| Kazuo Ishiguro (1954—) is one of the most prominent contemporary fiction writers in the English-speaking world. Taking a variety of life beings as protagonists in his novels, Ishiguro goes deep into their state of existence against the background of state and portrays the oppression they suffer in a much delicate way. Never Let Me Go, one of Ishiguro's best-known works, was shortlisted for the 2005 Booker Prize. By taking clones as its main characters, the novel mainly portrays the short life of Kathy, Ruth and Tommy through the reminiscence of Kathy. Based on the concept of biopolitics, this thesis analyzes the subjugation of clones' life and explores the power mechanism hidden behind such brutal suppression.The thesis consists of three parts. The introduction reviews the present research on Kazuo Ishiguro and his novels, with a particular focus on his work Never Let Me Go. Besides, this part also outlines the concept of biopolitics expounded by Michael Foucault and relevant concepts further developed by Giorgio Agamben and Roberto Esposito, laying the solid foundation for the textual analysis. The main body of this thesis analyzes the subjugation of clones' life from the aspects of physical regulation, mental oppression and political subjugation, before coming to a natural conclusion.Chapter One concentrates on the regulation of clones' behaviors throughout their whole life. In light of Foucault's concept of discipline and bio-power, clones are not only under panoptic surveillance when they are kept in Hailsham, their behaviors are also regulated, judged and examined all the time. Even in the open space afterwards, their life, in fact, is still subjected to state's governance. Chapter Two focuses on the oppression clones suffer from the mental aspect. Owing to the education in Hailsham, clones have internalized the guardians'attitudes towards them as inferior existence— "bare life" in Agamben's terms, the life of "Homo Sacer" who is to be killed. Clones follow the instructions of human beings and adopt human norms in the hope that they might be acknowledged for their life's value and meaning. Yet, all their attempts are to no avail and they have to bear the great pressure and fear and wait for the final moments of death in physical and mental agony. Chapter Three delves into the basis of political subjugation in which the state exploits clones to the most by stripping them of all rights but two obligations as carers and donors. In other words, clones' life as well as the whole donation project is nothing but the state's means to shore up its strength. To deal with the risk of losing power, the state victimizes the life of clones. This practice is generated by what Esposito refers to as the immunitary paradigm in which human subjectivity has been diminished and life has become the tool and means serving the needs of the state's biopolitical control.After summing up the subjugation of clones' life from the physical, mental and political perspective and revealing the hierarchical order and power mechanism hidden beneath the surface, the thesis comes to the conclusion that the subjugation of clones' life is actually a result of biopolitical choice against the background of Western politics. Through a detailed probe into the various forms of force that results in the subjugation, Ishiguro's novel unfolds the value orientation and legislative basis of the biopolitcal mechanism and fires a warning shot about the possibility and danger of genocide. |
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