Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: Kazuo Ishiguro
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
The Nobel Prize in Literature is one of the most prestigious awards in the world, given annually to an author who has produced work of outstanding importance in the field of literature. Questions about Nobel laureates are very common in competitive exams, especially for general knowledge and current affairs sections. For the year 2017, it is important to remember which writer received this honour, as it helps candidates connect world literature with important global events.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
The approach here is to distinguish between laureates in different categories and different years. Kazuo Ishiguro is a British novelist known for works like The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go, and he was honoured in 2017 for his deeply emotional and finely crafted novels. Bob Dylan is a singer and songwriter who had already received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016, while Oliver Hart and Yoshinori Ohsumi are associated with Economics and Medicine respectively, not with literature in 2017. Recognising the category and year correctly allows us to select the right option confidently.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Focus on the year mentioned in the question, which is 2017, and on the category, which is Literature.
Step 2: Recall that Kazuo Ishiguro, a British novelist of Japanese origin, was announced as the Nobel laureate in Literature in 2017.
Step 3: Remember that Bob Dylan had already received the Literature Nobel the previous year, in 2016, so he cannot be the correct answer for 2017.
Step 4: Identify Oliver Hart as associated with the Nobel Prize in Economics, and Yoshinori Ohsumi as a laureate in Physiology or Medicine, not in literature.
Step 5: Conclude that only Kazuo Ishiguro matches the required category and year combination.
Verification / Alternative check:
To verify this answer, one can check the official Nobel Prize website or reliable yearbooks and exam reference guides. All of them list Kazuo Ishiguro as the 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. Additional confirmation comes from news articles and interviews released at that time, which widely discussed his novels and the reasons for his selection. This cross checking ensures that we are not confusing him with laureates from other years or categories.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Bob Dylan: He is indeed a Nobel laureate in Literature, but he received the prize in 2016, not in 2017, so the year does not match.
Oliver Hart: He is known for his work in contract theory and shared the Nobel Prize in Economics, not the literature prize, so he is not relevant to this question.
Yoshinori Ohsumi: He is a scientist who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on autophagy and is not connected to the literature award in 2017.
Common Pitfalls:
A common mistake is to see a famous name like Bob Dylan and quickly choose it without paying attention to the year, leading to confusion between 2016 and 2017. Another pitfall is mixing categories, where candidates remember names associated with any Nobel prize but forget whether it was for Economics, Medicine, or Literature. To avoid such confusion, always match three elements: the year, the category, and the person. This helps in answering Nobel Prize questions accurately in examinations.
Final Answer:
The 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature was conferred on the British novelist Kazuo Ishiguro for his powerful and emotionally resonant works of fiction.
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