The Lifted and The Unlifted: Genetic Enhancement as Posthuman Stratification in Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun

Abstract

  The study investigates how genetic enhancement, referred to as “lifting”, functions as a mechanism of posthuman stratification rather than human improvement in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun (2021), by integrating posthumanist theory and critical disability studies frameworks. The theoretical framework combines Rosi Braidotti’s and N. Katherine Hayles’ seminal works from posthuman literary criticism, and Tobin Siebers’, Rosemarie Garland-Thomson’, and Lennard Davis’ critical works from critical disability studies’ perspectives. The study employs qualitative descriptive approach, combining close textual analysis with theoretical interpretation, to explore how “lifting” as a genetic enhancement creates a new form of rigid social hierarchy between “lifted” and “unlifted” children. The study reveals that “lifting” functions as an instrument of stratification into which inequality is biologized and normalized. It hides serious possible risks and transforms parental love into cooperation with biotechnological capitalism. Furthermore, by competitive logic, pushes parents to put their kids to risky interventions, making enhancement a necessity rather than personal choice.