THE FACTORS OF THE AUTO- AND HETERO IMAGES DETERMINATION IN THE G. ORWELL’S NOVEL “THE BURMESE DAYS”

Abstract

The article analyzes the peculiarities of the formation and development of auto- and hetero images exemplified by the G. Orwell‟s novel “The Burmese Days”. The basic methods aimed at explaining the complex mechanism of creating images are comparative method, contextual analysis and close reading technique. It is stated that auto and hetero images bear the imprint of cultural, historical and social processes. Orientalism, the “imperial syndrome”, racial xenophobia and cultural imperialism play a key role in the British successful colonization and maintenance of their mighty. The influence of mental constructions (that of Orientalism and cultural imperialism) on the creation of the British prejudices against the Burmese is demonstrated. In addition, the echo of the “imperial syndrome” in the novel makes it possible to interpret the images of the subordinate people from the viewpoint of binary oppositions: colonizer / colonized, stronger / weaker. The developmental pattern of racial xenophobia developed in the diachronic plane explains the hostile relations between two nations. Taken together, all the factors structure the peculiarities of the existing relations between the British and the Burmese. In addition, they facilitate the reception of created images in the novel. The possibility of one national identification at the expense of another is claimed. The phenomenon of transferring the British way of ruling to its colonial territory in Burma as an indicator of the effectiveness of this practice outside the metropolis is demonstrated. The article will be of use to literary critics who specialize in imagological and comparative branches of literature.