Due by class time on Tuesday, November 13.
For your response to Never Let Me Go, I'm interested in what you think about any one of the issues the novel addresses. I'd like to hear what you think the novel is saying about that issue, how Ishiguro goes about saying it, and your personal response to what he's saying. Make sure you deal with the ending as you interpret how the novel deals with the issue you choose, and make sure you tell us what you think.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
18 comments:
Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel, Never Let Me Go, addresses several issues concerning today’s society. Ishiguro focuses on relationships, love and sex, and, more obviously, cloning. However, Ishiguro addresses another concept in a different way. The absence of free will in Never Let Me Go results in the topic becoming one of the primary matters that the characters must address. Furthermore, Ishiguro’s lack of free will for the clones in his novel provides an insight to his view of the human race. Ishiguro parallels his clones to society as a whole; a society that addresses free will in a similar manner to that of clones.
I find it interesting that the absence of free will in the novel makes the issue so prominent throughout Never Let Me Go. The main characters in the novel, Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy, as well as the minor characters, all accept their fate in an unquestioning manner. The students of Hailsham were told that their creativity and artwork were extremely important. The children spent the majority of their time in school creating art. However, none of the children ever questioned why the art was important. Furthermore, the students never understood why Madame would take some of their work; they put extra effort into creativity in hopes of having their work taken to “the Gallery,” which was not proven to exist.
The students of Hailsham also accept their fate. These children are told they will finish Hailsham, attend training, become a “carer”, become a donor, and then “complete”. Throughout the novel, the clones daydream about their futures. They hope for becoming secretaries and store clerks. They also hope for truth in rumors about postponing their lives. The clones, after Hailsham, live in the modern day world. They are able to take trips and make their own decisions. The clones also decide when to begin training. However, throughout the novel, the clones never alter from what they were taught they were to do in life. The students follow the paths created by Madame and Miss Emily and accept their fate, regardless of how unpleasant it appears. Furthermore, when Kathy and Tommy attempt to acquire a deferral and are rejected, the two students accept their disappointment and never try to fight. As a reader, I continuously hoped for an altered fate for the main characters. However, in the end, all of the students fail to stray from their taught fate and all face death with placid acceptance.
In my opinion, I believe that Ishiguro created a parallel between clones and modern day society. The author feels that the human race today generally follows a rather predictable path. We receive education, enter the job market, get married, and procreate. It is a general fate for the human race and can be described as repetitive. Ishiguro’s clones also follow a pre-determined fate in the same manner. Each individual in society can alter this fate, as could the clones; however, none of us actually follows through with the concept. Rather, just like the clones, we resemble sheep and follow the herd. I also feel that Ishiguro drew a parallel between Madame and Miss Emily and authority figures in society. Madame and Miss Emily planned the futures of the clones. They instructed the children to be creative, to become carers and donors, and to “complete”. The authority figures in the today’s world, rather it be parents, bosses, the government, etc., also tell us what to do and when to do it. We are instructed to remain in school for a minimum of eighteen years, to marry and have children, to respect elders, to pay taxes, etc. Again, just like the clones in the novel, we mindlessly follow.
In my opinion, I feel that Never Let Me Go creates a very real, but pathetic, portrait of the human race. I have become aware that we are no longer concerned with topics that continuously influence our lives. Similar to the Hailsham society, we no longer dare to differentiate from the norms that society has created. If we do, we will be reprimanded. (Ishiguro shows this when Hailsham students shunned peers who asked questions regarding unspoken topics). People fail to vote for the representative voice in politics, fail to speak out endlessly about topics such as war and terrorism, and fail to see that while we are all individuals, we act like a herd. Ishiguro’s portrait of the human race as mindless sheep is gruesome but realistic. As a result, the fate of society is bleak.
In Never Let Me Go, Ishiguro gives commentary on many present-day societal issues, one of which is cloning. Throughout the novel, he presents cloning as an uncontrollable force to the protagonists, who happen to be clones. And he presents this force in a way that, at first, seems comfortably distant, but grows closer and closer until it affects the narrator in a significant way.
Throughout the novel, it is almost as if Ishiguro was avoiding the topic of cloning until very specific occasions, which highlights these moments, allowing them to stand out in a significant way. One of the first moments was when Miss Lucy gave the students a vague glimpse of her own opinions that they should be educated directly about their futures, without insulating this information by giving it to them with other, more attractive, information. Miss Lucy just comes straight out and tells them to give up on their childish fantasies, because they will soon grow, and then donate their vital organs, and die. Soon she was silenced by being let go from the school. These few words represent most of the empathy that these guardians have for the students, not wanting them to have to go through exactly what these students were created to do. It is a harsh reality that these teachers face. They must let go of these students who they try so hard to love in the end. And this entire cloning process robs these students of their lives.
Later on in the novel, when Ruth, Tommy, and Kathy are spending time with Chrissie and Rodney, these two friends of theirs bring up the topic of a deferral so as to spend a few more years in love and alive. This is one of the first times in the novel that the author presents characters’ desire to escape death, even if only a few years. Before this point, no character has expressed a fear of death or of the fact that their own body will be cut up and used in other people. These characters have all been sheep up until this point, and it is this desire to obtain a referral that creates much interest later on in the novel. Ishiguro presents this conversation to show how this desire existed even if it is not mentioned in the stories that the narrator presents to us throughout this first half of the novel.
Later on in the novel, after Ruth dies from the donations, Kathy and Tommy try to get a deferral from Madame, only to find that they do not exist, and almost unexpectedly react without much change, (minus a rage of fury in a muddy field.) Both characters have already lost their will to live, and accept this fate they were given from birth. They both wanted to live a few more years with love being the driving force to keep living, but now that they have been told this is not an option, the hope fades and life and love seem almost worthless in a way. Ishiguro uses this as a means of expressing just how powerful love is, causing people to want to live longer just to be with each other. But once this imminent death factor comes into play, it suffocates all the beauty in life, including the will to love.
