Rewriting, Reversing, Resizing

Brexit Propaganda and Parodic Satire in Ian McEwan’s The Cockroach

Abstract

Ian McEwan’s The Cockroach (2019) can be defined as a “parodic satire which aims at something outside the text, but which employs parody as a vehicle to achieve its satiric or corrective end” (Hutcheon 1985: 62). After an introductory discussion of Brexiteers’ recurring rhetorical choices and the values conveyed through their campaign, this article analyses McEwan’s work through the dual perspective of investigation outlined by Linda Hutcheon. First, it examines the formal elements and textual features that contribute to the creation of the parodic effect – particularly the grotesque portrayal of the protagonist and the theme of identity masking, which, along with a focus on “material bodily images” (Bakhtin 1984), are traditionally tropes of parodic laughter. At the same time, the article adopts a pragmatic approach to decode McEwan’s satirical intentions, suggested by the allusions to the Brexit Party’s ideology, its communicative strategies, and the contradictions of its propaganda.