"Poor creatures" and "Frankenpeople": A comparative analysis of alternative species in Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go (2005) and Margaret Atwood's MaddAddam trilogy (2003-2013)

Details

Supervisors

Bragard, Véronique

Faculty

Faculté de philosophie, arts et lettres

Degree label

Master [120] en langues et lettres modernes, orientation germaniques

Abstract

enThe dystopian genre is particularly appreciated for its tendency to comment, directly or indirectly, on numerous aspects of a society, more often than not on modern Western societies. To do so, authors of the genre often employ different strategies, amongst which the creation of new species. This is the case with Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go (2005) and Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy (2003-2013). Via a thorough analysis of the alternative species these writers portray (the clones and Crakers respectively), this dissertation aims to show that these supposedly non-human species are actually not as inhuman as one may think. This piece of work tackles various aspects related to these alternative species, such as their relation to different art forms (music and writing, amongst others) and their approach to death. It additionally dives into their relations with and to other forms of life, mainly ordinary humans and animals. This dissertation suggests a redefinition of the dichotomies between species that are deeply ingrained in most Western societies. Instead of those embedded separations, it proposes to imagine a continuum on which species and individuals are able to travel depending on the situations in which they find themselves. It also addresses concepts such as transhumanism and posthumanism, which help understand the position of the human in this world and its potential redefinition. More generally, this thesis aims to suggest moving away from the Home sapiens’ anthropocentric vision and exploring new possibilities for the future of the human species, as do the books at the heart of this study.