Reading Guide Never Let Me Go
Reading Guide to
Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go
Vivianne Huber
Christine Häfliger
Johanna Oeschger
April 2011
1. Title, author, edition.
Kazuo Ishiguro: Never Let Me Go. London: faber and faber. 2005.
2. What are the goals of reading this work? Which means are going to be used to achieve them? (0.5)
Reading this novel, the Ss will develop their skills to analyze the narrative techniques of a longer piece of prose fiction, more precisely its particular use of the narrative voice, the construction of characters and character relationships, the setting and the structure of the plot. These elements will be discussed and reflected at various stages using a range of homework as well as classroom activities:
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Narrative voice: o Ss reflect on the unreliable narrator: “write your memoires” (phase 0) o Ss reflect on the narrator’s subjectivity and the difficulty of the perspective:
“fill in the bubbles” (phase 1)
-
Construction of characters: o Ss apprehend how the characters’ particular traits and their relationship to other characters are constructed: “fill in the bubbles” (phase 1), “character tableau” (phase 2), “character sculpting” (phase 4), “write a CV / job offering”
(phase 4), “write an epitaph” (phase 5), “press conference” (phase 6)
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Setting: o Ss identify the key locations of the setting and analyze their relevance for the narration: “draw the setting” (phase 1), “group challenge” (phase 2)
-
Structure of the plot: o Ss recognize anticipatory elements and further clues of the text and predict the continuing of the plot: “predict the plot” (phase 0) o Ss identify key moments of the plot: “draw setting” (phase 1), “group challenge” (phase 2), “summarize the summary” (phase 3), “role-play a key scene” (phase 5)
Reading Guide to Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go
1
o
Ss interpret the relevance of the key plot items: “press conference” (phase 6)
Moreover, the Ss identify and respond to the major themes of the novel during a range of activities. This will
Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go
Vivianne Huber
Christine Häfliger
Johanna Oeschger
April 2011
1. Title, author, edition.
Kazuo Ishiguro: Never Let Me Go. London: faber and faber. 2005.
2. What are the goals of reading this work? Which means are going to be used to achieve them? (0.5)
Reading this novel, the Ss will develop their skills to analyze the narrative techniques of a longer piece of prose fiction, more precisely its particular use of the narrative voice, the construction of characters and character relationships, the setting and the structure of the plot. These elements will be discussed and reflected at various stages using a range of homework as well as classroom activities:
-
Narrative voice: o Ss reflect on the unreliable narrator: “write your memoires” (phase 0) o Ss reflect on the narrator’s subjectivity and the difficulty of the perspective:
“fill in the bubbles” (phase 1)
-
Construction of characters: o Ss apprehend how the characters’ particular traits and their relationship to other characters are constructed: “fill in the bubbles” (phase 1), “character tableau” (phase 2), “character sculpting” (phase 4), “write a CV / job offering”
(phase 4), “write an epitaph” (phase 5), “press conference” (phase 6)
-
Setting: o Ss identify the key locations of the setting and analyze their relevance for the narration: “draw the setting” (phase 1), “group challenge” (phase 2)
-
Structure of the plot: o Ss recognize anticipatory elements and further clues of the text and predict the continuing of the plot: “predict the plot” (phase 0) o Ss identify key moments of the plot: “draw setting” (phase 1), “group challenge” (phase 2), “summarize the summary” (phase 3), “role-play a key scene” (phase 5)
Reading Guide to Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go
1
o
Ss interpret the relevance of the key plot items: “press conference” (phase 6)
Moreover, the Ss identify and respond to the major themes of the novel during a range of activities. This will