The Loss of the Real in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, Klara and the Sun and Nocturnes
This paper addresses the issue of the loss of the real in the fiction of Kazuo Ishiguro as a contemporary author whose thought line is still in progress. His approach to this issue is anti-capitalist as he questions the so-called scientific advancement led by cash-oriented capitalists and industrial...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Charles University
2023-07-01
|
| Series: | Prague Journal of English Studies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.2478/pjes-2023-0003 |
| _version_ | 1797226076632514560 |
|---|---|
| author | Hadari El Habib El |
| author_facet | Hadari El Habib El |
| author_sort | Hadari El Habib El |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper addresses the issue of the loss of the real in the fiction of Kazuo Ishiguro as a contemporary author whose thought line is still in progress. His approach to this issue is anti-capitalist as he questions the so-called scientific advancement led by cash-oriented capitalists and industrialists. His writing seeks to strip the veil of the murderous nature of this kind of science. He blames it for killing the real and creating a world of simulations. He animadverts upon dystopian spaces where he holds postmodern scientific knowledge responsible for the digression of the natural course of life and lays bare the secrets behind the replacement of the real with the simulated by drawing attention to such debatable topics as human cloning, cosmetic surgeries and artificial intelligence. In terms of methodology of analysis, this paper is primarily based on a close examination of the author’s literary texts: two novels (Never Let Me Go and Klara and the Sun) and three short stories from Nocturnes (“Malvern Hills”, “Nocturne” and “Crooner”). Postmodernist concepts have been of great relevance to the analysis of these texts, for his fiction could not be approached in isolation from the realities of the postmodern era where it’s produced. Equally, bearing in mind the author’s socio-ethnic and historical background, the society where he lives and the politico-cultural transformations of the world aTher the Second World War plays an important role in the analysis of his texts. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T10:41:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3a329fee56a94aee9346ffc1b5ac44af |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2336-2685 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T14:19:10Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | Charles University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Prague Journal of English Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-3a329fee56a94aee9346ffc1b5ac44af2024-04-03T07:37:58ZengCharles UniversityPrague Journal of English Studies2336-26852023-07-01121456210.2478/pjes-2023-0003The Loss of the Real in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, Klara and the Sun and NocturnesHadari El Habib El01Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Beni Mellal, MoroccoThis paper addresses the issue of the loss of the real in the fiction of Kazuo Ishiguro as a contemporary author whose thought line is still in progress. His approach to this issue is anti-capitalist as he questions the so-called scientific advancement led by cash-oriented capitalists and industrialists. His writing seeks to strip the veil of the murderous nature of this kind of science. He blames it for killing the real and creating a world of simulations. He animadverts upon dystopian spaces where he holds postmodern scientific knowledge responsible for the digression of the natural course of life and lays bare the secrets behind the replacement of the real with the simulated by drawing attention to such debatable topics as human cloning, cosmetic surgeries and artificial intelligence. In terms of methodology of analysis, this paper is primarily based on a close examination of the author’s literary texts: two novels (Never Let Me Go and Klara and the Sun) and three short stories from Nocturnes (“Malvern Hills”, “Nocturne” and “Crooner”). Postmodernist concepts have been of great relevance to the analysis of these texts, for his fiction could not be approached in isolation from the realities of the postmodern era where it’s produced. Equally, bearing in mind the author’s socio-ethnic and historical background, the society where he lives and the politico-cultural transformations of the world aTher the Second World War plays an important role in the analysis of his texts.https://doi.org/10.2478/pjes-2023-0003the realthe simulatedlossscientific knowledgedystopiahuman cloningcosmetic surgeryartificial intelligence |
| spellingShingle | Hadari El Habib El The Loss of the Real in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, Klara and the Sun and Nocturnes Prague Journal of English Studies the real the simulated loss scientific knowledge dystopia human cloning cosmetic surgery artificial intelligence |
| title | The Loss of the Real in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, Klara and the Sun and Nocturnes |
| title_full | The Loss of the Real in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, Klara and the Sun and Nocturnes |
| title_fullStr | The Loss of the Real in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, Klara and the Sun and Nocturnes |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Loss of the Real in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, Klara and the Sun and Nocturnes |
| title_short | The Loss of the Real in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, Klara and the Sun and Nocturnes |
| title_sort | loss of the real in kazuo ishiguro s never let me go klara and the sun and nocturnes |
| topic | the real the simulated loss scientific knowledge dystopia human cloning cosmetic surgery artificial intelligence |
| url | https://doi.org/10.2478/pjes-2023-0003 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hadarielhabibel thelossoftherealinkazuoishigurosneverletmegoklaraandthesunandnocturnes AT hadarielhabibel lossoftherealinkazuoishigurosneverletmegoklaraandthesunandnocturnes |