Klara and the Sun: Character Quotations (Edexcel IGCSE English Literature): Revision Note

“strong again”

The sun is effectively a life source, offering energy and rejuvenation when required

Hope

• The voice of Boy AF Rex to Klara has a paternalistic tone, emphasising this moment as a formative experience for Klara

• This early experience establishes Klara’s attitude to the sun:

  • She understands that the sun literally “nourishes” solar-powered AFs, but also believes in the ability of the sun as a life force for humans

  • It is this belief that becomes a central feature of the novel, motivating Klara’s actions and conviction that Josie will recover from her illness

• The “Sun’s pattern” becomes Klara primacy source of hope and comfort throughout the novel:

  • Whenever Klara faces anxiety or needs strength, Ishiguro deliberately places her within these patterns

“happy” and “upset”

Klara observes a human interaction on the street, noting how the people exhibit contrasting emotions

Human nature

• Klara makes these comments having seen two people she calls Coffee Cup Lady and Raincoat Man coming together in an embrace on the street:

  • To the reader, it is clear that the couple are previously known to each other and are reunited

• Klara observes their contrasting emotions, a stark juxtaposition between “happy” and “upset”

• This observation of human nature captures the complexity of human emotions and relationships, but at this point such duality is deemed “strange” by Klara:

  • At times like this, Manager acts as Klara’s guide to the “human heart”, saying “sometimes, at special moments like that, people feel a pain alongside their happiness"

“fear into my mind”

Klara describes her feelings when she sees the bull at Morgan’s Falls

Human nature

• Klara is appalled at the vision of the bull, a symbolic creature representing darkness, evil and corruption:

  • These characteristics represent the worst aspects of human nature.

  • Seeing the bull coincides with Chrissie asking Klara to pretend to be Josie, foreshadowing the moment Klara is asked to literally “continue” Josie

• Shortly after, Klara sees a flock of sheep in a field, with her narration describing the animals as being “filled with kindness”, contrasting with the bull and again reflecting the duality of human nature

“Then let’s try.”

Klara decides to give up some of her P-E-G Nine solution in order to sabotage the Cootings Machine

Love

• Despite being warned by Paul about the risks of giving up the solution, without hesitation Klara decides to act:

  • The simplicity of the language highlights her determination and single-mindedness

  • The use of the word “try” feels very human, with Klara putting faith and hope in doing what she senses is the right thing

• Ultimately, Klara’s sacrificial actions are driven by love and loyalty to Josie

• Her actions are also laced with dramatic irony, for the reader — unlike Klara — recognises that there will be numerous Cootings Machines in the city, making this gesture futile:

  • The futility, however, only serves to emphasise the depth of loyalty Klara feels for her owner

“I don’t want any other”

Hoping to persuade her mother to buy Klara, Josie explains her feelings

Love

• The simplistic language used by Josie mirrors the style of Klara’s words when she decides to part with some of her P-E-G Nine solution:

  • The simplicity of the language underlines the simplicity of Josie’s own decision-making: for her, Klara is uniquely “the one”

  • Josie chooses Klara despite her being a less advanced model in comparison to the B3s on sale in the store

• Josie’s absolute insistence on buying Klara in this quote is the fulfilment of the promise Klara made to not be sold

“ability to ‘change’”

Klara comments on how Josie’s behaviour was different at the interaction meeting

Human nature

• Klara witnesses how Josie modifies her behaviour at the interaction meeting when surrounded by similarly ‘lifted’ young people

• At this point, Klara sees this “change” as an “ability”, suggesting a conscious ploy or skill

• However, Josie is actually being presented as a symbol of capricious human behaviour, for her “change” is instinctive and motivated by external factors

• Klara is using Josie to understand the nuances and unpredictability of human nature

“animal”

In their first interaction in the novel, Paul greets his daughter with a frequently-repeated nickname

Human nature

• Josie’s nickname, “animal”, symbolises her simple, instinctive humanity

• Paul’s use of this name highlights his recognition of Josie’s humanity, contrasting with Chrissie who has come to terms with the idea that Josie could be replaced by an AF

• Paul’s recognition of this idea is all the more important, as his character rejects the nature of the social system that defines this dystopian world

“might once again meet”

Klara speculates how the reunion she once witnessed through the store window could be replicated by Josie and Rick

Love and hope

• Josie again serves the function of being a barometer for human nature, as observed by Klara

• The hope of a reunion is a romantic yet unlikely event but, in Klara’s eyes, so too was the meeting of Coffee Cup Lady and Raincoat Man

• The image suggests the long-lasting love of Josie and Rick, with the hope that they will one day fulfil the love that Rick assures Klara they once shared

“so much more to give”

Addressing Paul, Mr Capaldi states the potential of AFs

Human nature

• Henry Capaldi is initially presented as a friendly, welcoming man in his fifties, but this impression masks his darker intentions:

  • Under the pretense of drawing a “portrait”, he is actually copying Josie in order to turn her into an AF that Klara is earmarked to inhabit

• His words therefore carry a sinister, premeditated undertone

“keep faith”

Mr Capaldi attempts to alleviate Chrissie’s misgivings by encouraging her to progress the plan to potentially replace Josie with an AF

Hope

• Mr Capaldi offers a different version of hope, or “faith”, to Klara’s version at this point in the novel:

  • His version is based on “faith” in science and technological advancement as a way to solve problems and even preserve life

  • Klara’s version of “faith” is to be hopeful about the human spirit and to believe in the importance of doing the right thing

• With Josie better, Chrissie ultimately sides with Klara’s version of “faith” when she rejects Mr Capaldi’s request to experiment with Klara in Part Six:

  • She tells him clearly: “Leave our Klara be.”

  • This declaration of defiance and love for Klara demonstrates how Chrissie chooses love and loyalty over the unethical practices of Mr Capaldi’s ideas of science