A PROPOSAL

PROBLEMS AND CONSEQUENCES OF OTHERNESS AS REFLECTED

1. Background of Study

Literature is an imaginative works that shows human’s life experiences in

several aspects, from economy, politics to social and cultures. Klarer once said

that :

Literature is referred to as the entirety of written expression, with the

restriction that not every written document can be categorized as literature

in the more exact sense of the word (1).

Literature produces some literary works as a research object or simply as a

collection such as prose (novel and short story), poetry and drama. In this

proposal, the writer would like to focus on the novel.

Novel is “a narrative forms with considerable length and a certain

complexity that written imaginatively based on human experiences”

(https://www.britannica.com/art/novel). As part of literary works, novel portrays

the issue that humans deal with. The readers can take the moral lesson from it and

it affects to the readers on how it creates new perspective toward certain things

also increase reader’s knowledge.

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 Talking about novel, the writer is interested to analyze a dystopian

science-fiction novel entitled Never Let Me Go that published in 2005 written by

Kazuo Ishiguro. According to Famousauthors.org, Kazuo Ishiguro is a Japanese-

British author who was born in Nagasaki, Japan in November 8th, 1954. He and

his family emigrated to England in 1960. In 1974 he began to study at the

University of Kent. In 1978 he graduated with his bachelor degree in English and

Philosophy. After a year graduated from the University of Kent, he began to

pursue his master degree at the University of East Anglia and gained master of

arts in 1980. His thesis became his first novel entitled A Pale View of Hills that

published in 1982. After first novel, he wrote some novels and most of them get

recognition widely such as The Remains of The Day (1989), The Unconsoled

(1995), When We Were Orphans (2000), Never Let Me Go (2005), and The

Buried Giant (2015). From his works, he achieved several awards like Winifred

Holtby Memorial Prize for A Pale View of Hills, Booker Prize for The Remains

of The Day, Order of British Empire in 1995, and Nobel Prize for Literature in

2017.

Never Let Me Go tells about Kathy, Tommy, Ruth and other students who

learn in a boarding school named as Hailsham. At first, there is no bizarre things

in Hailsham until one day a guardian (teacher), Miss Lucy tells that when the

students become adults, they start to donate their vital organs until it is completed.

She also suggests to the students to find who and what the students are and look at

their ‘souls’. Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth are confused what Miss Lucy means. Time

is changing and they become adults, all the things shows its complexity. The

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relationship between Kathy and Tommy are closer although at first they have

experienced some boundaries because of Ruth’s appearance.

Eventually Kathy H decides to be a carer and take care of Ruth who is an

organ donor. After Ruth has completed her donations, Kathy and Tommy are

struggling to get to live an ordinary life and want to get deferral for about 3 or 4

years before they start to donor their organs. To get deferral, some students must

prove they are a couple and fell in love for each other. As the proof, the students

should bring some art works to be shown to Madame (the art collector) and Miss

Emily (the headmistress of Hailsham).

They go to Madame’s house and shockingly find Miss Emily with the

wheelchair. Kathy and Tommy ask for deferral, but unfortunately Miss Emily

says there is no such thing as deferral, it never exists and only a rumor. Then, both

of them ask what their art works for and Miss Emily answers to prove them

(society) that Kathy and Tommy have souls. Kathy wonders why they both should

prove they have souls. Miss Emily simply responds because they are clones, a

human-modeled or being copied from the originals (humans).

From these two characters, Kathy H and Tommy D, the writer assumes

that they experienced some events called otherness. They experienced the

otherness events because they are clones and they are not born naturally like

humans, but by genetically modifies, thus humans considered them as ‘the other’

and treat them differently because of their backgrounds. One of different

treatments that Kathy H, Tommy D and other clones get is they live in isolated

life with limited physical contact to outside world.

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 Based on Othersociologist.com, otherness is a central idea or a concept of

sociological analysis on how majority and minority groups are constructed. This

construction happens because some groups is controlled by the group that have

higher power such as greater political status, economics, and socio-cultural power.

It creates problems on how these minor groups are treated differently and

experienced some injustices in daily life like freedom to live or the equal

treatments to get the same opportunity in any fields.

Additionally, according to Zygmunt Bauman, a Jewish-Polish sociologist

in the article entitled “Zygmunt Bauman: Order, Strangerhood and Freedom” by

Vince Marotta that published in 2002, otherness also creates phenomenon called

strangerhood :

Bauman’s discussion of strangerhood demonstrates the relational or

intersubjective conception of identity, where the Self’s identity is constituted

through its opposition to the Other, that is, where identity is subject to a

differential logic of opposition in order to establish difference (42).

After reading the novel, the writer is interested in taking otherness as the

topic to be analyzed in this thesis. The writer wants to show that this novel does

not only talk about love and friendship. More than that, it also talks about

otherness and what it feels like to be considered as the other. Never Let Me Go

also portrays that in post-colonial era (after slavery and colonialization), this

treatment is still exists in society, and Kazuo Ishiguro seemingly use the analogy

of clones as minority like LGBT community, African-American, Hispanic

Indigenous people etc.

