Abstract

Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go (Never) exposes the oppressive role of ideology in imploding human identity through societal training, education, and the social roles of clones in the human world. Cloning is another marvel of biotechnology which has given birth to many optimistic as well as pessimistic narratives. The posthuman narrative is central to dystopia as it tends to put forward the regressive use of biotechnology that has the potential to disrupt the essential human identity and implement a sort of reductionism which manifest gratification and conformity. The desire to indoctrinate conformity indicates the late capitalistic tactics of commodification which results in an identity implosion. The paper asserts that ideological manoeuvring and construction of imploded identities are exhibited through dystopian biotechnologies in the agency of posthumanism, which represent commodified identity politics. The posthuman, in this context, serves as the Other of stratified human identity.

Key Words

Clones, Commodification, Dystopian Biotechnologies, Implosion, Identity, Ideological Maneuvering, Other, Social Stratification.

Introduction

Human identity is subject to indispensable individuality, reasoning faculties and emotional empathy. However, it is also a fact that humanness is a sociopolitical phenomenon. The construction of social identity heralds conflicts and pathos at the individual as well as social levels. The advent of posthumanism through biotechnologies has alarmed writers, theorists and social critics who elucidate the explicit as well as implicit horrors of cloning, identity politics, inhuman treatments, and subjectivity. Ishiguro’s Never narrates the subject of posthuman identity in the context of clones' treatment and interaction in society. The clones have been created to serve as donors of vital organs to ailing human beings who have destroyed their lives in reckless decadence. The narration of the clones' schooling and upbringing point out the dexterity of Ishiguro's vision, which foregrounds the ideological manoeuvring and construction of social identities. The clones are a symbolic representation of marginalized human beings who serve the elite class. The docility, contentment and conformity to social roles and fate highlight the role of ideology in shaping human consciousness. The clones in Never foreground the identity politics in a capitalist society which is typified by social stratification and class exploitation. The novel is narrated by a clone named Kathy and relates memories about her friends, class fellows, teachers and school. Through her narration, Ishiguro makes a clear point that these clones were not essentially different from human beings. The activities of clone children at school, hostel routine, artwork, poetry, sports, games, student bullying, jokes, nagging behaviours, conspiracies, childish brawls, fantasies, fears and fabrication of stories reflect the typical routine of human children at some school. In spite of such similarities, they are not entitled to human subjectivity and identity. Their treatment as imploded subjects produce heartrending pathos and reveal the social hypocrisy of the capitalist world. The novel is not like typical dystopias, which enact a near or distant future world. Rather, it portrays the immediate past as such incidents have already happened. The novel is also unlike a typical dystopia because there is not as much futuristic technology and resistance forces. Rather, the novel is reminiscent of past gadgets, the schooling system, and social morality. It does herald a technologically advanced age which is on the horizon. The dexterity of the narrative is embodied in the dual perspective of the clones' identity and subjectivity. The narrative details about their subjectivity, imaginative faculties, emotional empathy, reflective cognitive abilities, and humane behaviour describe them as humans, but the social system does not consider these elements and brands them a storehouse of organs. The novel invokes a new identity politics in which human and posthuman may survive in social harmony, and at the same time, it serves as a critique of capitalistic culture, which exploits the proletariat as non-human subjects and subjects them to inhuman behaviour. 

Literature Review

Ideological manoeuvring induces false consciousness among subjects which is considered necessary for maintaining the binaries of centre and margin. In the science fiction genre, the margin is represented through clones, cyborgs, mutants, aliens and genetically engineered humanoids. These technical and biotechnical manifestations are the other of the humanity in the narrative of conformity as well as resistance. The purpose of such manifestations used to present the other of humans to bring into view the implosion of human identity in postmodern space. Ishiguro's Never brings to view the issues related to the identity, dignity and meaningfulness of human beings in the narrative of clones which are being raised as organ donors. Guo (2015), in her article, discusses human cloning as the other in Ishiguro's novel. She points out that clone narratives play on the anxiety over the uncanny, which signifies a crisis of one's individuality and identification and a disturbance of subjectivity and objectivity. According to Guo (2015), the novel explicitly describes these aspects of clones, thus, blurring the difference between the real and the double. The tone of the novel becomes more tragic as, after learning their consciousness, emotions and sexual identity, these clones are to face the process of completion by donating all their vital organs. This shows the cruelty and the banality of human phenomena at the symbolic level.