These few examples are some of the ways that Ishiguro portrays how cloning is such an evil process, that once started, will be near impossible to stop. It robs people of the lives they never necessarily had the rights to in the first place. All these hard facts are presented in such a realistic way throughout the novel, from the worldview of those who have known, since birth, what their true fate is. These clones have accepted this fact, but still do not like it. It may even be a suppressed evil in their minds, but once it surfaces it tears their lives apart.
One issue that I found “Never Let Me Go” addressed is the idea of sex. In the story, the guardians told the students that it was important for them not to be ashamed of their bodies and that sex was a very beautiful gift but the students had the feeling that if they were caught they would be in trouble. I think that the guardians didn’t want them to begin having sex and begin having feeling s for a person because they knew that eventually they were going to die or be “complete.” When they got to the Cottages, they thought sex to be a lot more straightforward or more grown-up than it was at Hailsham. The older students didn’t go around gossiping about what happened or what was going to happen with the two people like at Hailsham. The novel is saying that it doesn’t matter if it’s for love but you shouldn’t feel any emotion when it’s not when someone you love. The guardians wanted them to know all the meanings that come with the attachment that comes when sex is involved in a relationship. They didn’t have the influences of the media as we do today but the students at Hailsham wanted to experiment about sex. They had some magazines and videos but they still didn’t know what it was that they were supposed to do. The students at Hailsham are educated to understand what they need to know about sexual experiences. Kathy, Ruth and Tommy confined in each other about what they feel about having sex. When Kathy is at the Cottages and begins to have one night stands with boys that she doesn’t care about, she starts to feel that it’s not normal for her to want to just do it with any boy that she sees.
In my personal opinion, I think that sex shouldn’t happen unless it’s with someone who you love and care about. There are some people who do have sex without being in love but I think they have other things going on which causes them to do this. Ishiguro is trying to make the reader understand that it’s important for you to be able to know all of the consequences if you decided to have sex with a person that you didn’t care about, all the emotions that would eventually come after having sex with someone. Even though I haven’t read the ending of the story at the moment, I believe that the ending will show Kathy, Ruth and Tommy each having some regrets about each of their issues they had pertaining to sex and their relationships. Kathy will end up regretting all the one-night stands that she had while she was in the Cottages and the fact that she didn’t pursue something she felt that was a good thing. Ruth and Tommy are probably going to regret the fact that they even had a relationship because they would most likely had been better off as friends.
In Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel Never Let Me Go there are many different topics, or ideas that I feel that Ishiguro is trying to get across; love, cloning, friendship, and sex. What struck me as the most interesting is the roll of Kathy, Ruth, and Timmy’s love triangle. For me, the interest in this topic started out while they were all still at Hailsham, just after Ruth and Tommy broke up. Kathy was sitting in the Art room having a friendly chat with Cynthia E., when Cynthia said, “Well I suppose you’re the natural successor.” This got me started to thinking about how I hadn’t noticed in the beginning how perfect they were for each other, what with Ruth always down-talking to Tommy and Tommy always being able to talk to Kathy about things he wouldn’t talk to Ruth about. Needless to say this didn’t work out at the time for Kathy and Tommy, but I had a feeling it wouldn’t last forever for Tommy and Ruth.
Where I’m going with all of this is basically that I am not a fan of the idea of finding your one true love so late in life, or letting someone get in the way of you and your one-and-only. I understand the thought of Ruth being Kathy’s best friend, and how she could never betray her like that, but what I do not understand is how if Tommy felt it all along also, why he let it go on for so long when he and Kathy’s lives could have been different if they had only started earlier. Towards the end of the book I began to understand the phrase/cliché “True Love Waits,” because even though Tommy and Kathy had blown all that time that they could have been together, they still ended up having the time of their lives’ together.
In the end, what I believe the point that Ishiguro was trying to make is that even though you may find your love early on in life, that it is never too late to get them back into your life. I believe that he put this in issue in the novel because of how pessimistic society is today about finding your one true love, or love at first sight. I also believe he put this issue in the book because of how society doesn’t seem to value marriage as highly as it once did, seeing as how some people end up being married multiple times. But I guess in the end what Ishiguro was trying to get across to us is that once you find that one special person in your life, even if years go by without you seeing them, there is still hope for your love.
One of the glaring issues in the novel is love and its relation to sex for Hailsham students. From the beginning of the story, the reader learns of the odd methods employed in sex ed. for the students at a young age. The children are not taught the risks of having sex, because the students cannot get pregnant or get STDs, but rather are taught of its acceptance and its methods. Miss Emily even uses a skeleton to show the students various positions. The students seem to have sex simply because it is something they are supposed to do. When they get to the cottages this reason stands, as well as a new reason. Kathy mentions her strong physical urges and her few one-night stands as a result. After these events, Kathy is mixed up emotionally which causes the reader to question whether the emotion connection is inherent. This theory is not supported easily, however, because Miss Emily mentions to the students that sex messes with emotions, so the reader is left unsure.
