追問普通人的社會和政治責任,是石黑一雄小說創作的重要主題之一。在《遠山淡影》和《浮世畫家》中,作家從日常生活的層面考察了日本戰后社會的變化及走向:戰爭記憶成為人們小心回避的話題,與個人的慘痛經驗一起被壓抑在無意識的深處。美國化進程迅速清除了戰爭的廢墟,經濟復興延續并強化了日本自現代以來的西方優等生文化,使得日本未能以戰敗為契機反思其整個現代進程以及現代本身的內在問題。石黑一雄通過揭示日常生活、文化、藝術與政治之間的密切關系,思考了大眾尤其是知識分子自覺承擔戰后責任和正確行使政治職能的重要性。

One of the most important themes of Kazuo Ishiguro’s works is exploring the social and political responsibility of ordinary people. In A Pale View of Hills and An Artist of the Floating World, he examines the transformation and social trends of post-war Japan from the perspective of everyday life. The people choose to avoid talking about the memories of war which have been deeply buried inside the unconsciousness with personal painful experiences.In the process of Americanization, the ruins of war were cleared up rapidly, and economic regeneration extended and intensified the superiority of Japan as a top student of the West which has been rooted in Japan since modern time. Japanese people thus failed to reflect on the modern process of Japan as a whole and the inner problem of modernity. By discovering the intimate connection between everyday life, culture, art and politics, Kazuo Ishiguro encourages the general public especially the intellectuals to undertake their post-war responsibility consciously so as to perform their political function correctly.