As humans, we are a peculiar species with self-consciousness and an unconscious which, borrowing from Heidegger, is anxiously aware of its own mortality and is constantly in a state of “Being-Towards-Death.” Klara and the Sun (2021), the eighth novel of Kazuo Ishiguro, explores this phenomenon through the eyes of an artificially intelligent non-human in a near future setting. The purpose of this study is to investigate the themes related to mortality and the meaning of life. I propose that Klara tries to construct a “meaning” and fulfil a “purpose” by projecting personal opinions onto the world. It allegorically shows the construction of meaning and reality by people, while satirising it as irrational. I use a non-systematic form of reception theory based on a close reading of the novel. The method is extensively influenced by phenomenology, mostly drawing on Iser and Ricoeur; through this eclectic method I address life, death, faith and meaning-construction, as phenomena in Klara and the Sun. I conclude the novel introduces acceptance or projective meaning-creation as the answer to mortality. This psychological defence mechanism manifests as faith, specifically spiritual or religious faith. I also mention the role of memory as the thread that connects these three pieces, namely mortality, the meaning of life, and the role of faith, together. Finally, I suggest that the narrator might be unreliable, and this makes multiple interpretations possible. Based on the level of reliability the reader gives the narrator, different conclusions about the three aforementioned themes can be achieved.

Authors:
Sohrab Mosahebi, University of Western Ontario, Canada

About the Presenter(s)
Sohrāb Mosāhebi is a PhD candidate in Comparative Literature at the University of Western Ontario, working on neocolonialism. His current project is about poetic aesthetics of the Middle Eastern classic works as part of the world literature.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sohrab-mosaheb/

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