In other parts of the novel and in references to other couples, sex is technical and scientific. In Kathy and Tommy’s relationship there is such a lack of passion; they seem more like brother and sister rather than people who are in love. When Kathy talks about the afternoons spent being Tommy’s carer, it is never romantic. The tone is detached almost; it is bluntly stated to the reader. And as a result, this lack of emotion causes the reader to yearn for a deeper connection between Kathy and Tommy. The most passionate scene between them is when Tommy is throwing one of his fits and Kathy rushes to hold him after they go see Madame. I expected this to be a turning point in the novel, from which would spring a romantic happy ending characteristic of common love stories. Oddly enough it is not the most traditional romantic scene with the gloomy day, the wind harshly blowing, and both of them caked in mud and cow dung; yet there was something tender about it. As Tommy and Kathy held each other I almost expected her to utter “Never let me go”. I wonder if Ishiguro intended this, because after this singular moment they continue their relationship devoid of the love they once tried to fight for. The reader wants there to be love between them to humanize them even further. It seems as though these clones are not capable of love, that is, until the last chapter when Kathy expresses a longing for Tommy. Despite all the mixed messages they have been taught, it seems as though the students at Hailsham have the capacity for love.
Ishiguro is trying to humanize clones merely by presenting the situation in the novel. He shows these children who seem to have so many commonalities with humans. They even have hopes and dreams that will never come true, because they must sacrifice their vital organs when they reach middle-age. Unlike other dystopian stories Ishiguro shows the functionality of the system, because the students seem so complacent, they choose when to begin their donations. His message is not as bold as Brave New World or The Island, and some of the other novels and movies mentioned in class. He seems to be condemning cloning by showing how plausible this idea is in present society of creating people just to kill them.
What Makes a Human a Human?
In Ishiguro’s novel Never Let Me Go an underlying theme of the novel is the value of human life. Ishiguro places the question on reader’s hearts whether or not Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy have a soul, and whether or not their life should be valued.
Ishiguro cleverly introduces these three main characters in a way that we don’t know that they are clones until later in the novel. Although there is an odd feeling while you are reading section one, no one really knows what Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy are. I believe Ishiguro did this so that readers wouldn’t have preconceived notions before diving into the book. If we knew they were clones from the beginning, I believe as readers we wouldn’t have become as attached to the characters. Personally, I got very wrapped up in the story between Tommy and Kathy. I have to ask myself the question, would I have been as interested in this relationship if I would have known before reading the book that I would be reading about clones? I hate to say I don’t think I would. This is a good example of how Ishiguro raises the question, what makes us human?
In class we discussed the elements of humanity including feeling love, experiencing emotions, and the complexity of language. We see all of these characteristics in Never Let Me Go. Kathy and Tommy love each other. They go through the heartbreak of not being together when they are young, and finally get to experience the joy of being together in their adulthood. Kathy feels empathy towards Ruth. She always is behind Ruth and knows how Ruth feels and why she acts the way she does. Ruth, Tommy, and Kathy all communicate with one another in a complex manner. They discuss memories of childhood, and the looming future ahead that they must experience. This is all human characteristics, yet they are clones. Just because Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth are anatomically different from you and I, are we really all that different?
Ishiguro takes us through the lives of these three characters. I believe he does this to get readers to think about how we treat human beings in this day and age. When you pass a homeless person on the street, and ignore them, are you devaluing their life? I personally am guilty of doing this. I don’t know why they are out on the street, and sometimes I don’t want to know. If I read their story like I read Never Let Me Go, I believe I would feel differently. I believe this novel really makes readers think about thinking about a person as a whole, rather than just a human being. Everyone has a story, and everyone deserves the same recognition and respect, no matter who you are. So many times in this day and age we are so quick to judge people.
Ishiguro’s book is not filled with the normal science-fiction you would expect to find in a novel. He takes us through relationships and experiences. That is what values a life. I believe if he had gone more into how Kathy and the others were cloned I would not have been as interested in this novel. But because we learn about who Kathy truly is as a character causes readers to become interested in the story. That is what the value of human life is all about. WHO is that human? WHAT does that human stand for? WHY is this human the way he/she is? Using the example of clones can be paralleled in our society today. We need to ask these questions more often when coming in contact with people. Life would be so different if we met every person with preconceived notions like we did with Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth. I believe this is what Ishiguro was trying to say in his novel Never Let Me Go.
In the Novel Never Let Me Go by Ishiguro the author addresses many issues. One of these that I find to be particularly interesting is cloning. The students of Hailsham are clones but they act the same as any regular child that any one of grew up with. On the cloning issue in the real world as well as in the book there is speculation of whether clones are real people, weather they have souls. I believe that they are as real as you or I and I believe that Ishiguro tries to say this throughout the book. He does this be having them lead pretty normal lives. As children they play and have fun, as teenagers they start to wonder about things particularly the opposite sex and as adults they fall in love. The question is raised in the book of whether or not clones have souls and one of them asks why wouldn’t we have souls. I believe that Ishiguro is saying that just because they are clones doesn’t make them any different in that regard they are people made from people just like you and me. I believe that Ishiguro is trying to say that cloning is wrong at the same time also. He does this by having them lead almost pointless lives until the time when they start donating their organs. By doing this I think he is making a statement that just because something isn’t normal that doesn’t mean its bad or less in any way. I enjoyed this book and the other issues it raised as well.
Creativity as an Indication of Humanity
In the novel Never Let Me Go, Ishiguro explores the bioethical implications of creating human clones in order to harvest their organs. Central to the debate is the question of a clone’s possession of a soul. Using vivid, personal character descriptions, the author argues for the existence of a soul within the clones. He suggests that their artistic abilities make them fully human and therefore ensouled, and that this ensoulment requires that naturally-born humans are morally obligated to the clones in the same ways they are obliged to one another.
The social context in which Never Let Me Go was written is of particular relevance. Bioethical issues were at the forefront of North American and European politics in the latter half of the 20th century, and the debate continues here in the 21st century. Religion lies in the center of bioethical disputes, particularly in views concerning the value of human life. Pivotal is the belief, or lack thereof, in the idea that each individual has within himself a unique, undying soul that links his being to some higher force. Indeed, the concept of the soul is central to the three major bioethical debates of the last fifty years: abortion, stem cell research, and the possibility of human cloning.
