On Deconstruction And Reconstruction In Julian Barnes’ England,England

Julian Barnes is one of the most prestigious and sophisticated writers in contemporary British literature.His works are generally full of acute historical consciousness and sharp deconstructive thoughts.England,England is one of the representative novels that embody his deconstructive thoughts and his meditation upon national history and identity.This thesis attempts to explore the meanings hidden behind the pursuit of individual and national identities and the representation of Englishness in his novel England,England,which was nominated for the Booker Prize in 1998.Since the 1980 s,Englishness has become a heated topic in English society.As one of Julian Barnes‘ history-related novels,England,England reflects his responses to the fervor of Englishness in contemporary English society.The whole novel,structured into three parts,namely“England‖,―England,England‖1 and“Anglia‖,interweaves the protagonist Martha Cochrane‘s pursuit of her authentic identity and her happiness with the transformation of English society.And it makes a deconstructive interpretation of Englishness and reveals Barnes‘ critical thinking on English people‘s consumption of cultural heritage and invention of tradition.This thesis will focus on Barnes’ deconstruction of Englishness,his consideration of the current state of England,and his exploration of a possible future development of England.However,whether Barnes has successfully reconstructed the ideal pattern of future development for England in this novel is still worth discussing.The main body of this thesis consists of three chapters.Chapter One gives a thorough analysis about Barnes‘ deconstruction of Englishness and disclosure of the social reality.Chapter Two investigates Pitco team‘s representation of the past glories of England by building the theme park ―England,England‖ on the Isle of Wight.Chapter Three points out Barnes‘ reconsideration of the development orientation of England‘s future through the comparison between two kinds of current development patterns: ―England,England‖ and ―Anglia‖.On the foundation of the above analysis,this thesis comes to the conclusion that England,England reflects Barnes‘ satire of English people‘s blind consumption of cultural heritage and invention of tradition which reinforce their predicament of pursuit and construction of individual and national identities at the turn of the new millennium.Barnes has deconstructed Englishness in this novel and he is on the way to reconstruct the ideal development for England,through which he gives the contemporary English people an earnest warning to reconsider the relationship between the future development and the maintenance of the quintessence of Englishness.