Curated memories, constructed selves: memory, identity in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go and Lois Lowry’s The Giver

Abstract

The topic of memory studies has seen a significant increase in scholarly attention in recent years, particularly in the humanities, due to its ongoing expansion and disputed nature. Using two dystopian novels that illustrate the frailty of individuality under institutional control—Never Let Me Go (2005) by Kazuo Ishiguro and The Giver (1993) by Lois Lowry—this essay critically analyzes the relationship between memory and identity. Drawing from John Locke's memory theory of personal identity as well as current research on collective and cultural memory, the paper makes the case that memory serves as both the basis for selfhood and a site of resistance and institutional manipulation. Kathy’s disjointed memories of Hailsham in Never Let Me Go serve as an example of how memory shapes and limits one's sense of self, even as it is influenced by social structures. In contrast, The Giver depicts a society in which everyone's memory is purposefully wiped, making people uniform and submissive until Jonas's memory inheritance reawakens his moral agency and individuality. Using a comparative approach, the research shows that whereas memory strengthens individual and collective identity, its manipulation or absence weakens selfhood. While Jonas's revolt restores memory to his people, Kathy's narrative act protects her humanity. Both texts simultaneously portray memory as a method of resistance. The study comes to the conclusion that memory plays a crucial role in human dignity and freedom by serving as the foundation of identity as well as a tool for fending off systems that aim to eradicate individuality.