Redefinition of Englishness in Julian Barnes’s Arthur & George

Year 2023, , 91 - 95, 28.12.2023

Naghmeh Varghaıyan

https://doi.org/10.5152/AUJFL.2023.23095

Abstract

Julian Barnes’s Arthur & George (2005) presents a fictional world based on real or historical events and characters. Barnes’s narrative is a re-examination of a historical case, a century later. The narrative depicts how, unlike all his defenders, including the internationally famous detective fiction writer Arthur Canon Doyle, biracial George strives to protect himself by primarily relying on the authority and superiority of British laws. As a solicitor, he defends law as a shared national asset which has the power to produce justice as well as to create a coherent and equal society. However, as a mixed-raced citizen, George is exposed to unsubstantiated accusations. His trial and imprisonment are not based on what he did but on what the communal mind supposes he did. Thus, as this paper argues, race is presented as an integral property of Englishness in Arthur & George. The central problem in this narrative is how the blind pursuit of a racially based understanding of Englishness can drive racial hatred and thus bring about injustice.

Keywords

Arthur & George, Englishness, immigrant, Julian Barnes, race prejudice

Julian Barnes’ın Artur ve George Adlı Romanında İngilizliğin Irksal Söylemi

Abstract

Julian Barnes’ın Artur ve George (2005) adlı romanı gerçek veya tarihsel olaylara ve karakterlere dayanan kurgusal bir dünya sunmaktadır. Barnes’ın anlatısı, bir asır sonra tarihsel bir vakanın yeniden incelenmesidir. Anlatı tüm savunucularının aksine, uluslararası üne sahip dedektif kurgu yazarı Arthur Canon Doyle da dâhil olmak üzere, çift ırklı George’un öncelikle İngiliz yasalarının otoritesine ve üstünlüğüne güvenerek nasıl kendini korumaya çalıştığını anlatmaktadır. Bir avukat olarak, George hukuku adalet üretme ile birlikte tutarlı ve eşit bir toplum yaratma gücüne sahip ortak bir ulusal varlık olarak savunmasına rağmen melez bir vatandaş olarak asılsız suçlamalara maruz kalır. Yargılanması ve hapsedilmesi ne yaptığına değil, toplumsal aklın ne yaptığını zannetmesine bağlıdır. Böylece, bu makalenin savunduğu gibi, ırk, Artur ve George’da İngilizliğin ayrılmaz bir özelliği olarak sunulmaktadır. Bu anlatıdaki temel sorun, ırksal temelli bir İngilizlik anlayışının körü körüne peşinde koşmanın nasıl ırksal nefrete ve böylece adaletsizliğe yol açabileceğidir.

Keywords

Artur ve George, İngilizlik, göçmenlik, Julian Barnes, ırk önyargısı

References

• Barnes, J. (2007). Arthur & George. Vintage Book Company international.
• Baucom, i. (1999). Out of place: Englishness, empire, and the locations of identity. Princeton University Press.
• Berberich, C. (2011). All letters quoted are authentic: The past after postmodern fabulation in Julian Barnes’s arthur & George. in S. Groes & P. Childs (Eds.). Julian Barnes: Contemporary critical perspectives (pp. 117–128). Continuum.
• Bhabha, H. (1994). The location of culture. Routledge.
• Childs, P. (2011). Julian Barnes. Manchester University Press.
• Fraga, X. (2009). interview with Julian Barnes. in V. Guignery & P. Roberts (Eds.). Conversations with Julian Barnes (pp. 134–147). The University Press of Mississippi.
• Groes, S., & Childs, P. (2011). introduction. in S. Groes & P. Childs (Eds.). Julian Barnes: Contemporary critical perspectives (pp. 1–10). Continuum. Guignery, V. (2006). The fiction of Julian Barnes. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Guignery, V., & Roberts, P. (2009). introduction. in V. Guignery & P. Roberts (Eds.), Conversations with Julian Barnes (pp. ix–xv). The University Press of Mississippi.
• Jefferies, S. (2009). it’s for Self-Protection. in Guignery & P. Roberts (Eds.), Conversations with Julian Barnes (pp. 129–133). The University Press of Mississippi.
• Stott, C. (2010). The Sound of truth: Constructed and reconstructed lives in English novels since Julian Barnes’s Flaubert’s parrot. Tectum Verlag.
• Tate, A. (2011). ‘An Ordinary Piece of Magic’: Religion in the work of Julian Barnes. in S. Groes & P. Childs (Eds.). Julian Barnes: Contemporary critical perspectives (pp. 51–68). Continuum.