Robbins (2007) deconstructs the ideology of upward mobility and the institution of the welfare state as depicted in Never. The clones’ lives as donors and carers refer to the subsequent contentment and conformity of the middle-class in any given society. Robbins (2007) infers that the clones and their institute (Hailsham) find their counterparts in marginal sections of society and state, respectively. The narrative of resistance and questioning the status quo is curbed "by the ideology of the welfare state, which gives a grateful semblance of meaning and legitimacy to the stopgap efforts of every day" (Robbins. 2007, p. 294). He has slyly revealed the deep meaning of the cloning narrative by tracing its ties with the false consciousness propagated by ideology to maintain social stratification and contentment without showing resentment. In the same context, Storrow (2009) has discussed the political and legal aspects which intersect the dignity of humans and posthumans alike. He considers that Never has voiced the ethics of productive technology where the clones possess the same subjectivity and consciousness as it is possessed by humans. He calls for an audience to consider the validity of such projects initiated by government approval for organ donation. 

Jennings (2010) warns about the intrusion of biotechnology into the human body and mind, which threatens the dignity, equality, and essential identity of humanness. This power erodes the foundation of personhood, agency, and individual identity upon which these ideas are built. Biotechnology is an objectifying and reductionistic form of power that terminates the concept of human subjectivity. Similarly, biopower and biotechnology change the liberal, individualist notion of the political and moral community. Likewise, Puchner (2008) highlights Ishiguro's challenge, which invites readers to probe the essence and the limits of humanity. The essence of humanity lies in imitation as it develops human subjectivity through language and cultural experiences. The identity of clones is being formed on the human pattern, yet they are not treated like humans. Ishiguro has voiced the imminent dangers to human identity through biological manipulation in the narratives of the clones. Puchner (2008) also highlights the role of ideological indoctrination through the absence of visible state apparatus. In the same context, Toker and Chertoff (2008) have also pointed out the specific use of language, setting and absence of resistance in Never. They reveal that language is used to accentuate the link between ideological propaganda and marketing. Various euphemistic neologisms are used to foreground old positive connotations for Ishiguro's sinister world. Similarly, the setting of the novel is reminiscent of postmodern paranoia about the conspiracies that are cautiously concealed from civic discourse. The scathing complicity of clones also indicates the educational techniques that have conditioned them to accept their predicament. Even love which is a typical symbol of subversion in dystopian narratives does not threaten the stability of the system in this novel. This absence of resistance is characteristic of ideological indoctrination.

Never discusses the question, significance, and purpose of human identity and personhood. In this regard, Brown (2015) has applied Francis Fukuyama's bio-conservative stance to study the question of personhood in Never. Fukuyama expresses diffidence to bioengineered innovations, which have the potential to undermine the inherent qualities of grit, essential human goodness despite imperfections and individual consciousness (as cited in Brown, 2015, p.129). Brown (2015) points out the importance of consciousness, which humans transcend in their lives through education, art, and religion. The actualization of this consciousness prompts the idea of the soul. The posthuman also imbibes the consciousness of being human, which raises concern about their human status. Similarly, Shaddox (2013) has discussed the generic considerations of the novel in his article. He reveals that the essential subject matter of the novel is the heartrending pathos which human and posthuman alike face in Ishiguro's fictional world. This gross inhuman treatment by a society refers to the social importance of reason and practicality over essential human emotions. That is why feelings are the important aspects of the novel. Human life is characterized by diverse choices, relationships, emotions, and desires. These aspects of humanity are regulated and controlled by societal repression. As Shaddox (2013) alludes, those sentiments play an essential role in defining human life. In Never, an institutionalized mechanism has been exposed by Ishiguro, which shows the sinister subjugation of human feelings. 

