her memories that make up her identity (EE1, 3f). From Martha we learn that identity is only what we can remember from the past and that people long for coherent stories of their lives. Whenever parts of these stories seem incoherent to the rest or simply unpleasant, memories are changed and gaps are filled by imagination, which Martha criticises as self-deception: “It was like a country remembering its history: the past was never just the past, it was what made the present able to live with itself” (EE, 6).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Defines 'Englishness' as a problematic concept and outlines the comparative approach of analyzing Barnes and Levy to demonstrate how collective identities are constructed and function as exclusionary mechanisms.
2. 'Englishness' as a Problem: Investigates the manipulation of national identity in Barnes' work for capitalist gain and explores the post-colonial exclusion faced by Jamaican migrants in Levy's novel.
2.1 'Englishness' as a construct in Barnes' England, England: Analyzes how the novel portrays national history as a fabricated cultural construct used to simulate continuity and profit from tourist ignorance.
2.2 'Englishness' as an excluding concept in Levy's Small Island: Examines how the concept of 'Englishness' is used to marginalize immigrants from the Empire, highlighting the tension between the expectation of assimilation and the reality of racial prejudice.
3. Conclusion: Summarizes the findings, asserting that both authors reveal national identity as a man-made construct—either as a commercial product in Barnes' satire or as an instrument of social and imperial hierarchy in Levy's fiction.
Keywords
Englishness, Britishness, Postmodernism, Historiographic metafiction, Postcolonialism, Identity construction, Jack Pitman, Martha Cochrane, Small Island, Windrush, Collective identity, Assimilation, Imperialism, Cultural construct, Nationalism
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the central focus of this research paper?
The paper examines how 'Englishness' is portrayed as a problematic, constructed national identity in the novels 'England, England' by Julian Barnes and 'Small Island' by Andrea Levy.
What are the primary themes discussed in the study?
The primary themes include the constructed nature of history, the commodification of national identity for economic gain, the exclusionary nature of 'Englishness' towards colonial subjects, and the psychological impact of national identity on individuals.
What is the main objective of the author?
The objective is to reveal how collective identity is not a static reality but a man-made concept that can be exploited for power, profit, or to exclude 'the other'.
Which scientific methods are applied in this work?
The author employs a comparative literary analysis, utilizing postcolonial and postmodern theoretical frameworks to deconstruct the narratives and character perspectives presented in the novels.
What does the main body of the work cover?
It covers the analysis of Martha Cochrane's individual and collective memory in Barnes' work, the satire of tourist-oriented history, and a detailed examination of four characters in Levy's novel experiencing the paradoxes of post-war British immigration.
Which keywords best describe this research?
Key terms include Englishness, Britishness, postmodernism, cultural construct, postcolonialism, identity, imperialism, and assimilation.
How does Julian Barnes use the character of Jack Pitman to illustrate his thesis?
Jack Pitman represents the capitalist appropriation of identity, demonstrating how he exploits 'Englishness' by creating a theme park that prioritizes profitable myths over historical accuracy.
What specific role does the 'Windrush' generation play in the analysis of Andrea Levy’s 'Small Island'?
The 'Windrush' migrants serve as the focal point for demonstrating how 'Englishness' functions as an exclusionary mechanism that denies colonial subjects full belonging in the 'Mother Country' despite their aspirations.
What conclusion does the author reach regarding national emblems and symbols?
The author concludes that national symbols, such as the flag, are essentially imaginary; they are fluid constructs that gain meaning through collective consensus, self-deception, or specific political agendas.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Anonym (Autor:in), 2013, 'Englishness' as a Problem in Julian Barnes' "England, England" and Andrea Levy's "Small Island", München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/265564