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 There is similar studies from previous researcher entitled “The Island of

Misfit: Othering, Exclusion and Discrimination in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me

Go” by Matava Vichiensing from Thammasat University, Thailand. What makes

this research different from previous research is previous researcher explains

about the othering, exclusion and discrimination through linguistic features with

limited focused on analyzing the central characters, Kathy H and Tommy D. On

the other hand, the writer will specifically focuses on problems and consequences

of otherness through perspectives of Kathy H and Tommy D as the central

characters to get more understanding what it is like to experience otherness. In

analyzing topic the writer use post-colonialism theory since otherness is the main

concept in post-colonialism theoretical approach.

This novel is recommended to be read for those who likes story about

love, friendship and humanity. However, some of the readers might be not attempt

to know about otherness referred by two central characters in the novel.

Therefore, the writer is interested to writing a thesis entitled “Problems and

Consequences of Otherness as Reflected Through Kathy H and Tommy D in

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro”.

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2. Problem Statements

This research will analyze the otherness as reflected through the characters

of Kathy H and Tommy D. The writer formulates problem statements in

this research, as follows:

1. What are the problems of otherness as reflected by Kathy H and Tommy

D in Never Let Me Go?

2. What are the consequences of otherness as reflected by Kathy H and

Tommy D in Never Let Me Go?

3. Objectives of the Study

Based on the statement of problem, the objectives of this research are as

follows

1. To find out the problems of otherness as reflected by Kathy H and

Tommy D Never Let Me Go

2. To find out the consequences of otherness as reflected by Kathy H and

Tommy D in Never Let Me Go

4. Scope of the Study

In this research, the writer focuses on the problems of otherness as

reflected by Kathy H and Tommy D in Never Let Me Go and the

consequences of otherness as reflected by Kathy H and Tommy D in

Never Let Me Go

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5. Significance of the Study

This thesis has significances for the writer and the readers. For the

writer, it helps her to get knowledge about otherness and its problems also

consequences as reflected through Kathy H and Tommy D in Never Let

Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro.

For the readers, it helps them to get information about the

otherness and the novel. It also gives a reference for those who want to

conduct similar research. The writer also hopes that the readers will know

more about post-colonial theory and can apply it in their researches.

6. Theoretical Approach

The otherness phenomenon that happened in Kazuo Ishiguro’s

Never Let Me Go through the characters of Kathy H and Tommy D is one

of main concept in post-colonial theoretical approach or post-colonialism.

According to Ashcroft, Griffiths, Tiffin in the book Post-Colonial Studies:

The Key Concept Second Edition says:

Post-colonialism deals with the effects of colonization on cultures

and societies. As originally used by historians after the Second

World War in terms such as the post-colonial state, ‘post-colonial’

had a clearly chronological meaning, designating the post-

independence period. However, from the late 1970s the term has

been used by literary critics to discuss various cultural effects of

colonization. (168)

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 Another book that explains about the otherness is Orientalism by

Edward Said, a Palestinian-American professor of Literature at Columbia

University published in 1978. In his book as quoted in an article entitled

“The Postcolonial Theory and The Literature of Decolonization” by Lutfi

Hamadi, Phd from Lebanese International University, Lebanon says that

Said believes post-colonialism is based on erroneous portrayal about the

East, later he called as the Orient which has been created by Western

novelists, poets, explorers and political figures. In the portrayal, Said

explicates the Orient is portrayed as uncivilized and primitive. On the

contrary, the West is civilized and advanced. As consequence, this gives

impact to the creation of otherness that experienced by the Orient or also

called as ‘the Other’ as uncivilized, primitive and inferior.

Furthermore, to support the analysis, the writer will use the book,

Orientalism by Edward Said as the main source. The application of this

theory to the novel is by equating several problems and consequences that

happen after colonialism with problems and consequences that happen in

the novel.

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7 Method of Research

The analyze the topic above, the writer conducts a library research. In

collecting the data the writer uses two data; primary and secondary. The primary

data are collected from the novel of Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. She

begins to read the novel as the primary source to analyze the research. Then, she

finds the topic to be discussed in the research, problem statements and evidences

to be answered. After the writer collects the secondary data from several sources

such as online journals, e-books, articles etc. The writer also sets the scope of

study to limit the discussion and applies post-colonial theory by Edward Said

because the theory is related to the topic of analysis.

1.8 Thesis Organization

The thesis is consists of four chapters. Chapter one is introduction

divides into eight parts; background of study, problem statements,

objective of study, scope of study, significance of study, theoretical

approach, method of research, and thesis organization.

Chapter two is literary review. In this chapter, the writer explains

about Post-colonial theory and how does Post-colonialism relates to

Otherness. The writer also explains Otherness and the factors that cause

Otherness.

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 Chapter three is analysis. The writer explains about the characters

of Kathy H and Tommy D also explains about the research using post-

colonial theory to describe the problems and consequences of Otherness as

reflected through Kathy H and Tommy D in the novel of Never Let Me Go

by Kazuo Ishiguro.

Chapter four is conclusion of the analysis.

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