A Journey of Self-Discovery: Travel and Identity in Never Let Me Go

Abstract

This paper analyzes the complex relationship between travel and identity in Kazuo Ishiguro's novel Never Let Me Go. Through the travel experiences of the clones Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy, the novel depicts their exploration and cognition of self-identity across different spaces. Travel is not merely physical movement but a dynamic process of identity formation. Ishiguro subverts the traditional notion that "travel equals freedom" through travel narratives, framing travel as a journey toward destiny. He reveals the tragic fate of clones under social discipline, as well as the fluidity, fragility, and fatalism in their search for identity. Far from bringing liberation, physical movement becomes a medium through which clones gradually recognize their instrumentalized fate. Ishiguro thus deconstructs the romanticized imagination of travel narratives, transforming travel into a controlled mechanism of identity discipline and exposing the vulnerability and passivity of individuals within established social structures. Through its layered descriptions of travel scenarios, the novel not only questions the autonomy of identity—whether identity stems from self-construction or social attribution—but also, within a dystopian framework, engages in profound reflections on humanity, memory, and ethical dilemmas, demonstrating its unique critical value in contemporary literature.