A Narrative Study Of Defamiliarization In Never Let Me Go

The latest development of genetic technology has aroused public anxiety over the possibility of human cloning.Such an issue has become a significant topic in contemporary science fiction.Set in England,Never Let Me Go（2005）,a novel by the 2017 Nobel laureate,Kazuo Ishiguro,features a fictitious but sorrowful story of human clones raised as organ donors.This thesis analyzes the narrative characteristics of the novel with a view to disclosing the defamiliarization devices employed by its author in tackling the theme of human cloning,and suggests that by exploring the fictitious suffering by clones as the human Other,Ishiguro reveals his reflection on the contemporary ethical and existential problem of human beings.Initiated by Russian Formalist Victor Shklovsky and further developed by many later theorists,defamiliarization theory assesses the aesthetic value of a literary work by disclosing the formal devices by means of which the author enhances the perception of his readers.This is done by making the aesthetic objects unfamiliar to the readers so that such objects are not neglected by the readers’ established cognitive system owing to automatic perception.Defamiliarization devices refer to the innovative and creative transformations at all levels of a literary work.They function by prolonging the time of the readers’ attention,increasing the difficulty of their perception,and enriching the work’s aesthetic pleasure.This thesis explores the defamiliarization devices in the narrative of Never Let Me Go from three dimensions,namely,narrative perspective,plot structure and figurative language.In terms of perspective,the narrative of the novel is driven by a tension between the narrator and her identity as a human Other.The story is unfolded by the first-person narrative voice of a human clone,and the defamiliarization effect is further enhanced by the temporal-spatial distance of recollection by this récit “I” of her past experience.In terms of plot,the novel achieves its defamiliarization effect through its persistently deferred plotline,which works to prolong the readers’ aesthetic experience.By this means,the details of the clones’ tragic and miserable life experiences under human hegemony could be amply unfolded to the readers,and their empathy could be developed to the fullest extent.In terms of language,the extensive use of metaphor in the narrative text enables the expression of the depressed emotions of the clones and the revelation of their alienated identities,thus enhancing readers’ understanding of significant problems concerning the issue of human cloning.This thesis observes that,in Never Let Me Go,Ishiguro enhances readers’ sensibility to the issue of human cloning by means of the above-mentioned defamiliarization devices.He brings his readers into a fictitious colonial world inhabited by clones in the service of human beings,thereby putting forward an admonition of an ethical threat posed by the rapid development of bio-technology.