Journal of Southwest Petroleum University(Social Sciences Edition) ›› 2022, Vol. 24 ›› Issue (4): 104-112.DOI: 10.11885/j.issn.1674-5094.2021.10.13.04

• THEORETICAL EXPLORATION • Previous Articles     Next Articles

The Outlook on Justice and Shared Interests in Kazuo Ishiguro's Novels

WANG Juan   

  1. School of Foreign Languages, Anhui Xinhua University, Hefei Anhui, 230088, China
  • Received:2021-10-13 Published:2022-07-04

Abstract: The argument between justice and interests is not only the rational clue to unravel the myth of human nature in Kazuo Ishiguro's novels, but also the implicit philosophy in his literary interpretation. The common theme in When We Were Orphans, The Remains of the Day, and An Artist of the Floating World is permeated with the writer's rational observation and elaboration of his stance on the logical interaction between profits and morality. Behind the mystery of the orphan Banks' unknown parentage,the professional plight of the butler Stevens,and the anxiety of the painter Ono's selecting a worthy husband for his daughter, there are not merely the rhetorical insinuations of moral crisis and ethical dislocation such as the exploitation for huge profits,self-denying devotion to masters,and fishing for fame and gain,but also the moral warning by Kazuo Ishiguro against the absence of justice, the imbalance between love and duty, and the game between morality and justice in the colonial context. The analysis reveals that Ishiguro's outlook on justice and shared interests originates from his sense of compassion and follows contract spirit and finally amounts to national interests, and his writing is characteristic of a dynamic interaction between cultures.

Key words: Kazuo Ishiguro, the outlook on justice and shared interests, economic ethics, the integration of justice and interests, morality

CLC Number: