In-Group-Out-Group Opposition in Henri Barbusse’s Novel Under Fire: Linguistic Imagology Approach

Abstract

In the article, the form and content features of Henri Barbusse's novel Under Fire are under analysis. The research stress is done at the ideological charge of the work, which determines the representation of the images of the French and German communities in the text. Initially in an antagonistic relationship, the two nationalities, tired to death of waging an absurd military conflict, redefine their status. The degree of hostility between "in-group" (the French) and "out-group" (the Germans) decreases. Thus, a French proletarian writer, a revolutionary who was a direct participant in the war, captures the shift in social consciousness in his regiment's diary and then directs the soldiers' anger towards the rebellion against the militarism of those responsible for the wars. Using the concepts of imagology, let us demonstrate the release of tension between the two key hetero-images of the novel and the formation of a new counter-image of the particular trench "caste" of the First World War. Key words: Henri Barbusse, ‘Under Fire’, ‘Le Feu’, First World War, novel, ‘in-group and out-group’, imagology, hetero-image.