Simulacrum In Julian Barnes’ England,England

Julian Barnes(1946-),a contemporary British writer,is famous for his bold experiment of writing skills and creative variety of narrative structures.His works mainly delve into such themes as life,history,memory and authenticity.England,England(1998)is Barnes’ eighth novel.It fundamentally subverts the idea of authenticity that people have long formed.This thesis plans to explore simulacrum in this novel,by applying the theoretical term “simulacrum”,proposed by Jean Baudrillard.First of all,simulacrum causes the subjects to produce inauthentic cognition.The Project members of the Theme Park,as representatives of the elite group,falsely equate the world of simulacrum with the objective world,and attempt to search for authenticity through the world of simulacrum.The Backdrop characters,as representatives of the mass group,mistakenly equate role identity with self identity,and mix up the difference between fiction and reality.The simulacrum world of the Isle of Wight becomes the subject that can operate automatically,in which people from various classes are turned into objects.Secondly,the societies are constructed in a hyper-real way.After being rebuilt into a quintessence-of-English site,the Isle of Wight is renamed as “England,England” for Quality Leisure.Instead,the mainland of Britain is renamed as “Anglia” that has become degenerate and deserted.These two constructed societies are hyper-real ones,more real than those of the objective world.Finally,the representation of national culture is unreal in the world of simulacrum.To attract tourists around the world,British historical heritages are accurately duplicated or arbitrarily modified.History has been reduced to be artificial sign that loses seriousness.English tradition is represented as non-referential performance that forfeits the sense of ritual,such as the Agricultural Show and the Fete.Vividly represented by means of audio-visual media,national culture is redefined or rewritten,which becomes a part of the world of simulacrum.Barnes aims to indicate that,it is not simulacrum that makes modern British people lack of authentic self-cognition,but they have already lost themselves.And through the representation of British history and national tradition,this novel attempts to arouse people’s profound attention and reflection: they should not indulge in the nostalgia for once imperial status,instead,they should focus on present society and the true self.