DYSTOPIAN VISION IN KAZUO ISHIGURO–S NOVEL NEVER LET ME GO

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to dwell on the aspects of dystopian vision in Kazuo Ishiguro–s novel Never Let Me Go, first by means of comparison with several representative works of the same genre, and then by pinpointing the most significant specificities of the concerned novel itself. For the purposes of comparative analysis in this paper, we shall limit ourselves to three monumental dystopian works of fiction – George Orwell–s 1984, futuristic vision by Aldous Huxley – Brave New World, and the feminist dystopia The Handmaid–s Tale by Margaret Atwood. After underlining the similarities that tie Ishiguro–s novel to the mentioned works of dystopian genre – repressive society, loss of identity, manipulative language, etc. – the rest of the paper elaborates on the specificities that distinguish Ishiguro–s dystopian vision as exceptional and truly unique. Special attention is devoted to the crucial issue – why don–t the clones rebel, whereby the ethical dilemmas related to cloning are being raised, in the attempt to answer the question of whether the clones from Ishiguro–s bleak vision are actual human beings or simply unsuccessful imitations of life. In the fashion of the great dystopian writers, Zamyatin, Orwell and Huxley, in Never Let Me Go, although in a somewhat more subtle and indirect, yet equally powerful way, Kazuo Ishiguro warns his readers against the extreme dangers the modern man is exposed to in the world of uncontrolled and unrestrained development of science, technology and medicine. In other words, Ishiguro–s dystopian vision in this novel compellingly illustrates that, in the modern age, prominently marked by dehumanization, the mankind has forgotten all about the basic human values – about what lies in the core of a true human being.