An Imagological Reading of Kazuo Ishiguro’s When We Were Orphans

Abstract

This paper focuses on the analysis of Kazuo Ishiguro’s When We Were Orphans from an imagological point of view. The storyline follows the life of a prominent British detective in his endeavour to solve the mystery of his parents’ disappearances from their family home in Hong Kong. The images projected by the narrative reflect the centre of the empire in transition, with an accent on the reversal of the classical standpoints of characters, and a colony struggling to cope with the horrors of war as well as a change in vassality.