One Territory, Two Worlds

This paper analyzes Kazuo Ishiguro’s When We Were Orphans is a literary work that critiques and examines colonial structures and their consequences: Ishiguro criticizes the colonization of Shanghai by showing the inherent power imbalance between the native population and the colonizers, the chaos and lawlessness outside of the Settlement as opposed to within, and the general understanding of Shanghai and the Settlement held by characters from Britain. As a work of historical fiction, the novel serves to explore a particular society at a particular point in time, and therefore, must be analyzed with close consideration to the historical period and context in which the novel is set. At the same time, this paper concludes, Ishiguro’s observations and critiques are highly relevant in today’s society.