The dialogics of satire : foci and faultlines in George Orwell's Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:This thesis uses Mikhail Bakhtin's theory of dialogism, as well aspostmodernism, to open up faultlines in satire, and to explore and challengevarious perceptions and discourses surrounding and related to it. Bothdialogism and postmodernism are used to suggest fresh approaches to satire,by repositioning it in relation to other discourses and reframing it as acomplex dynamic, rather than a closed and inflexible system. Chapter 1 of thethesis opens with an historical survey of the beginnings and subsequentdevelopment of satire. It also contains a general discussion of the nature ofsatiric strategies and opens the door for the incorporation of postmodernperspectives into the argument. Chapter 2 contrasts the issues of moralityand re-presentation in satire, arguing that satirists do not simply invite theiraudience to condemn, but offer them an opportunity to discover alternativeworlds. The affinity between satire and postmodernism is emphasised by thepostmodern predilection for modes highly favoured by satire: allegory, parodyand fantasy. In Chapter 3 the issue of language and its referents is explored,starting with Saussure's theory of how the signifier and the signified function.It is argued that satire has never respected this fixed relationship, and that itis in this respect similar to deconstruction. The last part of the chapter isdevoted to examining four key socio-political discourses - psychoanalysis,ideology, propaganda and political myth - in relation to satire. These fourdiscourses are, like satire, intent on influencing the perceptions which peoplehave of the world. The intention in juxtaposing these discourses is to create adialogic process which will throw a fresh light on all of them, including satireitself. The four socio-political discourses named above play an important partin Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, and are relevant to the subsequentdiscussion of these novels. Chapter 4 consists of a detailed discussion ofAnimal Farm, in which the various layers comprising the work are examined.The satirical aspects of the novel are closely related to the fabular and fairytale elements which are an important part of its constitution. These elements or levels are juxtaposed with the historical details alluded to continuously inAnimal Farm and indicate its close concern with the world outside the novel.Chapter 5 consists of a detailed exploration of Nineteen Eighty-Four, which isilluminated by a process of dialogism between the modernist ideology fromwhich the novel springs and the postmodern perspective introduced into thethesis, as well as the four socio-political discourses mentioned earlier. Themain postmodern theories used in this chapter are those of Foucault. The lastsection of the thesis demonstrates how Orwell's personal experience driveshis satire, and relates this specifically to a discussion of utopia / dystopia insatire.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University