For the highest marks in the exam, you need to show an excellent understanding of the relationship between the novel and the context in which it was written.

To show that you are writing about ideas in the novel in relation to context, you might use sentences such as:

Ishiguro presents the theme of ... to explore the ethical issues around the medical and biological developments that were happening at the time he was writing.

Ishiguro employs the genre conventions of realism and of dystopia in his writing to highlight ...

The theme of ... is presented by Ishiguro who had the intention of exploring the idea of the human condition.

For each theme explored, think:

How is the theme presented effectively to show us something about what was happening at the time Ishiguro was writing?

What were Ishiguro's intentions in writing the novel and what impact does this have on his reader?

Remember that you also need to closely analyse the techniques that Ishiguro uses to present these themes.

Now have a go at the following activity which will help you evaluate the effectiveness of the themes in the novel.

You should always refer to your own text when working through these examples.  These quotations are for reference only.