Ideology and State Apparatuses in Empire of the Sun. State Apparatuses and ideology, one must understand these concepts from a Marxist

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1 Joshua Dyer English 1101 December 3, 1999 Ideology and State Apparatuses in Empire of the Sun A society, its culture, and its ideology coexist under a State Apparatus. In order to discuss State Apparatuses and ideology, one must understand these concepts from a Marxist philosophical perspective. What defines a State Apparatus, and what is its relationship to ideology? On the level of society, ideology is the set of ideas reflecting the social needs and aspirations of a culture. A State Apparatus, then, is merely the governing body of this set of ideas. It imposes ideology on the individuals that compose its society, either through suggestive means, such as propaganda, or more forceful means, such as laws. Louis Althusser s Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses discusses two separate levels of the State Apparatus. The Repressive State Apparatus is the level that governs a society, upholding its ideology. An Ideological State Apparatus, however, can be considered a sublevel of the Repressive State Apparatus, for the extent of its authority only reaches those who live within it, who compose only a portion of society. There are two State Apparatuses that influence Jim in J. G. Ballard s Empire of the Sun. Each represents a different society, and the transition between the two is traumatic for Jim. Each State Apparatus has differing means of imposing its ideology on him. The internment camp is the Ideological State Apparatus he must live under while the Japanese State Apparatus is in control. The ideological differences between the life Jim lives in the camp and the life he lives as an upper class schoolboy are significant. Although philosophical in nature, Althusser s concept of

2 Dyer 2 the State Apparatus can be applied to the many traumatic experiences Jim has in Empire of the Sun. The Repressive State Apparatus is the governing body of a society s ideology. Therefore, it is considered to be within the public domain. A national government is the most common instance of a Repressive State Apparatus. It enforces its ideology on its citizens through laws. It uses means of enforcement such as courts, the police, and the army to uphold its laws. These organizations are a component of the government, which makes them part of the Repressive State Apparatus. Their objective is to ensure that the government s ideology is followed (Althusser 154). Althusser claims that the Repressive State Apparatus functions by violence. He doesn t necessarily mean physical violence, but he does imply that it aims to force its ideology on all who live under it. Violence, in this case, means the forceful coercion of its subjects to follow its ideology. The law is the government s manner of repression. However, are its laws just and fair? If one s perspective is from within the Repressive State Apparatus, then they are perceived as such. When one follows the ideology that is being upheld, the law appears to be appropriate, reasonable, and justified (Althusser 155). The European Repressive State Apparatus is in control of Shanghai prior to the Japanese occupation. The hegemony it holds over the Chinese is apparent in the Europeans treatment of them. They have a complete disregard for the Chinese, as seen through how subservient the Chinese must act toward them. In fact, we see Chinese nationals holding jobs that are intended to serve the Europeans, such as chauffeurs, coolies, housekeepers, and nannies, known as amahs. Jim has an anecdote regarding the Europeans that visit a battlefield after a battle was fought between the Japanese and Chinese in Everywhere he looks, he sees death and destruction,

3 Dyer 3 whether it s bodies, used cartridges, or destroyed equipment. However, the adults stroll about the battlefield casually. They seem to treat this picture of wartime horror as a fascinating form of entertainment, meant for their enjoyment (Ballard 32). How does the European Repressive State Apparatus function by violence, or exert its control? We rarely see an army, but there are European soldiers stationed around Shanghai, such as on the HMS Petrel. Regardless, it is apparent that Europeans have a firm grasp on Shanghai, as seen through the dominance they exert on the Chinese nationals. They seem to hold first class citizenship. When traveling by car, the Europeans have no difficulty passing through checkpoints, while the Chinese are beaten and forced away (Ballard 24). Also, the Chinese work in degrading positions in which they are inferior to all Europeans, even children. When Jim childishly threatens to kill his amah, she can t say a word (Ballard 18). The family has a chauffeur, Yang, who has to pick Jim up from school every day (Ballard 13). The servants in the house remain nameless, as if they aren t human. For example, Jim uses Number Two Boy to refer to a servant (Ballard 60). We also learn that like every British child, Jim doesn t regard them as human, but as passive and unseeing as the furniture (Ballard 16). Because Jim is so accustomed to this ideology, he endures much trauma from the transition to the Japanese Repressive State Apparatus that seizes control of Shanghai. This transition to a new ideology begins with the Japanese attack on the HMS Petrel (Ballard 42). From there, the Japanese army swiftly acquires Shanghai. From history, we know that the Japanese are a stoic people, valuing honor and pride. They are resentful of the Europeans, who surrender with almost no fight. Their Repressive State Apparatus functions by violence by its forceful militarism. The Japanese force the Europeans into the internment camps, and they seize all of their property. After the Europeans have been moved out, Jim returns