Dystopic representations of posthumanism project a technoscientific cultural scenario which is redefining and reshaping the traditional narratives of human nature and its essence. These narratives portray that corpocracy, biotechnology and genetic engineering are altering previous concepts of human identity, culture, and society. They project the age of posthumanism, where humanity has been superseded by genetically altered humanoids and clones. Fukuyama (2002) has been critical of such marvels in biotechnology and bioengineering. He does point out certain bright features as people would get control of certain genetic diseases, and it could bring a revolution in medical science. But at the same time, he also renders a warning about the destructive use of such technologies. He points out that people would get an opportunity to design their babies, and this would cause social stratification at a whole new level. The powerful governments and corporates would go a step ahead in monopolizing such technologies to overpower their adversaries. The regressive use of biotechnology would be a way to inflict bioterrorism which would delink human societies from technology. Similarly, Dinello (2005) points out that posthuman evolution is the beginning of the long-awaited decline of humans as species. The mad scientists, clones, humanoids, cyborgs and genetically mutated animals and monsters in dystopian narratives express the technophobic fears of losing essential human identity, independence, values, emotions and lives to technoscientific paraphernalia. The significance of subjectivity and self becomes central in posthumanism. The present-day technologies are blurring the divide between humans and machines. As Dinello (2005) points out that “twenty-first-century technologies—robotics, artificial intelligence, bionics, the internet, virtual reality, biotechnology, and nanotechnology—promise a new era in human progress, the posthuman age” (p. 5). This repressive control and monotony refer to the implosion of human identity. Dystopia brings to light the systemic segregation populated by capitalism in the general depiction of human societies. However, social stratification reaches a whole new level in the context of human interaction with clones or humanoids and genetically enhanced organisms. Clones or humanoids threaten human stability, identity and self-definition. Symbolically, these genetically engineered organisms represent a lot of common human beings in a capitalistic system. They are loathed, feared and marginalized. Their identities are decided by their programmers. They are reduced to the level of tools for the fulfilment of certain errands. Dinello (2005) remarks that no posthuman technology has engendered such robust dystopic visions as cloning. Dystopian SF signifies that the implosion of human identity will sabotage essential human values like emotions, empathy, and intuitiveness because these technologies strengthen social stratification, surveillance, absolutism, genetic discernment, and environmental dilapidation, mind control and obliteration (p.273).

Research Methodology

This research is qualitative in its nature and scope. As qualitative research, it utilizes the tools and methods of Basic Research in literature which include literature review, theoretical scope, close reading, critical inquiry, and exhaustive analysis of primary and secondary data. The primary data, in this context, refers to Ishiguro's novel, Never, while secondary data refers to research articles and books on the topic of this study as well as the primary text. An exhaustive analysis of primary and secondary data has been done to answer the following research questions. How ideological manoeuvring finds its parallel in posthuman dystopian biotechnologies? How posthuman identities are imploded to bring forth the predictable, conformed, and uninformed subjects? How are Clones represented as Other of the deprived class of a given society?   

Findings and Discussion

The posthuman narrative in Never elucidates the manipulated as well as the manoeuvred process of identity politics in the globalized capitalistic world where essential identity is pre-decided as per the class system. Besides, it brings to light the universality of the fragility of life where all human efforts to make sense of existence are thwarted by nihilism. It is quite ironic that human identity has always been fragmented, but at the same time, humans try their best to posit some coherence to their fragmented selves. Though they are never satisfied with their physical and material contents, yet they try to make sense of the chaos called life. That is why the narrative of Never is oozing with human pathos and consequent failure to bring some order to the enigma of life. Education, morality, philosophic humanism and individuality do not make any difference. These factors may provide personal space and a personal sense of amplified existence, but in the broader scheme of an ideological setup, the individual does not hold any significance. Ishiguro (2005) has quite intelligently depicted this tragic state of human life through clones. The novel foregrounds an indefinite as well as invisible 'they' who have all control of life. Life is nothing more than a contingency before this power. The clones, symbolically, reflect the imploded sense of identity politics, which revolves around conformity, uniformity and predictability. Their roles have been pre-decided, and they have been depicted to fulfil these roles in complete compliance and contentment. These clones possess the sense of being, imaginative faculties, human feelings, and critical thinking, but at the same time, they are taught that they are essentially different from human beings. They are made aware that they would have to donate their vital organs because this is the purpose of their creation. The novel foregrounds existential angst as well as social conformity where existence has no substantial value. Like humans, they also cherish certain vague hopes against the dark fate, but with hope, one has no options. The clones manifest the social as well as the cultural implosion of identity where they are not in any degree different from humans, but a different fate has been decided for them, and they are ready to accept that fate. In spite of all this, the clones, like humans, cherish their fickle and capricious lives and follow abstract ideals to manifest the quest for identity. The events in the novel have been narrated by Kathy, who has been serving as a carer for almost twelve years. It is through her narration that the reader gets to know about Hailsham, which was an establishment procured by Miss Emily, who was the head guardian of this institute, and Marie-Claude, who was known as Madam in the novel and used to collect the artwork done by clones. They had been activists for the rights of clones, and their movement resulted in three establishments "Hailsham, Glenmorgan, the Saunders Trust" (Ishiguro, 2005, p. 258). These were the places where clones were treated with dignity. They were taught different subjects, disciplines, sports, and arts. They wanted to establish that these clones are not entirely different from human beings, and they must be given reasonable facilities, regardless of their fate. Though they succeeded in establishing these places, they were, later on, closed by the regressive government, which also serves as a critique of the governmental desertion of social responsibilities. 

