10/12/2021

Compare and Contrast the way in which the writers use

different voices in their novels.

Ishiguro’s ‘Never Let Me Go’ (NLMG) and Shelly’s ‘Frankenstein’ both employ narrative voices to
increase sympathy for the creations, giving a critical and retrospective viewpoint on the suffering and
prejudice their society invokes. The contrast between the creatures’ sense of morality and the
creators’ inhumanity and egotism in both novels, juxtapose the idea of what it means to be human,
and give voice to the victims that otherwise wouldn’t be heard or understood.

Both authors give the narrative voices a sense of authenticity, in order to make the story more
plausible and impactful. In Frankenstein, Shelly uses an epistolary narrative, through Walton’s letters
to his ‘Dear Sister’, which establishes a sense of familiarity and ordinance in a Victorian audience as
it was a popular and recognized form of communication at the time. The outlandish plot of the
creature being crafted with corpses and references to galvanism in a time of physiognomy, would
have been seen as unbelievable, but these elements of common casual conversation evoke a sense
of familiarity and authenticity in the 19th century audience. Shelley also uses the framing device of
the letters to brace the reader of the seemingly implausible nature of the plot, ‘prepare them to hear
of occurrences which are usually deemed marvellous’. The word ‘prepare’ is used to condition the
readers to expect something implausible, and Walton’s awareness of the reader's potential disbelief
in what he’s about to say makes the audience feel understood and reassured in their doubts about
the reality of the story. ‘I have resolved to record as nearly as possible in [Victor’s] own words’ also
shows this sense of accuracy in Walton’s transcription of Victor’s story and his determination to write
it as precisely as possible makes the novel feel like a testament. As well as the factual account of
Walton’s experiences increasing credibility, the narrative being introduced to Walton’s sister
(Mrs.Saville) from her ‘affectionate brother’ shows a sense of genuineness, as he’s communicating
his feelings to someone he trusts. ‘I write a few lines [...] to say that I am safe’ establishes this sense
of authenticity through the human emotions of worry and uncertainty that Walton felt during these
extraordinary and unbelievable circumstances. This use of human emotion to create impact and
authenticity is not only seen through Walton but from the creature himself, from his ‘gentle manners’,
intelligence, and desire to do good despite living in a society that holds prejudice against him. The
creature having inherently more human characteristics than his creator and society, makes the
Victorian audience view him as less of a fantastical creation but more like everyone else, and a
human you would see in everyday life. With such an unconventional plot, the authentic experiences
of the characters and narrative form, make the unpredictable and unreliable narrative of the story
more plausible.

Similarly In NLMG, authenticity is used to create a more plausible and impactful narrative, but by
focusing on unreliable narrators, rather than the credible ones in Frankenstein. Kathy’s chatty and
diary-like first person narrative, initially addresses the audience with inclusive pronouns such as ‘we’
or ‘I’m sure you've heard plenty more’, and treats the readers as if they are a clone in Hailsham like
she is. This is also paired with very casual and idiomatic language such as ‘waste of space’, ‘hang
around’ or ‘snap out of it’ that give calm and friendly energy towards the readers and makes them feel
like they are being confided in. Using first person narration gives insight to the authenticity of Kathy’s
narration as she's showing very human thoughts such as memory loss or consciousness which in
turn causes the readers to relate and have understanding for Kathy. Small details of her
consciousness seen through her colloquial language such as ‘okay, maybe I am boasting now.’ and
her feelings of nostalgia and inability to accurately recall her past ‘or maybe I’m remembering it
wrong’, make it difficult for the readers to see the clones as anything other than the same as every
other human being. By making her reminiscing unreliable, it in turn makes the clones' voices more
authentic, and removes the readers' possible assumptions that the clones are solely robotic,
emotionless organ donors that the other people in society see them as. Similarly to Frankenstein, the
terror of the cloning and harvesting of the organ’s and isn’t introduced immediatley, and by giving the
readers the assumption that Kathy is human as well as building a friendship and rapport with her over
time, makes the revelation that shes going to be harvested for her organs more impactful. By the
readers being placed in her shoes as another clone, and seeing how truly human her inner thoughts
are, may not be a completely reliable account of the experiences at hailsham, but are authentic and
plausible in the way that just because she is a clone, doesn’t mean she doesnt show the same (and
possibly even more) humanity that the rest of the ‘real’ humans. Though done in different ways, by
using narrative voice to evoke plausibility and authenticity, both authors ensure that their didactic
message comes across in the most impactful way for the readers.

Furthermore, both authors give voice to their victims of science, that otherwise wouldn't be heard due
to the oppression they face from their societies. In Frankenstein the creature is ostracised purely on
his physical appearance, which Victor (his creator) describes as one that elicits "horror and disgust".
The creature continues to face visceral reactions and intolerance from everyone he meets throughout
the novel, and is never acknowledged for his internal feelings of goodness and humanity. Shelley
embedded an interesting ‘Russian Doll’ structure to her narrations, where perspectives are shifted
throughout the novel, while still staying in the first person of whoever is narrating. This means that
when the creature is narrating, despite the barbaric and monstrous depictions Victor and Walton give
throughout their perspective such as ‘hideously ugly’, we get to see the creature's internal thoughts
and true intentions without their bias. Shelley depicts the creature as a complex, intelligent, and
sympathetic figure, asking us to think about prejudice and empathy as we form our own opinions of
him. He has internal feelings of goodness and wanting to join the ‘gentle manners’ of the people
around him, and highlights how society can’t acknowledge that the monster's appearance might not
correspond to its emotional or intellectual state. Another instance where the creature shows human
voice is when he uses the knowledge he derived from Milton's 'paradise lost' and compares himself to
biblical characters saying "I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel”. Here, it draws
parallels both to Adam and Satan, further eliciting feelings of sympathy towards the Creature. The
Creature expresses how he believes that he should be treated by Victor how God treated Adam; God
sympathised with Adam's loneliness and created Eve, a parallel to Victor refusing to make a
companion for the creature to aid his feelings of isolation and recluse. There is also a stark contrast
between the ill treatment of Adam and the treatment of the Creature. Adam sealed his own fate as he
sinned for eating from the tree of knowledge but the creature on the other hand, has been punished
simply for his grotesque appearance; an aspect that the creature has no control over. We would not
have been able to experience the monster’s struggling and pain solely through Victor or Waltons
perspective, which is why the embedded narrative is so important for the creature's sympathy.

