MEMORY AND FORGETFULNESS IN KAZUO ISHIGURO’S NOVEL THE BURIED GIANT

Apply

MEMORY AND FORGETFULNESS IN KAZUO ISHIGURO’S NOVEL THE BURIED GIANT

Journal Title: ІНОЗЕМНА ФІЛОЛОГІЯ - Year 2018, Vol 131, Issue

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel The Buried Giant (2015 р.). The topic of memory is the central one for the work. It is pointed out that the author of the book concentrates his attention on the nature of memory, its role in the lives of ordinary people and of the whole society. The trip to the nearby village started by the main characters of the book turned out to be a quest in search of their own lost past, memory and identities. At the same time, this is a quest towards Great Britain’s past with all its victories and tragedies. The novel is based upon the real historical events, which infl uenced the formation of the cultural myths important for British national identity. The most salient ones are the myth about King Arthur and his knights, the myth about the dragon and the knight, the myth about wizard Merlin and about Sir Gawain. The novel is full of intertextual connections with infl uential texts of English literature (such as La Morte de Arthur, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight or Beowulf), with Celtic and Roman mythology (Charon). The research has shown that using multiple metaphors and symbols the author offers an unusual approach to the identifi cation constructs used for the formation of memory, both collective and individual. The most important symbols are the she-dragon, the mist of forgetfulness, the chosen child, the monks touched by ravens, the women in black rags, water in all its manifestations (river, stream, sea, rain, fog, mist), boatmen and so on. The story is narrated from different points of view to stress the author’s position toward the way any cultural memory is shaped. Still, not all main characters get an opportunity to present their point of view. Therefore, it proves that the same is true about cultural memory, which in fact keeps only the position of the majority. The memory of the minority may be quite different. Besides that, a lot of attention is given to the role of trauma in the process of memory formation. Moreover, the article emphasizes that the mechanisms of forgetting are of equal importance for the memory from the position of the author because the ability to forgive is crucial for the future of the nation and of ordinary people. Though at the beginning all the characters are appalled because of the fact that they were forced to forget their past, at the end of the story some of them come to understanding that to forgive means to forget.

Authors and Affiliations

Hanna Kolesnyk

Keywords

THE PECULIARITIES OF THE METAPHORICAL WORLDVIEW OF BYRON’S POETRY AND ITS UKRAINIAN TRANSLATIONS

The paper deals with the cognitive nature of metaphor and the modes of its elaboration in Byron’s poetry and its Ukrainian translations. It is important to distinguish the way we conceive metaphorically from the way a po...

INOZEMNA PHILOLOGIA. JOURNAL OPEN JOURNAL SYSTEMS Journal Help USER Username Password Remember me NOTIFICATIONS View Subscribe LANGUAGE Select Language JOURNAL CONTENT Search Search Scope Browse By Issue By Author By Title Other Journals FONT SIZE Make font size smallerMake font size defaultMake font size larger INFORMATION For Readers For Authors For Librarians HOME ABOUT LOGIN REGISTER S

The article provides the analysis of intertextual nature of Edgar’s speech from W. Shakespeare’s tragedy “King Lear”. Peculiarities of reproduction of allusions to the Bible, works of other authors and folklore which are...

EP ID EP468089
DOI 10.30970/fpl.2018.131.2143
Views 96
Downloads 0