Empathy in Kazuo Ishiguro ́s “Never Let Me Go”

Seminar paper from the year 2014 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,7, , language: English, abstract: The aim of this essay is to examine the role of empathy in Kazuo Ishiguro ́s “Never Let Me Go” with special regard to the “teaching” of empathy at the boarding school of Hailsham. The essay will examine the role of the educational system in “Never Let Me Go” in order to characterize forms of teaching, education and upbringing that lead to the typical characteristics of the clones. Before dealing with the importance of the educational system for preserving public order in the dystopian world, general functions and modes of empathy in fictional writing will be discussed in an introductory part. In a conclusive part it will be argued that Kazuo Ishiguro uses a narrative style that persuades the reader to “feel with” the protagonists. By doing so the reader is led to judge the society of the dystopian world to be cruel and undesirable.