The Reflection On The Human In Never Let Me Go From The Perspective Of Posthumanism

Kazuo Ishiguro,the Japanese-born British writer,is the winner of 2017 Nobel Prize for Literature and one of the most notable writers in contemporary literary world.Ishiguro,together with Salman Rushdie and V.S.Naipaul,is known as the "Three Giants of Immigrants" in British literature.Despite his immigration background,Ishiguro calls himself an "international writer".His works do not focus on his bicultural identity,but target at universal themes so as to resonate with readers all over the world.Ishiguro’s sixth novel,Never Let Me Go,is a science fiction.Through the first-person narrative of a cloned woman Kathy,the novel depicts a world where clones are systematically produced to supply organs to humans.Approaching the novel from the perspective of Posthumanism,the thesis argues that the clones’ predicament is caused by human superiority and demonstrates the novel’s reflection and criticism on the notion of human.The thesis is divided into three chapters.By analyzing why Hailsham is set up in the first place and why it fails eventually,Chapter One points out that human is a constructed notion.The construction of human is based on the strict human/non-human dualism and human superiority which cause the tragedy of the clones.Chapter Two argues that the education clone students receive at Hailsham is an embodiment of the traditional Western education.With its goal of producing humans,the traditional Western education deepens the division between the human and the non-human and consolidates the superiority of humans.Apart from this,by depicting a world where art and inhumanity coexist,the novel casts doubt over art education’s humanizing power.In Chapter Three,the thesis contends that through its portrayal of the human-like clones,the novel reveals the deconstruction of human could be achieved through technology.At the same time,the novel sheds light on how humans should understand themselves in this posthuman age.A notion of human based on emotional experiences can prevent the strict human/non-human dualism as well as human superiority.Interpreting Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go from the angle of Posthumanism,the thesis reveals and criticizes humans’ exploitation and persecution of non-humans,which are caused by the notion of human whose core is human superiority,and at the same time it highlights the significance and necessity of renouncing human superiority in today’s technological age.