Unsympathetic Aesthetics in Ishguro’s ‘Never Let me Go’: A Brief Study

Abstract

The theme of human identity is a prominent aspect of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel Never Let Me Go, wherein a fictional version of twentieth-century England is depicted, where clone communities exist to serve as a source of organs for transplantation. The novel, similar to Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (1932) and George Orwell's 1984 (1949), presents a dystopian society in which clones grapple with the understanding of their limited individuality. The exploration of the concept of humanity is not unexpected, as it arises from a critical examination of aesthetic and empathetic assumptions influenced by Romanticism. The novel garners attention due to its exploration of genetic engineering, although its underlying concerns can be seen as primarily centred around the ethical implications of artistic creation and consumption within a context of multiculturalism and globalisation. Never Let Me Go, despite its science fiction elements, presents an allegorical narrative that addresses both domestic anxieties regarding the condition of England and international apprehensions surrounding the escalating global disparity. The present study throws light on inhumanity that keeps individuals unaware of their own it masks their own mechanical condition and serves to prepare them for lives of exploitation