Form, structure and language Flashcards
How is the reader’s knowledge and understanding distorted?
Kathy only informs the reader about the events she wants them to know about, so certain key occurrences may be kept hidden
How is Kathy’s narrative intriguing?
It provides questions but very few answers
Give an example of how Kathy goes quickly from reminiscing about one event to reminiscing about another:
When she goes from talking about Miss. Emily to then how her and Ruth met:
“But that’s not really what I want to talk to you about just now. What I want to do now is get a few things down about Ruth, about how we met and became friends, about our early days together.”
Give an example of Kathy talking about Hailsham in Part Two:
“I think about the essay the same way I might a rounders match at Hailsham I did particularly well in…”
Kathy never properly moves on from Hailsham
In part 3, what does Kathy say about Hailsham and friendship?
“There have been times over the years when I’ve tried to leave Hailsham behind, when I’ve told myself I shouldn’t look back so much. But then there came a point when I just stopped resisting.”
Give an example of how the student speak in something rather middle class in the context of their discussions:
“I’d assumed Ruth was something of a chess expert and that she’d be able to teach me the game.”
Name one of the key aspects of Kathy’s narration:
It uses the language of acceptance.
Neither Kathy nor the other clones use words that suggest a rebellion, they all seem to just accept their fate.
How is colloquial language used by young people at the time reflected in the novel?
Kathy and her friends use a mixture of formal and informal language depending on who they are speaking to.
For example, “Don’t talk rubbish Tommy.” (Kathy to Tommy)
This allows the reader to see that the clones are exactly the same as humans of the same age.
How is Kathy’s chatty narrative style shown in the novel?
It’s honest and light, it allows the reader to become easily involved in Kathy’s life and care what happens to her.
This allows Ishiguro to focus on the immorality of human cloning as his readers will care about the protagonist and narrative voice, Kathy
How is the language of acceptance used in the novel? (Give a quotation)
“That sounds long enough, I know, but actually they want me to go on for another eight months until the end of this year.”
The word ‘they’ suggests that Kathy is letting someone else make all the decisions for her
