Pregledni rad
Illusion and Reality: The Unreliability of Narration in Ishiguro’s Novels An Artist of the Floating World and The Remains of the Day
Dijana Mirković
; Univerzitet Crne Gore
Sažetak
The concept of unreliable narration has long occupied a central place in narratological theory, attracting sustained scholarly attention over the past several decades. This study examines narrative unreliability in Kazuo Ishiguro’s novels An Artist of the Floating World and The Remains of the Day through the lens of contemporary narratological approaches. Drawing primarily on the theoretical frameworks of Gérard Genette, James Phelan, Ansgar Nünning, Monika Fludernik, and Mieke Bal, the paper analyzes the narrative strategies through which Ishiguro constructs Masuji Ono and Stevens as unreliable narrators. Their accounts are characterized by omissions, inconsistencies, selective presentation of events, reflections on the act of remembering, rationalizations, and various forms of self-deception that undermine the credibility of their narratives. Both protagonists retrospectively reconstruct the past in an effort to justify earlier decisions and preserve a coherent sense of personal identity. Particular attention is devoted to the ways in which selective memory and ethical self-censorship shape their understanding of the past and influence readers' interpretations. The analysis demonstrates that Ishiguro employs unreliable narration to explore the complex relationship between memory, identity, and moral responsibility, with narrative meaning emerging from the tension between what is revealed and what remains unspoken. The study ultimately argues that narrative unreliability functions not merely as a narratological device but as a fundamental mechanism in the construction of literary meaning
Ključne riječi
unreliable narration; Kazuo Ishiguro; An Artist of the Floating World; The Remains of the Day; narratology; memory; ethical self-censorship
Hrčak ID:
349663
URI
Datum izdavanja:
23.7.2026.
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