The Complexity of Love and Friendship in Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go:An Actantial Analysis
2017 (English)Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE credits
Student thesisAlternative title
Kärlekens och vänskapens komplexitet i Kazuo Ishiguros Never Let Me Go:en aktant analys (Swedish)
Abstract [en]
The present essay undertakes a structuralist analysis of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel Never Let Me Go, drawing upon the actantial analysis of plot developed by A. J. Greimas, as developed by Louis Hébert. My central claim is that the plot revolves around the protagonist's contradictory desire to find love with her childhood friend Tommy, while at the same time retaining her friendship with another childhood friend, Ruth. The essay suggests that this contradiction contributes to the complex plot where the characters' actantial functions shift frequently. Furthermore, the essay makes a distinction between two different perspectives, namely Kathy's as protagonist, and Kathy's as narrator. This distinction elucidates how narration in Never Let Me Go affects the plot.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2017. , p. 19
Keywords [en]
Never Let Me Go, Structuralism, Actantial, Love, Friendship
National Category
Specific Literatures
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-48010OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kau-48010DiVA, id: diva2:1076785
Subject / course
English
Educational program
Secondary Education Programme: Upper-Secondary School: English (300 ECTS credits)
Supervisors
Examiners
2017-03-062017-02-232017-03-06Bibliographically approved