Investigation of Panoptical Surveillance in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go

Abstract

This study is designed to explore Panoptical Surveillance in Never Let Me Go (2005) by the most proficient British author Kazuo Ishiguro. The term panopticon denotes a modification of behavior through the experimental laboratory of power, and French philosopher Michel Foucault beheld the panopticon as a mark of the social order of surveillance. Ishiguro builds a panoptic state of surveillance, transmuting an otherwise non-urban space into a pseudo-cityscape. In the story related to clones; Never Let Me Go, clones are created and sustained with the idea that they will one day substitute organs to humans. The clones are kept and raised in an educational boarding school, like Hailsham, residing there. they never completely learn about their structure and the purpose of existence. The aim of this research is to unveil the life of clones within the panoptic environment where students are constantly been observed with the physical place around them. The results show power relation with panopticon society of Hailsham in the novel, a number of factors are involved for Hailsham and recovery center being the greatest cradle of power, for some time period the human clones are the objects that are portrayed as the most defenseless bodies. The significance of this research is close observation of clone people. Significance lies in unmasking nature of latest scientific invention for betterment of society, another mask of power and domination through surveillance technologies. In this novel, panopticon is Hailsham and surveillance on students of Hailsham. This piece of writing is of qualitative in nature. MLA 2008 format is used in this research.