Few issues can polarize opposing groups to the degree that abortion separates “pro-life” from “pro-choice” groups. The topic of stem cells has much the same effect. The arguments against abortion and stem cell research boil down to this: life begins at conception, and each person is endowed by their creator with a completely unique, eternal soul upon their conception; therefore, destroying a fetus, embryo, or even a blastocyst, is a morally reprehensible act equivalent to murder. On the other side, life is generally believed to begin at birth, and if a soul exists, it comes into that existence postnatally. It is this question of the soul outside of the womb that is most relevant to the issue of human cloning, which Ishiguro examines in Never Let Me Go.
In order to prove the humanity of the clones, Ishiguro first creates empathy for the characters by describing them as normal adolescents in a coming-of-age story. They go to school, make friends, date and daydream. Once the reader feels emotionally linked to the characters, the author reveals that they are clones and eventually explains their fate to the now indignant audience. The “donations” process itself is enough to offend the moral sensibilities of any reader; however, Ishiguro makes the mistake of injecting a common misconception held by many religious people into the narrative, perhaps without even realizing it.
The author makes the assumption that if the clones are not believed to be ensouled, then naturally-born people will feel free to treat them like non-human animals. Like a majority of the devout (at least in America), Ishiguro apparently sees morality as inseparable from religion; hence an unfortunate (and unsubstantiated) prejudice against atheists. The author assumes that is people view others as soulless (as atheist do) then they will feel morally unobligated toward them. But this does not logically follow; it is entirely possible to value human life and dignity even without belief in some abstract, eternal essence that dwells inside of everyone, or fear of eternal retribution from a refereeing god. Religion is certainly not a necessary condition for the possession of a moral sense…but I digress.
In Never Let Me Go, Ishiguro suggests that creativity (namely, the capacity to make art) is the marker of humanity, the proof of a “soul.” I agree, as do many anthropologists and psychologists, insofar that art is a form of symbolic expression, and the use of symbols is unique to humanity (except for the alarm calls of vervet monkeys, but these are static and inflexible – vervet society is yet to produce a monkey Shakespeare or Michelangelo). In fact, most cultural and paleoanthropologists date the beginning of true “humanity” around 50,000 years ago, when Homo sapiens began painting, sculpting and making jewelry. Our symbolic capabilities (language, music, visual art, etc.) set us apart from other species and may very well be the cornerstone of cognitive evolution. Ishiguro successfully borrows this idea in order to humanize the clones and create a sense of moral outrage at the inhumane treatment to which they are subjected.
Never Let Me Go is an example of how a work of fiction can explore and elucidate a culturally relevant topic without being directly inflammatory or sermonizing. Despite Ishiguro’s inability (or lack of desire) to divorce morality from religious belief, he is effective in illustrating the humanity of the clones by focusing on their creative/symbolic abilities. Like other dystopian novelists, Ishiguro criticizes a current cultural trend, the apparent devaluation of human life, by depicting a future society that is content with narrowing its moral boundaries to such an extent that the reader is left indignant, and maybe even questioning his own ethical margins.
Conformity to the Extreme
Ishiguro comments on several issues prevalent in today’s society with his novel Never Let Me Go. My first impression was that Ishiguro was commenting on cloning and giving a warning to his readers at what the future of biotechnology could have in store. The novel could be read like that, and it is a valid point, but that was not the overall point that struck me as the most interesting. All the characters in the novel have this innate desire to conform to do what is expected of them. I think that this is extremely disturbing, the unquestioning nature they have about their lives.
The characters are, for the most part, raised at Hailsham, perhaps even “born” there, we never find out anything about their early life. From their time as “Infants” to when they leave at the age of sixteen for the Cottages, they are brainwashed to think that their lives are normal. They have been taught it is completely normal for one to be a carer, then a donor, and then to “complete,” a nice little euphemism for dying. They are perfectly content with their lot in life, and it just boggles my mind how they never feel the need to ask “why?” None of the characters question their existence and the ones that do are chastised for it. Polly T. asks Miss Lucy about Madame’s gallery and Kathy thinks to herself “I remember feeling furious at Polly for so stupidly breaking the unwritten rule” and “virtually everybody shot daggers at Polly” (40).
I was waiting the entire novel for one of the characters to run away, kill themselves, anything that could be viewed as a means of escape. They had plenty of opportunities, especially at the Cottages, where they had limited adult supervision. The characters even choose when they want to start training to become a carer, the first step that leads to their untimely death. Kathy doesn’t even wait until she is considered a “veteran.” She accepts her fate, like the rest of the clones. It seems like they even have the need to conform etched in their DNA, the desire to do so is so strong.
Perhaps it was just me, but I was hoping for one of them to escape, and for the book to end happily. I was hoping that after Kathy and Tommy were denied their “deferral” they would realize they didn’t need Madame and Miss Emily’s permission and just run off together, preferably into the sunset and on horseback. However, it’s only in melodramas and fairy tales where everything ends perfectly, and characters can break free of conformity and make their own paths in the world. Ishiguro paints a world where people follow the crowd and are a part of the herd. He is commenting on society’s need to fit into a mold, and unquestioning nature about breaking free from that mold. People are comfortable in a routine and like structure. I personally think that is a natural thing but Ishiguro takes it to the extreme commenting that no one is capable of thought and will blindly follow the crowd at the expense of their lives. I don’t want to believe what Ishiguro is hinting at, that we, like the clones, have a predetermined fate and have no hand in changing our lives. Ishiguro outlook on the world and society is pessimistic and one where the future is determined by the preset standards of society and no one has the power to change it.
