Confucian Ethics and Clone Narratives: Fate and Resistance in Never Let Me Go and Waste Tide

• 발행기관: 한국영미어문학회
• 저자명: Yenhi Yun
• 간행물 정보: 『영미어문학』제157호, 267~287쪽, 전체 21쪽
• 주제분류: 어문학 > 영어와문학
• 파일형태: PDF
• 발행일자: 2025.06.30

국문 초록

Challenging the dominant Western “free will vs fatalism” binary in clone ethics discourse, this paper employs a cross-cultural analysis of Never Let Me Go and Waste Tide. It argues that the clones' apparent acquiescence in Never Let Me Go transcends passive submission. Instead, it embodies a profound engagement with Eastern philosophies of fate—specifically the Japanese aesthetic of mono no aware and the Confucian view of fate. This acceptance constitutes a modern reinterpretation of reverent acknowledgment of destiny, forming a distinct ethical resource against technological violence. Conversely, Waste Tide's narrative of radical cyborg resistance exposes the traumatic rupture caused by technological colonization within traditional ethical frameworks like Confucian differential ethics. Utilizing close textual analysis and comparative methodology, the study demonstrates how both novels, through their contrasting strategies of poetic acceptance (Never Let Me Go) and violent rebellion (Waste Tide), activate the critical potential of Eastern philosophies to reconstruct Western paradigms of subjectivity and instrumental rationality. It further posits that Confucian differential ethics, when creatively transformed and expanded towards cross-species compassion, offers vital resources for navigating post-human ethical dilemmas and constructing inclusive technological ethics beyond anthropocentrism. This research broadens interpretations of clone narratives, enriches post-human discourse with non-Western perspectives, and reveals the critical relevance of Eastern thought in contemporary technological life politics.

목차

1. Introduction

2. The Poetic Construction of Passive Subjectivity in Never Let Me Go

3. The Cyborg Revolutionary Narrative in Waste Tide

4. Eastern Strategies for Navigating Technological Fate

5. Conclusion

Works Cited

키워드

클론 나를 보내지마 황조 유교운명관 모노노 아와레 Clones Never Let Me Go Waste Tide Confucian view of fate Mono no aware