Ishiguro’s Never foregrounds the identity implosion as embedded in the capitalistic socioeconomic system, which stratifies the society on economic, religious, political and racial grounds. Never offers a critique of such a class system by foregrounding the efforts of individuals to make sense of their social identity. It does not depict the process of identity implosion. It depicts the pathetic and useless efforts of individuals to undo such an implosion. The failure of individuals asserts the identity implosion at the social level. Tommy's story is significant in explicating the proposition. The theory of deferral intrigued Tommy, and he started to connect many events at Hailsham with the theory of deferral. There had been many incidents which were so vague that students could not make sense of them when they were at Hailsham. For instance, Miss Lucy had been persistently saying that they had been told and they had been not told. Once, Miss Lucy had told him that he did not need to be worried about his poor artistic sensibilities. It was not such a great deal. However, in another instance, she apologized for the previous talk. Rather, she advised him to start working on art from now onwards because it was very important for him. Tommy could not understand why his art was not significant in the first stead and why it has become significant now. He had been incredulous about the whole art and education at school when their fates had already been decided. Madam's Gallery had been another enigma for students at Hailsham. Even sometimes, they used to object to why Madam had taken away their best works. Such thoughts clouded his mind, and he could not get any clarity. The theory of deferral proved a missing link which could interpret those indefinite concepts which they had at Hailsham. After knowing the theory of deferrals, he was connecting all those loose ends with it. He told Kathy that he had solved the riddles of Madam's Gallery and the significance of their artwork. He reminded Kathy about Miss Emily's talk with a student about the meaning of art. He recalled that Miss Emily had told him that art is of immense importance because it reveals the inner self. It reveals about soul, perception and mind of the artist. Tommy proposed if the veterans are right about this story of deferrals, then how a couple would convince the authorities that they are truly in love. It could be fake as well, so there must be a way to judge that they are not faking it. Tommy proposed that the gallery could be a source to judge that the couple is not lying because it contained the record of the students' souls. According to him, this was the prime reason that Madam used to collect their artwork; guardians were so persistent about the importance of their art, and Miss Lucy had apologized for discouraging him towards art. Kathy was convinced that there was certain logic about Tommy's theory, but she did not tell him because it would have excited Tommy a bit over the line. However, there was only one way to test Tommy's proposition they must find Madam. Obviously, it was very difficult as they did not know anything about her, and they had never been in direct contact with her. However, such an opportunity came years after Tommy had interpreted the theory of deferrals. Kathy had been working as a carer for almost ten years when she came to know that Ruth had been in a critical situation after her first donation. Ruth gave them the address of Madam. 

