January 17, 2018

Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go Ch 1-5

Today’s class

• Reminders about Dropbox and Syllabus Quiz

• Introduction to Ishiguro and Never Let Me Go

• Individual writing activity

• Large class discussion

Reminders

• Dropbox folder:
• If you did not name your folder correctly or if you did not share the folder with me,
you should have received an email.

• Creating and sharing this folder is a requirement of the course. I will not grade
your work until I have a place to return it to you.

• Syllabus quiz:
• If you misnamed your file, you will not receive credit for the assignment.

• Please read the instructions for all assignments carefully and ask
questions if you have them!
Kazuo Ishiguro

• Born in Japan, 1954

• family moved to England, 1960

• BA in English and Philosophy and MA

in Creative Writing

• First novel in 1982

• Didn’t start writing until his 30s

• The Remains of the Day 1989

• 4 time Man Booker Prize winner

• Works often characterized by “dramatic

irony” where the reader knows more
about the narrator’s life than the
narrator does.
Never Let Me Go

• published 2005

• shortlisted for Man Booker and Arthur

C. Clarke

• genre controversy over whether or not

this counts as science fiction

• film adaptation 2010

• influenced by developments in cloning

• Dolly the sheep

• stem-cell research and farming of cells

Dystopia

• Characteristics of dystopian works Famous dystopian texts that connect with

themes and ideas in Ishiguro’s text:
• Future environment
• George Orwell’s 1984
• World/society may seem idyllic initially, but is
always revealed to be flawed in some way • Government control of population

• Typically involves a totalitarian government or • Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World

corporation that is controlling people’s lives.
• Cloning population
• Information, independent though, and freedom
• Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale
are often restricted.
• Medical control over bodies
• Citizens/characters are often dehumanized in
some way – seen as less than human. • Lois Lowry’s The Giver
• Often told in first person – audience is • Specially-reared children in a controlled
introduced to the dystopian world through the environment
view of the narrator
Individual Writing Activity

• Take 5-10 minutes to respond to the following prompts:

• In 3-4 sentences: What were your initial reactions to the beginning of the novel?
You can start with a general statement but move towards a focus on a specific
narrative element (tone, theme, character, point of view, etc.).

• Choose a specific passage that you would like to discuss from today’s
readings. In 1-2 sentences: Why did you choose this passage? (This can
connect to the first prompt or can move in another direction if you’d like.)
For Friday

• Read Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, Chapters 6-9

• Review Research Project Assignment Sheet

• We will spend a portion of class discussing the project and focusing on the
proposal requirements.

• If you have not created and shared a Dropbox folder, please do this as
soon as possible!