Policies of Truth
An important theme of Never Let Me Go revolves around knowledge, and the different means of learning information. Throughout the novel, Ishiguro creates several contrasting images and depictions of characters and their settings. For example, within Hailsham itself, there is a sense of both secrecy and publicity. Kathy is curious, observational, and often bends rules while Ruth conforms and fears confrontation. Miss Emily and Madame both believe that select information should be kept from the students, while Miss Lucy believes that the students should be told everything. Like other dystopian novels, Ishiguro makes a firm stand upon this issue of information-processing. It is not until very late in the novel, however, that we see his stance emerge. Instead, we spend the majority of the novel in dark about the situation (much in the same way that the students are kept in the dark about their purpose). Like authoritarian governments, dictators use subversion and denial of information to keep their subjects complacent and orderly, similar to the students in Never Let Me Go. Ultimately, Ishiguro condemns this similar withholding of information, calling for a unveiling of truth for all humans.
The style of writing reinforces this Hailsham-like attitude toward information, and makes Kathy’s form of storytelling very authentic and believable. Someone who was brought up in a society where information is withheld would not be very candid about her own life. Through the end of the novel, this debate of information spirals through Kathy’s writing. From the initial lessons the students receive, in which important information about their purpose in life is almost given subliminally through talks about sex, to Kathy and Tommy’s later talks about the ethics behind teaching the students about their fate, we constantly get a dichotomous viewpoint.
On one hand, these students are bred to become donors, and then die; there is no real need to educate them, or make them aware of the bigger picture of things. But on the other hand, if these students do indeed have souls, then shouldn’t they also have a free will and choice over their fate? This can be paralleled to Ishiguro’s depiction of Hailsham and the cottages. Through fear and ignorance, the guardians keep the students from escaping from the grounds much in the same way they keep them from questioning the bigger picture. The effect of Hailsham’s policy can be seen when the students are given freedom at the Cottages. Even though the possibility exists to examine their fates and choices, many choose not to do so, spending most of the time hemmed into their small micro-world. However, some do decide to leave this place, like Tommy and Kathy, and pursue the truth.
The ultimate effect of this submissive policy can be seen clearly in Tommy’s reaction to Madame and Miss Emily’s information. Having spent the entirety of the novel establishing that all of the clones are nothing short of human, Ishiguro then reveals that they still have no free will or power over their lives. We can easily empathize with the two protagonists in this situation. It is clear, finally, at this point that Ishiguro is advocating the spread of knowledge from the guardians to the students. A state of perpetual “innocence” is comforting, but it stunts the growth of any human, and since these clones have been proven to have souls, and are thus human, “innocence” is not the necessary state of being. To encourage enrichment and well-being, we must continually reevaluate our place in society and our future plans. If this is limited in any way, we are compromising human life, according to Ishiguro.
Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go comments on a lot of issues in today’s society. This first part I am writing is what I have felt before I have finished the entire novel, but something just jumped out at me. I am on page 226 right now and I have something to say before I go on in the novel. I am at the part where Kathy, Ruth and Tommy are looking at the boat. They are talking about how Chrissie died and how Rodney was sad but seemed ok with it, and Ruth is getting upset that Tommy and Kathy think he was really ok with it. I think Ruth is upset because she is now a donor and is not doing well She tastes “completion” coming along soon, so she is bitter about how she thinks Rodney felt. I believe this parallels with much of our own human nature. We all know we are going to die; yet we live life rather normally and pretty content with the fact that we will someday die. Most of us are simply all right with that fact, especially when we are not exactly sure when we are going to die. I have noticed that when they were at Hailsham and even the Cottages, they were not very scared and were completely content with the fact that they knew they would die. Yet, now that Ruth’s time is coming sooner than the others, she feels scared and bitter, jut as a lot of older people feel when they are older. Many old people become religious in their final years, some in the final two or three decades, as they sense their time is coming. I just wanted to comment on that before I went on. I will continue the blog as I finish the novel…Pretty much, what I am saying is that Tommy represents the people who taste death, and still accept it. Kathy represents the people who are still somewhat enjoying the simplicity of life, though she knows she will die sooner than later, but has not exactly tasted it yet as she has not become a donor yet. And Ruth represents the bitter people who know they are going to die and are scared of it.
After completing the novel, I do see how it centers on many issues. One main issue I obviously was interested in, as I’m sure many were, was the issue of death. I think one thing Ishiguro was talking about was how people react to death. I know the novel dealt with sex and intelligence and learning, and most importantly on the issue of clones; but for some reason the obvious theme of death rang out to me. Ishiguro starts out with a group of kids in an “orphanage.” He shows them to have extremely normal tendencies towards several issues such as sex and, especially with Tommy and Kathy, shows them to question many issues. He takes us through an entire lifetime of the characters and how they deal with imagination, life, and death. As I said before, Ruth seemed to, in her years at Hailsham and the Cottages, neglect any idea of an imagination. She would always go along with whatever was the norm. She later felt much regret to this fact and became bitter towards the end of her life. She finally realized that she had done wrong to keep Tommy away from Kathy, as she saw that they were obviously in love from the very start. She told them about her regret and gave them the address of Madame so they could hopefully get a deferral. I believe she died happy because she was sure, at her time of death, that Tommy and Ruth would get their deferral and live a few more years together. Tommy seems to be very simple yet extremely intricate at the same time. I liked how he did not want Kathy as his carer at the end of his life. It showed he really cared for her and did not want to put her through that. It must have taken a lot for him to do that, but in the end he did not want to hurt Kathy more with his death. Kathy did not die in the novel, though she will eventually because her fate is to become a donor. Pretty much, I just think that Ishiguro wanted to talk a little about how people deal with death, especially in extreme circumstances.
Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel Never Let Me Go raises various questions and opinions regarding modern society. Everyday new advances in technology and science leave many moral issues open for great debate. The main issue of this type in the novel would be that of cloning and the fine line that exists when we ask ourselves what exactly defines us as humans and what value does a human life actually hold. Ishiguro presents his audience with the side of cloning that is not medical but rather moral, and his opinion radiates through Never Let Me Go and the heartbreaking story of the clones’ lives.
Throughout the novel, as the reader gains more knowledge, we see that this isn’t a story of happy children raised in a very prominent, distinguished type of school. This story is about clones simply brought into this world to do one thing: donate their organs and die. Ishiguro is careful to portray the individuality, talent, and compassion of each clone to show to the reader that it is very difficult to distinguish them from any normal human being. He also makes sure that the reader establishes a connection with the characters before revealing that they are clones. This drives his point that the characters, or clones, are just as relatable and real as any human being. What makes Never Let Me Go so saddening is the lack of reluctance of the clones such as Tommy and Kathy. They just accept their fate, no questions asked, because they have been programmed from creation. Even when their only hopes are crushed, as in the instance of the deferrals, they react apathetically. This particular presentation raises the questions of what truly makes us human and how do we have the right to place value on another life that is identical to ours? These are exactly what Ishiguro wants readers to consider. If we, as a society, are going to delve into newer and newer medical discoveries and technological advances, we are eventually going to have to answer to the moral issues that accompany them. This becomes very clear in what Madame tells Kathy H. much later in life, after even Hailsham ceases to exist. “I was weeping for an altogether different reason. When I watched you dancing that day, I saw something else. I saw a new world coming rapidly. More scientific, efficient, yes. More cures for the old sicknesses. Very good. But a harsh, cruel world, one that she knew in her heart could not breast the old kind world, one that she knew in her heart could not remain, and she was holding it and pleading, never to let her go” (272). In this new scientific world, are we going to treat the clones as they were treated in Never Let Me Go? Are we going to raise the children to just know that their ultimate purpose in life is laid out before them and their dreams will never become a reality? If clones possess a personality and basic skills we consider human, do we have the right to end their life if we were the ones to bring them into the world in the first place? At first, society doesn’t realize that these issues must be addressed because we are too caught up in the scientific improvements. Ideally, we should consider these things before we even begin to act on anything.
Ishiguro uses Never Let Me Go to display his concern and negativity regarding the ever increasing position of science over morality. The novel is a way for the audience to feel a great connection with a character who just so happens to be a clone. This causes the reader to truly question how we can place a value on and define a human life.
Perhaps the biggest issue Ishiguro presents to the reader in his novel “Never Let Me Go” is society’s stance on human cloning. Throughout the course of the novel, references are concerning the clones and their looming fate. Each clone knows of its fate, while society itself recognizes them as blessing. The clones are a source of healthy organs that are donated to patients suffering from cancer, heart disease, or other illnesses. The clones are aware that their lives are unpredictable and can end in a moment’s notice should the need for their organs arise. Even when the well-known truth is revealed to them by Miss Lucy, they are not surprised or worried--“Well so what? We already knew all that,” was their common response to her worries (91). It is this mentality that Ishiguro wants the reader to challenge as he presents it to the reader. Should life be disposable in this manner, and is society at fault for viewing this as acceptable?
It is difficult to discern Ishiguro’s stance on cloning, as each character in the novel accepts it and refuses to challenge it. Opposition to it is met with a firm resentment from society. For example, when Madame attempts to reason that the clones have souls, she inadvertently forces society to fear the clones, and ultimately deny them the little humanity they receive. And even then, she admits that she repulsed the clones as well, revealing an innate fear and viewing of clones as nothing more than creations, devoid of a soul (269). Even when Kathy and Tommy finally learn the purpose of Hailsham, they do nothing to fight the system. Both know it is futile, and only fitfully reminds them of the role they were created to fulfill (274). In the end, Kathy does not fight her fate, like each clone before her. Realizing the life before her, she accepts it—“I just waited a bit, then turned back to the car, to drive off to wherever it was I was supposed to be. (288)
When I look back on the novel, I notice that Ishiguro neither defends nor attacks cloning’s morality. The novel leaves it up to the reader to decide his stance on the morality of this issue. The novel serves as the issue itself--unable to form a stance, yet easily manipulated by the reader. Personally, I believe that this novel serves as a warning against the power that science can hold over human life. We as a society are entering an era where human life will be creatable, just like in Never Let Me Go. However, the issue of what defines a human will be at the forefront of this scientific revolution. Are souls created, or instilled in humans by God? One would argue that feelings, emotions, and art reveal the soul, like Madame. But isn’t the soul an identity as well? A soul reminds us that we are our own person, able to control our fate and decide what is right or wrong. I believe that the clones lack this trait. They are complacent with their fate. In my opinion, the clones are nothing more than sheep raised for the slaughter, not humans. A human would defy his fate if it led to his demise. Without this resolve, they exist only to die a hollow death.
I think that, as we discussed in class, Ishiguro is trying to define the value of human life in our society. Throughout the novel, we are faced with the idea that the science of technology has become more important than the value of human life. Never Let Me Go is a story about the lives of clones, who, as we find out towards the end of the novel, are treated as much like humans as possible, despite their true purpose of living. In another instance, he mentions the Morningdale scandal in which scientific knowledge was taken beyond the limits of ethicacy. I found it interesting that he recognized the fear instilled in us of an almost perfect generation of people. So where do we draw the line?