4 Dyer 4 home and sees a scroll nailed to his door, which indicates its seizure by the Japanese (Ballard 60). We see the consequences of avoiding internment when Frank and Basie are beaten upon discovery, outside a house in Jim s neighborhood (Ballard 107). To a great extent, the Japanese Repressive State Apparatus functions by violence in a literal context. The fundamental difference between the Repressive State Apparatus and an Ideological State Apparatus is that an Ideological State Apparatus functions by ideology. There are multitudes of these under one Repressive State Apparatus. They function by ideology because they lack the authority of a Repressive State Apparatus, being unable to exert control over an entire society. Rather, only a fraction of a society comes within the domain of any given Ideological State Apparatus. Ideological State Apparatuses represent a way of living or thinking, and are private by nature, meaning that not everyone is included within their domain (Althusser 154). Specific examples of Ideological State Apparatuses include religion, education, and the family (Althusser 153). Depending on which religion one follows, what kind of education one receives, and the family one comes from, a person may be exposed to a variety of ideologies through each of these Ideological State Apparatuses. Jim s school and family are the prevalent Ideological State Apparatuses we see while he lives under the European State Apparatus. Jim attends an Anglican school. For him, both religious and educational Ideological State Apparatuses are combined as one. He considers telling Mr. Maxted he s an atheist, and that he s thinking about becoming a communist (Ballard 27). Perhaps this is because he s starved for attention, and the only way to gain it is to step outside the ideology of the church, by claiming atheism, and the ideology of the British government, by suggesting communism. He has an interesting family ideology. Unlike most middle-class families of today, Jim lives in a family in which the parents have little to do with

5 Dyer 5 raising him. Instead, he has a governess, Vera, who seems to have a major role in his upbringing, and a nanny, simply called amah, to follow him around, pick up after him, and do as he says (Ballard 16). The internment camp represents an Ideological State Apparatus under the Japanese State Apparatus, which forces Jim to live a significantly different lifestyle than what he s used to. The Japanese expect not only obedience out of the prisoners, but honor as well. When the prisoners witness the soldiers beat a coolie to death at the camp gate, they do nothing to hinder them, and the soldiers resent them severely for this (Ballard 227). Ballard describes Lunghua Camp as a suffocating prison of nearly two thousand Allied nationals (167). Why do these people live in this manner? They are without a choice, and the camp is the only manner of living available to them. Although the ideology of the camp is forced onto the prisoners, it still represents an Ideological State Apparatus. It is private, for only the Allied nationals live in it. Also, their way of living is different from those living under the Japanese State Apparatus elsewhere, such as in Japan itself. The first adjustment the prisoners of the camp must make is the reversal of authority that has occurred. Instead of being in power, it is they who are under the control of others. Jim already experiences this prior to the camp, when he encounters a couple of amahs stealing furniture from a house. He interferes, and rather than obeying him, one of the amahs slaps him (Ballard 68). Life in the camp is characterized by survival, and one must learn quickly how to survive with few resources. Jim undergoes a significant change; rather than a spoiled, childish schoolboy, he becomes a hardy survivor. He quickly learns that in the camps, the maxim everyone for themselves holds true. He understands the value of rationing, saving what little