Ruth had been right about Madam's address, who had been living in Littlehampton. They decided to meet Madam to know about their fate as she had the record of their artwork. There was a little twist to the situation as Tommy had not been doing art at Hailsham, so Madam would not have any record of his artwork in her gallery. Tommy had started drawing at Cottages. He had been drawing fantastic animals since Cottages, and by now, he had become quite skilled. So, Tommy proposed that they must take some animals to show Madam about his inner self and its compatibility with Kathy. They reached Madam's house and told her about the nature of their visit, the story of deferral and their concept of her gallery. Tommy even showed his fantastic animals and explained to Madam why there would be no record of his art. Madam, whose real name was Marie-Claude, had been living with Miss Emily in this very house as well. She felt sorry for the vain but beautiful hopes of Kathy and Tommy. She asked Miss Emily, who had been listening to all this conversation in the adjacent room, to come out and answer the innocent queries of these students. The discussion between Miss Emily, Kathy, Tommy, and Madam explicates the quest for identity as well as the ultimate failure to make any sense of identity. The whole discussion revolves around Kathy and Tommy’s questions which were related to the purpose of Hailsham; the meaning of art, culture and education. Miss Emily explained to them the purpose of Hailsham, their artwork, education, and social learning. The purpose of Hailsham was nothing much than to provide a reasonable opportunity to have a bit of subjectivity before the completion. She felt proud to see both of them in search of love and meaning in life; although their fate was already decided, yet they were looking for some meaning to this banal life. Never explicates the social as well as existential disillusionment. Human life, though it is full of sound and fury, it does not signify anything before death which is the ultimate reality of human life. It is the social system which signifies human life. Humans must devise such a system which must not be based upon exploitation. After all, humans matter to humans in the structure of life. However, it is the irony as well as the tragedy of the human world that the social system is based upon such inhuman exploitative binaries which provoke the implosion of human subjectivity. The power dynamics, which formulate ideology and social politics, foreground social implosion so that the powerful may continue to rule by proliferating metanarratives. Ishiguro's Never deconstructs the power dynamics through the posthuman narrative. Miss Emily serves as an actant of this deconstruction. It brings to light the essential human selfishness and love for life at the cost of others. The clones had been portrayed as other human beings. They are the marginal side of binary opposition. It is humans vs posthumans which can be equated with the binary of haves vs have-nots. The novel also deconstructs the traditional grandeur associated with Man as the crown of creation. So, Miss Emily clarified that the theory of deferral was just a rumour. It was fabricated by students, and she had tried her best to root it out at Hailsham, but students were persistent in believing in such a fable. It symbolizes human's tendency to succumb to false ideals, which give them some hope to distract from their miseries. Tommy enquires Miss Emily about the existence of the gallery and the importance of artwork. Precisely, he wanted to know why Madam used to collect their artwork for the gallery and why guardians were so persistent in inculcating that artwork was of great significance that it revealed the soul of the artist. Madam added the question about the existence of Hailsham. These questions are the subject matter of the novel. They expose the social indifference, regressive class system and regressive politics. The questions also explicate the regressive genetic engineering which has given birth to the opportunities for mistreatment of posthumans. Ishiguro's clones suffer human mistreatment and social indifference. Miss Emily explained to them the factors which led to the creation of clones and Hailsham. After the second world war, numerous technological breakthroughs in biotechnology and medical science provided an opportunity for humans to cure previously incurable diseases. Cloning was the marvel of such breakthroughs. It opened new horizons for medical science as the vital organs of these clones could be used in curing various fatal diseases. The people were mostly concerned with the end result, and they used to consider that these organs are grown in some test tube or vacuum. However, with the passage of time, people became aware of how clones are reared and how they are kept in miserable conditions. There were debates about calling off this project of cloning, but it was too late then. Though people were uncomfortable about the existence of clones and the conditions in which they were kept, they were more concerned about themselves. They did not want that they or their family members may die from those diseases whose cure had become possible by the donation of Clones' organs. That is why people started to think of clones as radically different from them. They were considered less than human. On these pretexts, they started a movement for the right and betterment of clones. Miss Emily explained that it was impossible to convince people to consider clones as humans, but they did win certain establishments where they could bring up clones as humans and show the world that they are not less than humans. This is why there was an emphasis on artwork and Madam's gallery because they used to show people that clones were not entirely different from them. Though it was not much per circumstance, they succeeded in achieving this for the clones. Before Hailsham, clones did not have any subjectivity, and they were considered "Shadowy objects in test tubes" (Ishiguro, 2005, p. 256). The purpose of Hailsham was to prove the proposition that clones can be cultivated into sensible and intelligent humans if they are reared in a cultured and humane environment. She explicated that they used to select the best work of the students and display it in a special exhibition. These exhibitions were attended by many influential people in society. These included bishops, cabinet ministers, journalists and politicians. Their movement was getting support from various sections of society. They were quite realistic in their ambitions. They knew that people would not expect clones as their counterparts. Therefore, they did not inculcate any false consciousness in clones. They told them what fate awaited them. They just wanted to give a decent environment, childhood, sensibility, empathy and identity. She was quite happy to see Kathy and Tommy that they had not been unsuccessful. However, there came the Morningdale scandal, which swept away all their movement and its subsequent achievements. James Morningdale was a talented scientist, and he was working on the possibility of designer children. He was working secretively on this project in Scotland, and his work crossed certain legal boundaries. He was discovered, and his work was confiscated. This incident prompted fear of such biotechnological incongruities. Though cloning was being done for organs, these children were supposed to be superior to normal human beings. People feared that they would be replaced by them, so they recoiled from such scientific marvels. Their movement had already been fragile and was floating on the whims of their sponsors, which started to vanish day by day after the Morningdale scandal. Miss Emily illuminated, "…so long as a corporation or a politician could see a benefit in supporting us, then we were able to keep afloat" (Ishiguro, 2005, p. 259). However, afterwards, the world did not want to be reminded of the clones and the mechanics of the donation program. They wanted clones to be again in shadows, though they wanted the organs all along. That is why Hailsham, Glenmorgan and Saunders Trust were shut down. The clones were taken into custody by the government, and they are kept in miserable homes now where there are no facilities for education, community and art. Tommy and Kathy were under immense disappointment, and they were disillusioned by the story of deferral. Miss Emily told them that they had no future ahead. Their life must follow the course which had been set for them. She was aware of their disappointment, but she had nothing else to propose. She tried to explain to them the system of life. She illuminated that they might be thinking of themselves as pawns in a game. But they must consider that they were the lucky pawns who got reasonable facilities, childhood, memories, community and above all, a sense of human subjectivity. She explained, "You have to accept that sometimes that's how things happen in this world. People's opinions, their feelings, they go one way, then the other" (Ishiguro, 2005, p. 261). Miss Emily emphasized the significance of illusions that they are sometimes necessary for the long run. She explained Miss Lucy's point of view, who used to say that students are not being told enough about their future. It was incumbent for us to inculcate in the students the significance of art, philosophy and general education. The students knew what was waiting for them in the long run, but they continued learning art and poetry. They would not have achieved anything if they had told them that their lives had no meaning. They tried their best to procure a decent life for the students, which was the maximum they could do. After this discussion, Tommy and Kathy came back to the recovery centre. Both of them were highly disillusioned, and Tommy felt this illumination too much to bear. Later, he broke off with Kathy and completed the fourth donation.

