Kathy’s Bioethics and Scientific Choices in Never Let Me Go from the Perspective of Hybridity
School of Foreign Languages, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430205, China
| Abstract: | Never Let Me Go is a full-length novel by British-Japanese author Kazuo Ishiguro. The clones in the novel were raised by humans but had to face the end of dying by donating their organs to humans. However, the novel did not provide an explanation for the phenomenon that the clones refused to revolt against the humans who dominated them when they faced death. Based on the concept of hybridity of Homi K. Bhabha, this paper will analyze the process of hybridization and construction of the identity of the heroine Kathy from three dimensions: self, group and social environment, and discuss the impact of this process on Kathy’s refusal to resist and acceptance of her death. As a result, Kathy accepted the physical fact that she was a clone with a human heart, constructed and acknowledged her hybrid identity, and her determination to die showed a nobility far beyond that of ordinary humans. Although clones and humans belonged to different groups, it was undeniable that they had grown up in different culture environments, despite their identical appearance, they had developed their own cultures and influenced each other. This paper brings a explanation to the question of the clones’ refusal to revolt and offers a unique interpretation to the novel from the perspective of the responsibilities and duties of the clones. |
| Keywords: | Kazuo Ishiguro; Never Let Me Go; Hybridity; Bioethics; Identity Construction; Identification; Scientific Choice |
| DOI: | 10.57237/j.ha.2024.01.002 |
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Received: 17 October 2023
Accepted: 15 November 2023
Published Online: 11 March 2024
Funding
| 1. | 武汉工程大学第十五届研究生教育创新基金项目 (No. CX2023491) |
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