Content Details | NUML Online Research Repository

Title Negotiating Destructive Plasticity: A Study of Ontological Metamorphosis in Ishiguro’s Fiction

Author(s) Saima Anwar

Abstract This study explores destructive plasticity in the selected fiction of Kazuo Ishiguro. Destructive plasticity designates a becoming without telos e.g., a change without a definite goal in view; it sets in motion an ontological metamorphosis driven by a sense of arbitrariness which is also the hallmark of traumatic experiences. The destructive plasticity results in a person's partial or complete memory loss and may even create an indifference to all pleasures and shocks. The metamorphic potential of traumatic experiences not only affects a person psychologically but may even modify the physical make-up of their brain. Catherine Malabou’s theory of plasticity as described in her book The Ontology of the Accident: An Essay on Destructive Plasticity has been taken as a framework to analyse the three texts of Kazuo Ishiguro namely The Unconsoled, The Buried Giant and A Pale View of Hills. This research analyses how the trauma-stricken characters in the selected texts of Ishiguro negotiate the destructive plasticity. The study brings behavioral neuroscience, trauma studies, and phenomenology together on the platform of literature (Ishiguro’s fiction) to elaborate that literature and physical science are not epistemological opposites. In cases of significant brain damage, such as severe traumatic brain injury or advanced neurodegenerative diseases, the ability to fully regain one's previous sense of self may be limited. In such instances, the solution to the impacts of loss of selfhood may require a combination of medical interventions, rehabilitation therapies, and external support systems. However, it is important to note that the human brain does possess a degree of plasticity, allowing it to reorganize and compensate for certain types of damage. This neuroplasticity can facilitate some level of recovery and adaptation, leading to improvements in cognitive functions, emotional well-being, and overall quality of life. The present study contends that Ishiguro’s fiction is alive to the native potential of the brain to emerge out of the trauma through destructive plasticity. The study investigates, character development, narrative flow and the thematic of memory loss to trace the patterns of destructive plasticity in Ishiguro’s fiction.

Type Thesis/Dissertation PhD

Faculty Languages

Department English

Language English

Publication Date 2024-01-11

Subject PhD English Literature

Publisher Department of English (GS)

Contributor(s) Prof. Dr. Muhammad Safeer Awan

Format As per departmental guidelines

Identifier Dr. Muhammad Haseeb Nasir (PhD English Program Coordinator)

Source PhD

Relation PhD

Coverage PhD

Rights PhD

Category PhD English Literature Thesis

Description NEGOTIATING DESTRUCTIVE PLASTICITY: A STUDY OF ONTOLOGICAL METAMORPHOSIS IN ISHIGURO’S FICTION