6 Dyer 6 food he finds. Disturbing as it is, he even steals from the dead, provided he finds something that will aid him in his own survival. Jim bears witness to many traumatic events in Shanghai following the Japanese invasion. It is during this time that he faces the transition from the European State Apparatus to the Japanese State Apparatus. He thinks he s responsible for the attack on the HMS Petrel, because he stands at his window, making semaphores just moments before the first shot is fired (Ballard 42). While wandering the streets, he has no way of understanding the Japanese, and he repeatedly attempts to surrender. However, he fails to realize they don t want another useless mouth to feed, and he must continue wandering the streets, alone and hungry. In the streets, however, there is total chaos. At one point, a youth with a knife chases after Jim. It is a struggle for him to escape. The danger is compounded by annoyed guards, who strike at Jim as he runs past (Ballard 58). Despite the hardships, Jim learns to survive. He makes it home, and he lives off canned food for a few days. Once it runs out, however, he has to scavenge other houses for food. At one point, he runs errands for a small Japanese patrol unit, with food as a reward (Ballard 84). Similar to the encounter with the amah, this is an example of the reversal of roles Jim experiences. Now, it is he who runs errands for others, instead of being waited on himself. Despite the trauma Jim experiences on the streets, he learns to cope with this vast change in lifestyle. In addition to both Repressive and Ideological State Apparatuses, Althusser discusses two theses concerning ideology. One is that ideology represents the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of existence (Althusser 155). That is, ideology may represent an imaginary outlook on the world that doesn t entirely correspond with reality, but makes an allusion to it instead. He uses God as an example of this. According to Althusser, God is the

7 Dyer 7 essence of real man, and men tend to represent their real conditions of existence to themselves in imaginary form, such as deity. (156). His second thesis is that ideology has a material existence (157). Some ideologies are expressed through various practices. Often, there are objects associated with a given practice. For example, church uses Bibles, altars, and a building to use as the church, while education uses books, teachers, and a building to serve as a school. These objects represent the material existence of ideology. Jim s misconceptions of the war, along with the British prisoners disillusionment in the camps, represent the imaginary relationship of individuals to real existence. Since Jim is disoriented about the events occurring around him, particularly while out on the streets, his version of reality is much different from the true reality around him. He s naïve at the beginning of the novel, and he has no idea how the war starts. For all he knows, it happened because he made semaphores at his window. While in Lunghua Camp, the British prisoners mope about constantly. Are they expecting something to occur? Perhaps the total upheaval of their lives has left them in shock. At one point, Jim is told, Remember, you re British (Ballard 238). This is quite an enigmatic phrase, with apparently no meaning. In fact, Jim uses the same saying later, in an awkward situation (Ballard 240). Most likely, this is an example of British stoicism. Jim is being reminded of who he is, and what is expected of him because of it. Such a saying has no practical meaning, and as useless as it is, it has no value in reality. Both the European and Japanese State Apparatuses exhibit material existence. In pre-war Shanghai, we see extravagant European houses and cars. These objects are a symbol of the superiority Europeans exhibit over the Chinese, who are either homeless, living in hovels, or living as servants in the rich houses. To have such possessions makes one a part of the European State Apparatus. The material existence of the Japanese State Apparatus lies in the militaristic

8 Dyer 8 objects we see. Soldiers, airplanes, and internment camps are some of the material incarnations of the Japanese State Apparatus. It s through these objects that the Japanese Repressive State Apparatus is able to function by violence. The concepts of State Apparatuses, both Ideological and Repressive, are philosophical concepts. However, philosophy has its practical applications. When one considers all the aspects of a society, the more likely terms that come to mind are government and organizations, rather than Repressive State Apparatus and Ideological State Apparatuses. Even from his philosophical perspective, Althusser accurately describes the functioning of the government and the organizations within it, using the concept of the State Apparatus. The functioning of our society today is loosely related to the events that occur in Empire of the Sun. Jim experiences the effects and influence of two State Apparatuses. The European State Apparatus is most like our own in terms of governing style, as well as its religious and educational institutions. However, the Japanese State Apparatus described in the novel is significantly different from both the Europeans and ours. It s difficult to think of Lunghua Camp as an Ideological State Apparatus, even though it has the characteristics of one, such as its exclusiveness and the prisoners way of life. It s this difficulty in understanding that makes Jim s story so dramatic and poignant.

9 Dyer 9 Works Cited Althusser, Louis. Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses. Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: A Reader. Ed. John Storey. 2 nd ed. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, Ballard, J. G. Empire of the Sun. Glasgow, Great Britain: Flamingo, 1994.