Science is an ever-growing field of study and as researchers become more and more successful, there is a threat, in my opinion to what it means for us to be human. Near the end of the novel, Tommy and Kathy uncover the true testament of their artwork. Miss Emily helps them to see that even though they are clones, it is important to find out who they really are on the inside. I think that this in itself is the most important aspect of the issue and again, where do we draw the line? I think that Ishiguro is trying to point out the problem with science taking away and recreating human life. All the characters in the story have grown up unaware of their true destiny and at the end are disappointed because they have revealed their “inner souls,” and for what purpose? At the end, we learn the sad truth about how their lives will unfold, and how the power of their emotions has no influence on their futures. So my question is, when does science have the right to take away the life of someone who has a soul or an inner self. I found this idea to be the saddest part of the book.
I think Ishiguro wants us to recognize that cloning, although it may be great for finding cures to cancer and heart disease, is indeed a risk. As we see in the novel, a whole generation of people are created and destined to give their bodies up for science. The characters are allowed to live, to a certain extent, but their lives really have no purpose. I think this says a lot about our society now and its view of human life. Our society has almost grown to become accustomed to the ideas of advancements in scientific research and war, but do we truly see beyond the immediate benefits? In Never Let Me Go, I think Ishiguro is trying to show us that human life is truly precious and unique and should not be recreated, just so that it can be taken away from the moment it begins.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, though sometimes, I found it extremely mysterious and creepy. I think that it’s important for us to read something and actually take from it a lesson that teaches us something. I think that Ishiguro was successful in that his writing challenged our minds and helped us to step back and re-evaluate our lives and what our lives mean in this world. I think he wanted us to truly see how human life is uniquely special and set apart from all other beings. We have the ability to reason and the capability to discover and uncover our inner souls through things like art, identifying our own individual selves.
Cloning...Ethical?
One of the issues Ishiguro addresses in Never Let Me Go is the ethics of cloning people for the purpose of harvesting their organs. It seems to me as if he is trying to tell the reader that the thought of doing this is ethically wrong and immoral.
On page 268, Miss Emily says, “You see, we were able to give you something, something which even now no one will ever take from you, and we were able to do this principally by sheltering you…we kept things from you, lied to you…But we sheltered you during those years, and we gave you your childhoods.” In this paragraph, Ishiguro is trying to communicate through Miss Emily the fact that the clones have emotions, minds, and feelings just like all the “normal” people. The guardians at Hailsham know more about the clones than anyone else; they know the clones even more than the clones know themselves. By showing us that the guardians at Hailsham were trying to shelter the clone students from the knowledge of what lay ahead, he is telling the reader that the clones would have been very upset and frightened after facing that knowledge.
It is true that the clones perceive this life as their purpose, and most of them simply accept it without much thought or argument. The rumors that fly around from care center to care center about how Hailsham students may receive deferrals (deferred from giving donations for several years) says that many of the clones do wish they could live the life they want to and fulfill the dreams they have for themselves, even if only for a short time. On page 81, Miss Lucy says, “None of you will go to America, none of you will be film stars. And none of you will work in supermarkets as I heard some of you planning the other day. Your lives are set out for you.” The students at Hailsham dream of becoming famous and having pleasing jobs, just like all the “normal” people their age. Ruth dreams of working in an office somewhere. The fact is, however, that the clones have no chance of living their own lives how they want to.
Ishiguro really argues his point at the end of the novel, when Kathy and Tommy learn that there is no truth whatsoever in the circulating rumors about Hailsham students possibly receiving deferrals. The reader keeps holding on to this last hope, that maybe some of the clones are able to be deferred from their donations even for a few years. Ishiguro shatters this final hope at the very end of the novel, leaving the reader feeling very sorry for the clones in the novel.
Even though many of the clones look at death as “completing,” (their purpose in life has been fulfilled) they still morn for their friends. On the very last page, Kathy says, “I’d see it was Tommy, and he’d wave, maybe even call. The fantasy never got beyond that—I didn’t let it—and though the tears rolled down my face…” After Tommy “completed” (Ruth had already completed), Kathy was left with a great sense of loss. She had held on to the hope the readers had, that she had Tommy could get a deferral together, love each other, and live together for several years without worrying about donations. After Tommy completed, any more imagination or hope that they somehow could still get a deferral, or that the scene with Miss Emily was a dream, had gone.
Never Let Me Go is an intense novel written by Kazuo Ishiguro about a close knit group of clones who grew up at Hailsham, a facility similar to a boarding school in England. The three main characters of the story are Kathy, the narrator, Tommy and Ruth, all who grew up together in a very sheltered environment and knew only a life where few questions were asked, and where straight answers were hard to come by from their guardians. The other two supporting characters, Chrissie and Rodney, did not grow up at Hailsham and see life in a slightly different way that the Hailsham kids. The common link between these two groups of students, not only is the fact that they are clones, but also the fact that they do not question their circumstances, a subject I believe Ishiguro is trying to challenge students of today to consider.
Lets take first, the atmosphere of the Cottages. The Cottages, is a place which has a kind of college atmosphere where students are supposed to be contriving an Essay before they are to leave the facility and begin the rest of their lives. This is similar to modern college, in that there is a task to do—graduate---but many students do not achieve this task, being they fail out.
