42 pages • 1 hour read
Kazuo IshiguroThe Buried Giant
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2015A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
The Importance of Memory
The largest theme in the novel, the loss of memory caused by the mist, can also be argued to be the narrative’s main antagonist. It plays such a vital role in the novel, in fact, that this theme is divided into three major categories:
1. Memory as a vital component to love. With the loss of much their memory, Axl and Beatrice’s journey together becomes a necessary journey toward remembering the fullness of their love—both the good times and the bad times. Beatrice understands that it will be vital for them to be able to remember the fullness of their love if they are to be together through eternity on the boatman’s island. The novel, then, argues for the importance of memory in sustaining lasting bonds—without it, the world and relationships seemed doomed to incomprehensibility.
2. Memory loss as peacemaker. Gawain sustains Querig, and, thus, sustains the memory loss in the people of the land. His reasoning is that without memorythe people of Britain will not remember the past hurts suffered and will therefore have no reason to go war with one another. Gawainbelieves his quest, in this regard, to be a noble and true one, and it does seem to have been successful on a macro level. However, on a smaller scale, hatred, injustice and murder still occur, even if the people do not fully understand why they are doing and feeling what they do.This can be seen as a dystopian aspect of the text. It’s counterbalanced, however, by the kindnesses people bestow on one another as a way of mending past hurts.
3. Memory’s role for youth versus memory’s role for the aged. It’s hinted at, throughout the novel, that maybe there is no spell causing memory loss amongst the people—that memory is just not an important thing to sustain when you’re young, and only grows truly important with age. The characters in the novel who seem to have the best memories are the elderly, and they are the only ones who really try to recall events in their past. The subtext of this may be taken as memory being something that needs to be cultivated and taken care of or is otherwise lost.
Paganism and Christianity
Each of these religions has a major representative in the novel. Wistan represents, or argues for, at times, the ideals of his Saxon roots, which are pagan. Gawain, a knight of Arthur, staunchly defends the Christian religion and the Christian people, the Britons. The novel takes no definitive stance on the debate between them, but offers up that many of the Christian ideals, seen as civilized, result in actions that appear less civilized than their pagan counterparts. In this way, the novel does not raise Christianity above paganism but instead suggests that each is a mask worn by the people in the novel.
The Flawed Hero
Throughout the novel, characters are portrayed, initially, as exemplary heroes with noble intentions; however, this proves to not be the case. The noble and aged knight of Arthur, Sir Gawain, lies to Axl and Beatrice about who he is and what his intentions are toward the dragon. He struggles with the part of himself he realizes as villainous. Wistan’s motives, too, begin to appear less heroic and pettier as the novel progresses.
Death as Renewal
The novel asks all of its characters to come to terms with death in some way. It becomes vital that each character see their death as a kind of renewal. Gawain’s blood mingles with earth to renew the pit of the dragon. The dragon’s death brings about a renewal of memory. Beatrice’s suggested death allows Axl and Beatrice comfort and eternal life together.
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By Kazuo Ishiguro
