Displaced In The Floating World

As the unity, certainty and continuity of identity are facing unprecedented challenges in the contemporary society, the identity crisis has become a significant topic favored by more and more critics and commentators. Kazuo Ishiguro, a Japanese-born British writer, writes about the identity issue in most of his works in which characters from various backgrounds seem ceaselessly engaged in quest for their identity. Among these works, the following four novels A Pale View of Hills, An Artist of the Floating World, The Remains of the Day and When We Were Orphans best illustrate Ishiguro’s concern for this issue.Compared with other topics discussed in the existing research, Kazuo Ishiguro’s humanistic concern for the identity crisis receives a late recognition and articles with an in-depth analysis of this topic are wanting. The research made herein, revolving around the above four novels, intends to provide a detailed analysis of the three kinds of identity crises which are most frequently and elaborately depicted in Kazuo Ishiguro’s novels, i.e., the cultural one, the professional one and the personal one, so as to delve into the problem of identity crisis prevailing in the contemporary era.The first chapter of the thesis analyzes the cultural identity crisis protagonists experience in A Pale View of Hills and When We Were Orphans. Out of different reasons as they are, both Etsuko and Banks are caught in between two cultures. In order to get rid of the embarrassing situation, the two of them embark on respectively a psychological and a physical journey in search of their cultural identity. However, in the end, they find that entering the "third space" proves to be the only possible means for them to find peace in the state of homelessness.The second chapter deals with the professional identity predicament Ono and Stevens encounter in An Artist of the Floating World and The Remains of the Day. Actually, the fragmentation of their identity begins long before the outburst of the Second World War when they relinquish their subjectivity as human beings for professional honors. After the war, under the impact of new social values, the honors they have pursued all their lives come into nothing. The striking contrast before and after the war provokes them into reevaluating their identity and eventually leads to their professional identity crises. Although both of them admit their mistakes in the end, it is already too late for them to compensate for the past and lead a new life, which leaves their identity crises unsolved.The third chapter discusses the personal identity crisis common to protagonists in Ishiguro’s four works. Because of their "orphaned condition", these protagonists mostly suffer from a syndrome called "role confusion" to a certain extent in adolescence, which prevents them from forming a healthy personality and finding an appropriate place in the family and the society. What is worse, after reaching adulthood, they still cannot escape from the shadow of their unsolved personal identity crises. In consequence, they fail to fulfill the role of qualified parents and end up passing onto the next generation their misfortunes. Although they finally realize that living with the orphaned condition and looking forward to the future with their children may be the best choice, it is impossible for them to completely solve their identity crises as the severe consequences they have caused are irretrievable.The conclusion part summarizes the research findings and points out orientation for further study. Although the three kinds of identity crises Ishiguro depicts differ in their manifestations, they are all caused by the particular social and historical backgrounds the protagonists live in, explode with the shift of social climate and are not completely solved in the end. Through the depiction of these identity crises, Kazuo Ishiguro aims to call more attention to a more profound social issueo—ordinary people’s identity crises in the postmodern world. In a floating world where turbulences frequently occur and social values are subject to changes, the sense of identity faces a stern test and individuals have no other choices but to unremittingly struggle with their identity crises.