Never Let Me Go

This paper aimed to critically investigate Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, in terms of Louise Althusser’s concepts of ideology and Interpellation. Kazuo Ishiguro’s sixth novel, Never Let Me Go, explores the tragic condition of clones living in an imaginary England of the late 1990s. Out of the parts and pieces of the main character’s fragmented memory and unclear descriptions, the reader finds out that Kathy and her friends are clones created to give certain vital organs to ordinary people. However, the main characters in this dystopian novel are not looking for emancipation, and very little could be observed in terms of resistance or objection. Applying Althusser’s theories of ideology and interpellation, this study tried to discover the reasons for the characters’ passivity and submission. The findings showed that certain beliefs and values despite being shockingly violent were internalized, naturalized, and justified in the decisive ages of childhood through the dominant ideological system. Moreover, the effect of educational system as one of the most important ISAs (Ideological State Apparatus) in interpellating the individual characters into subjects is analyzed in this novel.

Multilingualism and its tangled relationship with culture have been the center of debate for many years. It still sparkles various conceptual arguments and day by day, more academic research is circulating on this subject. The concept of multilingualism and the arguments around this discourse roots in the language itself. To fully grasp the notion of cultural multilingualism, first, we need to perceive how and where language and culture are interlinked. The study of culture has the originality of studying history itself. The first studies on both language and culture date back to the earliest time human attempted to analyze and perceive history. The globalization of multilingualism has led scientists and experts to analyze multilingualism through a cultural lens. It's only in a few decades that perceiving and understanding multilingualism through cultural perspectives has opened the eyes of experts to new horizons. Concerning this fact, this study has evaluated Never Let Me Go, a 2005 Nobel-winning novel by the Japanese-British novelist and screenwriter, Kazuo Ishiguro according to cultural multilingual values. Additionally, this study questions the concept of cultural multilingualism, together with its significance in shaping one's identity and self as the main key in Ishiguro's novel. Proven by the given facts, the current study illustrates how cultural multilingualism forms the author's writing style and mindset as a multilingual individual.