“Poor Creatures”: A Foucauldian Examination of Panopticism in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go
Presenter Type
UNO Graduate Student (Masters)
Major/Field of Study
English
Advisor Information
Dr. Kristin Girten
Location
MBSC304 - G (Masters)
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Start Date
24-3-2023 2:30 PM
End Date
24-3-2023 3:45 PM
Abstract
Using a Foucauldian lens of panopticism, this article explores how the clones in Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel Never Let Me Go are not only subjected to the overt power of the state and the institutions that control their lives, but also to the more subtle forms of power that make them docile bodies, complicit in their own oppression. Through the experiences of the novel's main characters, Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy, Ishiguro raises questions about the ways in which power is exercised and maintained in a society and how individuals come to accept and internalize the oppressive roles that are assigned to them. The fictive world of the novel underscores how life can be controlled, denied, or deprived in service of scientific advancement and power consolidation.
Scheduling
9:15-10:30 a.m., 10:45 a.m.-Noon, 1-2:15 p.m., 2:30 -3:45 p.m.
“Poor Creatures”: A Foucauldian Examination of Panopticism in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go
MBSC304 - G (Masters)
Using a Foucauldian lens of panopticism, this article explores how the clones in Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel Never Let Me Go are not only subjected to the overt power of the state and the institutions that control their lives, but also to the more subtle forms of power that make them docile bodies, complicit in their own oppression. Through the experiences of the novel's main characters, Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy, Ishiguro raises questions about the ways in which power is exercised and maintained in a society and how individuals come to accept and internalize the oppressive roles that are assigned to them. The fictive world of the novel underscores how life can be controlled, denied, or deprived in service of scientific advancement and power consolidation.