Flashcards for Klara and the Sun

Helen (Rick's Mother)

Helen is Rick's mother, a quietly tragic figure whose choices loom large over her son's future.

character

Josie

Josie is the teenage protagonist of Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun, but we see her story entirely through the eyes of her Artificial Friend, Klara.

character

Klara

Klara is an Artificial Friend (AF) — a solar-powered humanoid robot created to be a child's companion — and the first-person narrator of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel.

character

Melania (The Housekeeper)

Melania is the housekeeper in Josie's home, a minor yet atmospherically significant character in Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun.

character

Mr. Capaldi

Mr. Capaldi is a wealthy and intellectually sharp figure in Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun, acting as both an artist and an ideological provocateur.

character

Paul (Josie's Father)

Paul is Josie's biological father and Chrissie's estranged ex-husband, a figure who, while not central, carries thematic weight in Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun.

character

Rick

Rick is Josie's closest childhood friend and neighbor, a bright and quietly passionate teenager shaped by one significant injustice: his mother, Helen, decided against having him "lifted" — the genetic enhancement procedure that has become essential for gaining admission to elite colleges.

character

Rosa

Rosa is another Artificial Friend (AF) who shares a space with Klara at the beginning of the novel.

character

The Mother (Chrissie)

Chrissie, often called "the Mother," stands out as one of the novel's most morally intricate characters.

character

The Store Manager

The Store Manager plays a minor yet significant role in Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun, mainly appearing in the opening part of the novel set within the AF (Artificial Friend) store.

character

“There was something very special, but it wasn't inside Josie. It was inside those who loved her.”

This quietly heartbreaking line is spoken (or thought about) by Klara, the Artificial Friend and narrator of Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun (2021).

Klara

“Perhaps all humans are lonely. At least potentially.”

This quietly devastating observation is made by Klara, the protagonist and narrator of the novel — an Artificial Friend (AF) powered by solar energy — during a reflective moment as she observes and analyzes human behavior.

Klara (the narrator) · Part Two

“I kept wondering if it was possible that Josie's heart, once removed, would continue to feel things.”

This line is spoken (or thought about) by Klara, the Artificial Friend and narrator of Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun (2021).

Klara

“She was always very careful about what she let me see.”

This line is spoken by Klara, the narrator and main character of the novel — an Artificial Friend (AF) powered by solar energy — as she refers to Josie, the teenage girl she was bought to accompany.

Klara (the narrator)

“The Sun always has kindness in his heart for those who show him respect.”

This line is spoken by Klara, the Artificial Friend (AF) and narrator of Kazuo Ishiguro's 2021 novel Klara and the Sun.

Klara

“I'd been so absorbed in my own feelings, I hadn't noticed how much Josie had changed.”

This line is spoken by Klara, the narrator and main character of the novel—an Artificial Friend (AF) powered by solar energy—as she reflects on how attentive she has been, or hasn’t been, to Josie, the teenage girl she was bought to keep company.

Klara (narrator)

“I'm not sure I do have opinions. Not the way you mean. I notice things, make assessments. Whether that's the same as opinions, I honestly don't know.”

This line is spoken by Klara, the Artificial Friend (AF) and narrator of Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun (2021), during a conversation with Josie (or one of the humans exploring her inner life).

Klara

“You have to accept that sometimes that's how things are. The world simply doesn't bend to your wishes.”

This line is delivered by Josie's mother, referred to as the Mother (or Chrissie), to Klara, the Artificial Friend and narrator of Kazuo Ishiguro's 2021 novel Klara and the Sun.

The Mother (Chrissie)

“We didn't discuss it, but we both knew that the Sun's special nourishment would be crucial to Josie's recovery.”

This line is narrated by Klara, the Artificial Friend (AF) at the heart of Kazuo Ishiguro's 2021 novel Klara and the Sun.

Klara (the AF / narrator)

“I believe I have many feelings. The more I observe, the more feelings become available to me.”

This line is spoken by Klara, the Artificial Friend (AF) and narrator of Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun (2021).

Klara (the AF/narrator) · Part One

Josie's Portrait

In Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun, Josie's portrait represents the troubling human urge to defy death by turning a person into mere data.

Oblong Boxes (Machines)

In Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun, the oblong boxes—large machines visible from the store window and later in the outside world—reflect the dehumanizing impact of industrial modernity and the subtle loss of individuality.

The Barn

In Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun, the barn serves as a refuge, a place for genuine connection, and a quiet reminder of hope.

The Store Window

In Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun, the Store window symbolizes the line between acceptance and isolation—between a realm of possibilities and the confines of reality.

The Sun

In Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun, the Sun symbolizes life-giving grace, hope, and the boundaries of faith.

