| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立高雄師範大學 === 英語學系 === 99 === Abstract
This thesis mainly discusses landscape in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go. Landscape connotes memory of Kathy, the protagonist of the novel, indicates her identity and affirms her humanity. This thesis mainly draws the ideas from three critics, Wendy Ashmore, A. Bernard and Barbara Bender to discuss the landscape in this text. In Wendy Ashmore and A. Bernard Knapp’s point of view, landscape is regarded as an entity that exists by virtue of its being perceived, experienced, and contextualized by people. In addition, Barbara Bender proposes the view that landscape accumulates its contents as it continually interacts with people. Thus, landscape reflects the changing panorama of the world of men. Through landscape, the life story of Kathy is scrutinized and further the evilness of men is revealed. The brutal motivation of men behind the cloning is disclosed, and an appeal of returning to pristine humanity and authentic morality of men is announced.
Three main ideas are exhibited in this thesis: landscape as memory, landscape as identity and landscape as contrast. These three themes are that landscape connotes memory of Kathy, landscape indicates Kathy’s identity, and landscape as contrast proves her being as a human. These three themes are displayed in Kathy’s life process. Landscape records the account of the interaction between Kathy and the landscapes she has experienced; and further, it constructs her life story and verifies her humanity. Landscape, not static, reflects a trend of fluency. In this story, landscape responds and transforms according to what people have done to the clones, such as creation, rearing and destruction of the clones. Landscape reveals the selfishness, manipulation and evilness of men.
Through this story, Ishiguro conveys a message that is the danger of cloning trend in the human world and the lack of love and sincerity of men. Through landscape, this thesis mainly demonstrates suffering, love and concern among the clone students, and further announces a calling. This calling is that if men continue to quest for the cloning technique, the extension of life span of men, and the breakthrough of life form of human beings, the landscape of men will be harmed and men walk on the road of self-destruction. The love, affection of men is the virtue we should never forget but embrace deeply as our priceless treasure.
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