Prompt

Some literary texts, although set in a particular place or time, convey ideas that are universal.
In what ways is this true in two of the works you have studied?

Both Kazuo Ishiguro and Marjane Satrapi have portrayed subjugation in their respective novels. In
Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, the author uses listing as a stylistic device when Miss Lucy reveals the truth
to Hailsham students saying, “None of you will go to America, none of you will be film stars. And none of
you will be working in supermarkets as I heard some of you planning the other day.”. Ishiguro lists going
to America, being film stars and working in supermarkets to give the reader an idea of subjugation. The
list represents a probable choice of a path of life that the clones would have taken but the cloning
program has limited their life choices. The cloning program was established in the way that the clones
born will live for a short while for their organs to mature and they will die after about 3-4 organ
donations. This means that the lives of the clones were predestined, and they didn’t have control over
their own life. Ishiguro intended to show the universal idea of the higher class (The program
coordinators) having control over the lower class. The subjugation of clones was timeless because their
life choices were limited in all aspects such as their life at Hailsham, the cottages to even the dates of
their donations.

On the other hand, Marjane Satrapi has used graphic weighting to give a reader a clear picture of
oppression and subjugation. In the novel Satrapi creates detailed panels showing the sample of
photographs Marji’s father, Ebi as a photographer. In the panels there is a clear illustration of coercive
force used by the police to suppress demonstrations. In the panels, Satrapi intentionally shows multiple
of heavy firearms used on the people by the police. Limitation of freedom of demonstration and
expression is a universal feature of oppression. The author focuses the panel on the coercive forces
because it is a direct mechanism of subjugation. Like Never Let Me Go, Marjane Satrapi has shown how
the ruled class in the community lives and the mercy of the ruling class which controls every aspect of
their life. In contrast to Persepolis which uses a visual representation of themes and ideas , Kazuo
Ishiguro has used a written text technique to portray the same idea.