Language and betrayal: posthuman ethics in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go

Mattar, Netty (2022) Language and betrayal: posthuman ethics in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go. CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture, 23 (4). ISSN 1481-4374

	PDF - Published Version Restricted to Repository staff only Download (296kB) | Request a copy
	PDF (SCOPUS) - Supplemental Material Restricted to Repository staff only Download (221kB) | Request a copy

Abstract

Netty Mattar discusses in her article “Language and Betrayal: Posthuman Ethics in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go” the complexities of ethical compassion in Mattar highlights how genetic technology creates new forms of life that dissolve the line between ‘human’ and ‘technology.’ In spite of this, contemporary ethical discussions do not take into account changing conceptions of human subjectivity and instead reinstate older assumptions about what ‘human’ is. Mattar argues that speculative fiction (SF), as a self-conscious play on signs and signification, can draw attention to how ethical responses are determined by the language we use. Mattar reads Kazuo Ishiguro’s SF novel Never Let Me Go as a critique of liberal humanist ethical discourse, which eliminates difference as it promises inclusion. She argues that Ishiguro’s uncanny narrative presents a posthuman ethics that forces the reader to confront their own dependence on exclusionary understandings of ‘human’.

Item Type:	Article (Journal)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	posthumanism; ethics; Kazuo Ishiguro; clones; speculative fiction
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PR English literature
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences > Department of English Language & Literature Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences
Depositing User:	Dr. Netty Mattar
Date Deposited:	15 Feb 2022 16:39
Last Modified:	31 Mar 2022 14:15
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/96787

Actions (login required)

View Item