The meeting with Madam and Miss Emily is of paramount significance to understanding the identity implosion which is indoctrinated at the social level. The meeting can be equated as the meeting of the creation with the creator. Kathy and Emily had their hopes of deferral built on a rumour. They had this view that they would be able to live for three years, though Tommy had already donated two times and Kathy had been working as a carer for more than eleven years. Through their story, the text points out the futility of human phenomenon. Life is itself a contingency, and the demise of human life does not make any difference to others. It is the lived experience which makes one's life interesting or otherwise. The power dynamics of a given society devise different roles for human beings, which they had to perform for social subsistence. Capitalism thrives on the growth of capital; therefore, such roles or class structures are inevitable. Humans may have their little moments, but their fates are sealed by the system and the class in which they are born. Though the system does provide certain space to some individuals who can change their destiny, these can be called exceptions. These exceptions do not have the potential to affect the system in any visible way. Rather, they also become part of the system. That is why Never depicts the tragic reality of human life through the representation of clones. Education, cultural values, poetry, art, philosophy and morality play a significant role in developing human subjectivity, but these cannot change the reality of life. They do make life an interesting phenomenon. They do make the passing of life bearable, but they do not change fate. The invisible forces, which structure as well as govern the society, remain constant and unchanged. Unlike other dystopian texts, which show the hegemonic enclosure through some security agency, Never does not embody such force, but its presence is felt throughout the narration. The physical absence of such power is like ideology, which cannot be seen, but it does formulate a human identity. Similarly, Never does not manifest any resistance against the hegemonic order because the purpose of the text is to foreground the tragic effects of ideology. The absence of resistance brings to light the complacency and contentment which is indoctrinated in subjects through invisible ideological apparatus. Though they were learning many subjects at Hailsham, they were not about resentment and rebellion. Rather, they were continuously reminded of their future, their essence and their identity. This is how social structures construct human identity. This is how social stratification is manoeuvred. The narrative of posthuman propounds this ideological indoctrination of respective identities.

Conclusion

Ishiguro's Never depicts the process of implosion through ideology. The narration of the novel emphasizes the essential similarity of the clones with humans. The similarity has been used as a technique to point out the ideological manipulation of the marginalized section of society. Capitalist ideology thrives on social stratification and class segregation. The class system decides the fate of the individuals in a respective class which shapes the identity of its individuals. The marginalized section is made to believe in their respective inability to change their fate. Philosophic humanism, verbal and non-verbal arts, social values, and the equality of mankind are just fiction before the power of capital and the class system. Never propounds the power dynamics of a society where any effort by the have-nots to improvise some meaning to their bland existence is thwarted by ideological repression. Tommy and Kathy built their hopes for deferral on the pretext of their education, artistic sensibilities, and love for each other. However, they receive the horrific response that their lives must follow the course which had been decided for them. They reflect the meaninglessness of their education, training, communal sense, and feelings. It all seems that these ideals are nothing more than a leisure activity. The novel ends on the pattern of Greek tragedy, where man is a puppet in the hands of fate. The absence of resistance and docile compliance make the narrative of the novel grimmer and more pathetic. It is through pathos Never foregrounds the implosion of human identity through ideology and class system.

References

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