<論文>語り手の隠蔽するディストピア --カズオ・イシグロのNever Let Me Goについての一考察

Abstract

When Kazuo Ishiguro's sixth novel, Never Let Me Go (2005), is classified within a literary genre, the work is often considered either romantic or dystopian. This paper, through considering the work as a dystopian novel, explores what kind of literary technique the author utilized to show his dystopian view. Noted features of Ishiguro's works include first-person narrators and multilayered themes. Kathy, the narrator of Never Let Me Go, recalls her life nostalgically, relying on her uncertain memories. Hailsham, where Kathy and her friends spent their childhood, is a utopian space for clones. However, the dystopian nature of Hailsham is revealed through Kathy's reluctant narration. In this novel, universal themes such as love, friendship, memory, and a view of life are foregrounded by means of a first-person narrative and backgrounded by a dystopian world view depicting clone society. This paper attempts to expose how such a narrative technique is related with Ishiguro's view of dystopian society.