Similarly in Never Let Me Go, Kathy’s feelings of love and morality represents the deep manipulation,
and lack of acceptance shown towards the clones from Hailsham and the outside world. This is most
evidently seen through Kathy’s want for affection throughout the novel. She show’s inherimtly human
emotions of love and lust towards Tommy ‘I had to really hold myself back from giggling stupidly, or
jumping up and down on the pavement like a little kid”. This idea of her being excited and hopeful
shows that despite the naivety and deception that Hailsham is trying to cause her, and despite their
beliefs that the clones aren't anywhere near as deserving as the humans are, they still show human
emotions and a desire for love. This is highlighted especially, when Ishiguro has Kathy dance to
“Never Let Me Go”, as she holds and rocks her pillow as if it was a baby and knows its wrong for her
to feel that way, ‘I began to feel a new kind of alarm, because I could see there was something
strange about the situation’. Kathy understands that she will never have children because she’s a
clone destined to die for humanity’s benefit, yet she feels an innate desire to be alive, to want to be
human like the rest of the world. The first person perspective used by Ishiguro is also especially
Additionally, this also shows the intentions of harsh rules at Hailsham, through their discouragement
of human emotions and experiences especially intimacy, as all these strict rules would not have been
put in place if the people of hailsham believed that the clones are incapable of human emotions,
which mean that they are aware of, but choose to ignore their immoral and horrific actions of
murdering them for their own benefit.

In addition, the human-like actions of the creatures in both Frankenstein and NLMG in contrast with
their oppressive creators, highlight the prejudiced society they are in. The embedded narrative is not
only used to showcase the creature's internal feelings of humanity in Frankenstein, but is also used
to show Victor’s flawed perspective and qualities. By placing Victor first in the embedded narrative
before the creature, readers from a victorian audience would understand his feelings of repulsion and
fear due to the creature's physical appearance such as his ‘yellow eyes’ and ‘black lips’ because of
the heavy physiognomy that was practiced at this time. The violence and prejudice he encounters
convinces him of the "barbarity of man” and this idea of physiognomy is supported through the only
character who accepts the monster being a blind man, De Lacy, which suggests that the monster is
right: mankind is barbaric, and blinded by their own preconceived notions. The ‘monster’ in
Frankenstein is given the language and qualities of a gentleman, and although ostracized by society,
is very articulate and determined in his agency to try and make change. However this is used as
dramatic foil to highlight Victor’s disgust and lack of compassion towards the creature as he
continuously rejects and berates the creature using epithets such as ‘daemon’, ‘devil’ and ‘vile insect’.
Once we hear the creature's true feelings ‘all humankind sinned against me’ despite his attempts to
convey his benevolent intentions, the Victorian reader’s would reserve the judgements and
assumptions they might have had about the creature, and shift them to Victor, as the creature
presents himself to be more humane than the human himself. Shelly had done this on purpose, and
is used as a direct critique of the physiognomists of her time, and tries to show them the flaws in
judging a person's character or personality from their outer appearance.

Comparably, in NLMG, Kathy's human emotions stand in marked contrast to the self-centric society
that the humans have created, and is strongly demonstrated in the inhumane way Miss Emily talks to
the clones. As Kathy and Tommy beg to prolong their death sentence because they are in love, Miss
Emily's inability to listen ‘can't talk for long’ as ‘some men are coming to take away my bedside
cabinet’, shows her complete lack of sympathy and extreme disregard for the clones. This is
extremely ironic, as the clones are never viewed as more than being ‘donors’ but are the only ones
who show signs of care, love and affection unlike Miss Emily’s inhumane reaction to their desperate
attempts to stay alive. Kathy and Tommy just want to not be murdered so soon, but are still the ones
getting their lives taken despite being the ones more truly deserving of it. Like in Frankenstein, the
creatures are more humane than the human’s themselves and Miss Emily's selfish and
condescending reaction only emphasizes this powerful inversion, and highlights how the rest of their
twisted society thinks. Kathy mentions that ‘the guardians were really strict about smoking’, and
outlines the conversation that Miss Lucy has with the children, where she states how their health
matters more to them than it would for normal humans. The meaning behind this is something the
people of Hailsham have no second thought about ; their health is of priority, because their lungs and
vital organs are the ones being used for the betterment of society’s medical health. Such self serving
treatment and lack of empathy is so normalized and ingrained in society that no one questions the
morality of their actions, even if it means killing innocent clones.

In conclusion, both Ishiguro and Shelly set up their narrative techniques, in order for the readers to
fully understand and sympathize with the victim’s of their sciences, and in turn make the didactic
message for their intended audiences the more impactful.