Unreliable Memory and Fragmented Identity In Kazuo Ishiguro’s Fiction

Abstract

Kazuo Ishiguro’s fiction presents memory as an unstable and subjective process that plays a decisive role in shaping personal identity. His narrators rely heavily on recollection to construct coherent narratives of the self, yet these memories are selective, emotionally filtered, and often unreliable. This paper examines how unreliable memory contributes to fragmented identity in Ishiguro’s novels, with special reference to The Remains of the Day, Never Let Me Go, and When We Were Orphans. It argues that Ishiguro employs memory not merely as a narrative device but as a psychological and ethical mechanism through which characters evade guilt, repress trauma, and sustain fragile identities. Through restrained narration and fragmented structure, Ishiguro reveals the instability of selfhood and the moral consequences of self-deception.