Irony

In Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun, the irony lies in the stark contrast between Klara's unwavering sincerity and the disturbing reality she exists in, which she does not fully grasp.

Foreshadowing

In Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun, foreshadowing unfolds through Klara's meticulous and patient observations—a narrative trait that subtly instills a sense of dread long before its cause is revealed.

Extended Metaphor

In Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun, the Sun serves as an extended metaphor that weaves through the entire novel.

Symbolism

In Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun, the Sun serves as the novel's primary and enduring symbol, acting as a source of energy, a deity, and an emotional anchor for the narrator.

Motif

In Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun, sunlight serves as a recurring motif that carries both literal and spiritual significance throughout the novel.

Anthropomorphism

In Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun, the use of anthropomorphism is deeply immersive: the narrator, Klara, is an Artificial Friend — a solar-powered robot — yet she experiences emotions like longing and sorrow with striking human depth.

Unreliable Narrator

In Klara and the Sun, Ishiguro structures the narrator's unreliability around her nature rather than moral concerns: Klara, an Artificial Friend, has sincere perceptions but is inherently limited.

Imagery

In Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun, imagery serves as the novel's main tool for illustrating an artificial mind's view of the world — and its distortions.

AF

Short for Artificial Friend, a humanoid robot designed to be a purchased companion for children and teenagers in the world of this novel.

noun · Chapter 1

oblongs

Rectangular sections or zones into which Klara mentally divides her visual field when she perceives and processes the world around her.

noun · Chapter 1

RPO

Abbreviation used in the novel for a Rank Priority Order, a social or institutional hierarchy that determines who receives preference or resources.

noun · Chapter 1

lifted

In this novel's world, describes a child who has undergone a genetic or cognitive enhancement procedure intended to boost intelligence and social prospects.

adjective · Chapter 1

post-coded

Refers to a social classification system in which a person's postcode or address determines their access to education, opportunity, and status.

adjective · Chapter 2

Cootings Machine

A diesel-powered construction machine that produces dark exhaust pollution, which Klara associates with blocking the Sun's nourishing light.

noun · Chapter 1

Sun's nourishment

The solar energy that Klara, as a solar-powered AF, depends on to function and which she regards with reverence as a life-giving force.

phrase · Chapter 1

interaction meetings

Arranged social gatherings where children meet and socialise with other children, often organised by parents as a substitute for conventional schooling.

noun · Chapter 2

substitution

The act of replacing a person — specifically, Klara being asked to study and replicate Josie so completely she could stand in for Josie if Josie died.

noun · Chapter 3

portrait

A painted likeness of Josie commissioned by the Mother, which carries deeper significance as part of the plan to preserve Josie's identity beyond death.

noun · Chapter 3

pollution

The dark exhaust fumes from machines like the Cootings Machine that Klara believes weaken the Sun and threaten the health of those around her.

noun · Chapter 1

store manager

The AF shop employee who oversees Klara and the other AFs on display, and who shows Klara a degree of understanding and favouritism.

noun · Chapter 1

B3

A designation for an older-generation model of Artificial Friend, considered less advanced than newer models such as the B2 or later series.

noun · Chapter 1

Josie's illness

A mysterious and worsening physical condition afflicting Josie, implied to be connected to the genetic lifting procedure she underwent.

phrase · Chapter 2

barn

A rural outbuilding on the farm property where Klara is eventually taken, which she visits and where key scenes of her devotion and sacrifice occur.

noun · Chapter 4

sacrifice

Klara's deliberate act of offering something of value — specifically fluid from her own system — to the Sun in exchange for Josie's recovery.

noun · Chapter 4

continuation

The idea of a person's identity or essence persisting beyond their physical death, central to the Mother's plan involving Klara as Josie's double.

noun · Chapter 3

junkyard

The place where obsolete or retired AFs are discarded and left to deteriorate, representing the fate that awaits Klara at the novel's end.

noun · Chapter 6

slow fade

The gradual loss of Klara's power and cognitive function as her solar energy diminishes and her components degrade over time.

phrase · Chapter 6

machine learning

The process by which Klara accumulates observations and updates her understanding of human behaviour, emotions, and the world around her.

noun · Chapter 1

Capaldi

The scientist or engineer who designed and built Klara, and who is consulted about whether an AF can truly capture and replicate a human being's inner self.

noun · Chapter 3

heart

Used in the novel not anatomically but to mean the irreducible inner essence or soul of a person, debated as something an AF can or cannot possess.

noun · Chapter 3

oblong boxes

The rectangular visual segments into which Klara's perception breaks down when she is overwhelmed or her processing is disrupted.

phrase · Chapter 2

second-hand

Describes an AF that has been previously owned and returned to the store, considered less desirable than a new, never-purchased model.

adjective · Chapter 1