Context and Setting in Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go

Context and setting are quite significant in the text “Never Let me Go.” According to Webster’s dictionary, the definition of context is “the whole situation, the background, or the environment relevant to a particular event, personality, creation” as well as “the parts of a sentence, paragraph, discourse, etc, immediately next to or surrounding a specified word or passage and determining its exact meaning.” According to Dr. Ezekiel Alembi “context is the social, economic and political environment under which a piece of literary work or art is written.” He goes on to say that context is important because it not only makes the reader, understand and appreciate the theme, but also understand and appreciate the style used. However,setting is what the writer wants us to see. Writers try to establish in the minds of their readers a sense of place and time. They use, ‘the power of the written word to make you hear, to make you feel – it is above all to make you see’ (Joseph Conrad). It is also used to refer to the mood and the atmosphere created by the author, and the culture and the shared values and beliefs of the characters. In “Never Let Me Go” Kazuo Ishiguro uses details to create a sense of setting, as well as the full effect of the story depends on the presentation of an increasing amount of descriptive details. In this book the setting plays an integral part in the story. Apart fom providing the reader with a sense of where and when the story takes place, the setting can also serve other purposes, such as contributing to the plot. The aim of this essay is to evaluate the importance of both context and setting in text, “Never Let Go” by Kazuo Ishiguro.
“ Never Let Me Go” by Kazuo Ishiguro was published in 2005. He was already one of the most renowned and acclaimed British writers. Never Let Me Go addresses some contemporary issues. This novel has science fiction qualities and a futuristic tone , thus takes place in a very similar yet alternate world.