Issue
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors retain the copyright without restrictions for their published content in this journal. HSSR is a SHERPA ROMEO Green Journal.
Publishing License
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of 
NEVER LET ME GO: UNDERSTANDING THE LANGUAGE USED
Corresponding Author(s) : Biman Mondal
Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews,
Vol. 9 No. 3 (2021): May
Abstract
Purpose of the study: The study aims at analysing Never Let Me Go in terms of the language used in his novel by Nobel prize winner, Kazuo Ishiguro, a Japanese writer. The language used in the novel which is a science fiction novel, with the futuristic vision which is quite difficult to understand in one reading, and hence this paper can create interest and inquisitiveness in the reader.
Methodology: For the literary analysis of the words in the study, Motifs and Symbolism are used as a technique to analyse the words and language used in Never Let Me Go. Literary analysis of chosen words and language is used as a research method in the novel.
Main Findings: It is indicated in this study that the novel is narrated in first person singular form. Kathy’s voice in Never Let Me Go seems consistent. A reader feels a clear sense of Kathy`s character through her discipline of speaking.
Applications of this study: It is shown in this study of Never Let Me Go in terms of the language used, can be useful to the students studying in graduates/post graduates of Literature studies. The in-depth analysis of the language, words, etc used in the novel makes it interesting to the students.
Novelty/Originality of this study: The language using style in Never Let Me Go is realistic and reflects on the period of the novel set i.e., the 1990s and colloquial language used by the author. Certain words like a euphemism, possible, donor, carer, unzipping, gifted, othering used by the narrator has an inner meaning which is being analysed in this paper. This could help the reader to understand the narration and take pleasure in reading the novel.
Keywords
Download Citation
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)BibTeX
References
Boschetti, F. (2017). Memories in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go: A Clone’s Humanity. Monsters and Beats, 2
Carroll, R. (2010). Imitations of Life: Cloning, Heterosexuality and the Human in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go. Journal of Gender Studies. 19(1), 61. https://doi.org/10.1080/09589230903525445 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09589230903525445
Chomsky, N. (1957). Syntactic structures. The Hague: Mouton. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783112316009 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783112316009
Dawes, J. (2009). Human Rights in Literary Studies. Human Rights Quarterly, 394-409. https://doi.org/10.1353/hrq.0.0071 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/hrq.0.0071
De Villiers, J. H. & Slabbert, M. (2011). Never Let Me Go: Science Fiction and Legal Reality. Literator, 32(2) Des./Dec. 85-103. https://doi.org/10.4102/lit.v32i3.211 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/lit.v32i3.211
Gardiner, A.H. (1933). Discussion on Linguistic Theory. Transactions of the Philological Society, 33(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-968X.1934.tb01095.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-968X.1934.tb01095.x
Gabriele, G. (2009). Science and the Cultural Imaginary: the Case of Kazuo Ishigoro`s Never Let Me Go. Textual Practice 23(4), 653. https://doi.org/10.1080/09502360903000570 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09502360903000570
Iser, W. (2005). How to do Theory. Wiley.
Ishiguro, K. (2005). Never Let Me Go. Faber & Faber, London.
Klein, G. (1989). Language Policy during the Fascist Period: The Case of Language Education. Language, Power and Ideology: Studies in Political Discourse. Amsterdam: Benjamins, 42. https://doi.org/10.107 5/ct.7.05kle DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/ct.7.05kle
Laiche, A. B. (2018). The Importance of Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro in the 21st Century, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340570139_Race_Ideology_and_Nation_in_Kazuo_Ishiguro's_Never_Let_me_Go
Levy, T. (2011). Human Rights Storytelling and Trauma Narrative in Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go. Journal of Human Rights 10(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/14754835.2011.546242 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14754835.2011.546242
McDonald, K. (2007). Days of Past Futures: Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go as “Speculative Memoir”. Biography, 30(1), 74-83. https://doi.org/10.1353/bio.2007.0025 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/bio.2007.0025
McKay, M., Davis, M., and Fanning, P. (1995). Messages: Communication Skills Book, 2nd ed. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications, 34–36.
Pandey, A. (2011). Cloning Words, Euphemism, Neologism and Dysphemism as Literary Devices in Kazuo Ishiguro`s Never Let Me Go. Changing English 18(4), 383-96. https://doi.org/10.1080/1358684X.2011.630188 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1358684X.2011.630188
Robins. R. H. (1964). General Linguistics: an Introductory Survey. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Sapir, E. (1921). Language: An Introduction to the Study of Speech. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World Inc., 33-35.
Snaza, N. (2015). The Failure of Humanizing Education in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go. Lit: Literature Interpretation Theory, 26(3). https://doi.org/10.1080/10436928.2015.1062344 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10436928.2015.1062344
Sweet, H. (1901). The History of Language. London; J.M. Dent.
Taketomi, R. (2018). Reading Never Let Me Go from the Mujo Perspective of Buddhism, American British and Canadian Studies, 31(1). 114-128. https://doi.org/10.2478/abcsj-2018-0019 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/abcsj-2018-0019
Vichiensing, M. (2017). The Othering in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 8(4). https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.8n.4p.126 DOI: https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.8n.4p.126
Whitehead, A. (2011). Writing with Care: Kazuo Ishiguro`s Never Let Me Go. Contemporary Literature, 52(1), 54-83. https://doi.org/10.1353/cli.2011.0012 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/cli.2011.0012
Wang, N. (2016). “The Inconsistencies of Memory” The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www/huffingtonpost.com/nina-wang/the-inconsistencies-of-me_b_10579052.html
Yan-ling, G. (2021). Traumatic Memories in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go. Journal of Literature and Art Studies, 11(2), 88-91. https://doi.org/10.17265/2159-5836/2021.02.003 DOI: https://doi.org/10.17265/2159-5836/2021.02.003
Yu-min, H. (2017), Life in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go. Journal of Literature and Art Studies, 7(9), 1145-1157. https://doi.org/10.17265/2159-5836/2017.09.006 DOI: https://doi.org/10.17265/2159-5836/2017.09.006
Zafar, U., Uzair, M., Mahmood, A. (2019). Extraction of Key Motifs as a Preview from 2017 Nobel Prize Winning Novel “Let Me Go An Interactive Word Cloud Study. Journal of Research in Social Sciences, 7(2), 83-97. https://doi.org/10.52015/jrss.7i2.80 DOI: https://doi.org/10.52015/jrss.7i2.80