Never Let Me Go: contexts and concepts

Question 1

Ishiguro’s Biography

Influence of World War 2?

Answer 1

• born in Nagasaki
• he had survived the bombing attack that had ended world war 2 in Nagasaki

Question 2

Ishiguro’s Biography

class element to his work?

Answer 2

• studied the mysteries of the human character while working at a homeless shelter
• but also went to a grammat school

Question 3

An Interview with Kazuo Ishiguro

How does he see the genre of Never Let Me go?

Answer 3

• as an ‘alternative history’
• emphasises how close humans are to the dystopia of Never Let Me Go
• wanted to write a story which ‘every reader might find an echo of in his or her own life’

Question 4

An Interview with Kazuo Ishiguro

how does he see the school in Never Let Me Go?

links to Frankenstein

quote ‘A C P M O T W A C A S O F T A W’

Answer 4

• ‘a clear physical manifestation of the way all children are separated off from the adult world’

Links to Frankenstein: idea of the Romantic Child and the creature as a noble savage

Question 5

An Interview with Kazuo Ishiguro

how does he think of Kathy?

Answer 5

• not as a reliable narrator

Question 6

Dolly the Sheep

process of creating her

Answer 6

1. Sheep 1 mammary cell
2. inserted into sheep 2’s egg cell
3. inserted into the uterus of sheep 3

= DOLLY

Question 7

Dolly the Sheep

results + reactions

Answer 7

the banning of SCNT - Somatic cell nuclear transfer in several countries
- critics feared SCNT children would be subjected to unfair expectations

Question 8

Science Fiction and New Realism

what did he use?

Answer 8

• used what was already known to make futuristic events that take place in the novel more believable

Question 9

Rural England in the 1980s and 1990s

political and economic environment and effect on rural england

Answer 9

• rural england felt abandoned
• Thatchers government exacerabted differences between rich southern england and poor northern england - links to marxit theory of alienation
• 1979 Election of Thatcher who focused on cutting public services and creating an independent society

Question 10

Marxist theory of alienation

what was it?

Answer 10

• the proletariat (working class) are alienated from the rest of the world by the bourgeoisie (capitalist class)
• this has a harsh effect on the worker, and disconnects the worker from the rest of the capitalist system

Question 11

Bildungsroman

common features of the Buildungsroman

Answer 11

• protagonist searches for their own identity
• focuses on the development of a central character
• main character naturally evolves towards maturity and self-awareness (its this lack of psychological maturity that ends up killing Frankenstein)
• sometimes the protagonist is an outcast and his alienation from society is a vital component in his development (creature)
• heroes have to make their own way

Question 12

Bildungsroman

English vs German Buildungsroman

Answer 12

• English: focuses on the outside world which threatens the heroes quest for identity (NLMG + Franks)
• German: focuses on internal conflicts within the character (Franks moreso)

Question 13

dystopia genre

features of the dystopia

Answer 13

• ruling powers justify their existence through some moral ‘good’ bestowed upon the community
• implicit loss of autonomy
• involves the forced imposing of what one group thinks is an ideallised society onto those who will suffer from it
• involves a critique of contemporary society

Question 14

post-human concept

what is the post-human generally defined as?

Answer 14

• the modification of the human identity
• emphasises the subjectivity of the human condition
• general definition is something stereotypically considered ‘non-human’ that expresses human morals, values or ideas