Starter quiz
- What does ambiguous mean?
- unsettling, worrying
- engaging and exciting
- having no obvious meaning ✓
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- Which of the following scenarios might be the most disconcerting for a character?
- going to the supermarket
- going on a rollercoaster
- waking up to world controlled by robots ✓
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- How can we define a dystopia?
- an imagined place with fairness and peace
- an imagined place where people live dehumanised lives ✓
- a futuristic place where humans are powerful
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- What is register?
- the mode of a piece of writing
- the perspective a text is written from
- the level of formality of a piece of writing ✓
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- Which of the below contains a euphemism for being ill?
- throwing up
- vomiting
- feeling under the weather ✓
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- Which of the below might reflect a dehumanised world?
- animals gain more rights
- humans control the weather
- humans lose the ability to feel sympathy ✓
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Exit quiz
- Which of the following describes Kathy's narrative style in Ishiguro's 'Never Let Me Go'?
- Kathy is transparent about all the details of her job.
- Kathy is ambiguous about the role she plays and the world she lives in. ✓
- Kathy is overly critical of authority figures.
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- What feelings does Kathy show in the opening of 'Never Let Me Go'?
- pride ✓
- hatred
- jealousy
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- What makes Kathy's world in 'Never Let Me Go' dehumanised?
- Kathy is a humanised robot (an 'artificial friend')
- Kathy is a ruthless tyrant
- Kathy is a clone, created to donate her organs ✓
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- What is one similarity between Klara of 'Klara and the Sun' and Kathy of 'Never Let Me Go'?
- they are both superior to humans
- they are both robots
- they both have a lack of agency ✓
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- What is one difference between Klara of 'Klara and the Sun' and Kathy of 'Never Let Me Go'?
- Klara seems naive to her world whereas Kathy seems aware. ✓
- Kathy seems prideful whereas Klara seems ashamed.
- Klara rebels against her leader whereas Kathy does not.
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- How are Kathy are Klara not typical dystopian narrators?
- they both usurp the role of a tyrannical leader
- neither voice is marginalised
- neither of them seem to rebel against their society ✓
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Worksheet
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Ambiguous novel openings can be disconcerting for the reader.
- Kathy's narrative voice is full of contradictions, which may also be disconcerting for the reader.
- The disconcerting voice of 'Never Let Me Go' may add to the dystopian feel.
- Kathy and Klara, two of Ishiguro's narrators, are perhaps not traditional dystopian voices.
- Kathy and Klara both reflect dehumanised worlds.
Common misconception
Dystopian voices have to fit the archetype (e.g. rebellious, overly critical) in order to be compelling.
Ishiguro subtly crafts his voices to allow the reader to reflect on their own world.
Keywords
Disconcerting - unsettling, worrying
Euphemism - a substitution of a mild word or phrase for one that may be considered unpleasant
Ambiguous - having no obvious meaning; unclear
Dehumanise - deprive someone of human qualities e.g. dignity
Compelling - if something is compelling, it makes you believe it because it is so strong
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