Individuals Oppressed by Society: Rupert Thomson's "Divided Kingdom," Kazuo Ishiguro's "Never Let Me Go," and Jasper Fforde's "Shades Of Grey."

Abstract

Dystopian fiction is a genre which critically portrays an oppressive society with its mostly totalitarian governmental system. This dissertation analyses Rupert Thomson's Divided Kingdom (2005), Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go (2005), and Jasper Fforde's Shades of Grey (2010) as examples of contemporary British dystopian fiction. In this sense, this study is an attempt to analyse and discuss how these three contemporary novels present both a similar picture to their precursors and also a different one from them. This dissertation aims to analyse how these three novels focus on the dilemma of the individual's blindness and awareness in the oppressive society in the light of utopian studies and cultural theories. These novels propose that the awareness of the individual will raise some questionsin his/her mind. Although the choice to be submissive or subversive is left to the individuals, no opportunity or possibility for an escape and an alternative life is offered in the novels.