At the Cottages, we meet Chrissie and Rodney, a couple who have not come from Hailsham. In the novel we learn that Hailsham is a distinct place where students were taught to be creative and never once had thought they were not human. Perhaps Chrissie and Rodney did not come from such an adequate facility. Either way, Chrissie and Rodney act like a couple based on some television show they saw. They are a year or two older than Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth, and Ruth seems to idolize them. She knows they are older, and they have been around longer, and being she is the new girl in town, with a bossy personality, she does all she can to earn favor with them. She follows them, imitates them, and generally does whatever they want. Chrissie and Tommy do not want to go out and experience the world very much, which seems odd, having been shut up most of their lives in a facility. I believe that they do not want to experience it, because they know that they are different from the other people out there, and more powerfully, that the others know it. Because of their upbringing outside of Hailsham, they likely know that their days are limited and that there is nothing they can do, so therefore, they do not try.
Next is Kathy and Tommy. From the start of the story, it seems rather fitting for these two to be a couple. As children, they talk a bit, and each confides in the other for very personal matters, such as Kathy’s tape and Tommy’s inability to be creative. Ruth is also Kathy’s friend, but more importantly, Tommy’s boyfriend, which causes many rifts between the two. Life at the Cottages is rather similar to life at Hailsham for the two with Ruth making trouble between them.
They become adults. Kathy becomes Ruth’s carer. One day, when Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy are all together in the woods looking at the boat, Ruth suggests that Kathy and Tommy are in love and should try to get a deferral. Neither one thinks so much of it, and after hearing the truth about deferrals, neither seems very disappointed. Once both Tommy and Ruth have completed, Kathy chooses to begin her donations, without any questions about it.
Ruth, is the only character in the novel who ever asks any questions or truly dreams of having a different life than that which is planned for her. As a child she lies, is bossy, and certainly wants to be the center of attention. As a Cottages student, she continues this pattern, but also longs to find out who her possible is, while the rest of the students never give it another thought. Ruth even goes so far as to follow a strange woman to an art gallery from her office work because of her curiosity about the potential possible, but is deeply disappointed when she learns it is not her. Ruth clings to Tommy in hopes of a deferral. She then begs Kathy and Tommy to try for it.
Ruth is never happy with her situation, and she questions it constantly throughout the novel. This makes me think Ruth, though arguably the most annoying character is also the most human. She is not satisfied, and she does not understand he place very well. She has not succumbed to the complacency that Kathy, Tommy, Chrissie and Rodney emanate. She seems also to be the only character that does not complete peacefully.
Kathy and Tommy never question what might have been. Ruth often does the questioning for them, whether it is about possibles or deferrals. They do not worry about what person made them, what good a deferral could do for their personal lives, Tommy did not worry about his creative ability during childhood, and Kathy did not seem particularly sad about the inability to have children, although she still wanted a baby. Tommy completes peacefully. Kathy begins donations peacefully.
Ishiguro, I believe, puts forth these different kinds of characters to illustrate a point about the “what if” theory. Kathy an Tommy never really ask themselves this question and they lead a rather mundane life, with an assured ending. Kathy’s memories are also mostly fond of life. A person who dwells upon what might have been will surely be disappointed with what actually happened. Ruth asks herself this question often, and her life is much more dramatic, and many times we see her in the story she is angry or upset. Ishiguro does a fine job of asking the reader, what good looking back and wondering how things could have been is? It does not make for a very happy realizations, but instead, inevitable disappointment.
In Ishiguro’s novel, Never Let Me Go, the guardians are forced to deal with the issue of morality. They must decide whether or not to tell the students the truth about their lives. Because there are so many secrets at Hailsham, the guardians have a hard time doing the right thing. Therefore, sticking to their morals is a difficult thing to do when faced with different circumstances.
Miss Lucy is a key character that demonstrates that morality is something that can be difficult to follow, but in the end is necessary to live by. Miss Lucy struggles with the secretiveness that occurs at Hailsham. She knows discussing the secrets with the students could cause her to lose her job, but in the end she knows that it is the right thing to do. She listens to her conscience and sticks to her morals. She states, “If no one else will talk to you then I will. The problem, as I see it, is that you’ve been told and not told. You’ve been told, but none of you really understand, and I dare say, some people are quite happy to leave it that way. But I’m not. If you’re going to have decent lives, then you’ve got to know and know properly.” She knows that they will never hear the truth from the other guardians and decides to step up and do the right thing. Ultimately, she fulfills her duty as a guardian by protecting the students from the surprise of what is to come in the students’ lives.
A person’s perception of right and wrong may change over time. Someone may think that what they are doing is the right thing at the time, but then realize that it is not in the future. This is the case with Miss Emily and Madame. They thought that they were doing the right thing by not talking to the students. They thought that they were protecting them from the dangers, but they were really only hurting them by giving them false hope. Looking back on what they had done, Miss Emily and Madame know that they were really doing the students a disservice. In fact, Madame states, “Poor creatures. What did we do to you? With all our schemes and plans?” Their schemes and plans seem to backfire when the deferral rumor emerges. The guardians finally see that it was not in the students’ best interest to be kept in the dark about their futures. In the end, because of the lack of knowledge provided to the students, disappointment and pain eventually overcome them.
I find it very interesting that the guardians felt so strongly in the beginning that they were doing the right thing. Then, several years later Miss Emily and Madame are uncertain that keeping secrets from the students was the right thing to do. This uncertainness makes me wonder if Miss Lucy later regrets telling the students as much as she did. I also am left wondering what made Miss Emily and Madame realize that they should have told the students more. Did the Morningdale scandal or the rumors of the deferrals change their mind? What exactly led to this change of heart?
In the end, I think that Ishiguro is telling his readers that sticking to the guardians’ morals is important and may be difficult. It may take others longer to understand what is right and what is wrong, but ultimately what is important is that the understanding occurs. In my opinion, I think that Miss Lucy, Miss Emily, and Madame all try to follow their morals while serving at Hailsham. However, their views of what is right and what is wrong are very different. I think they all had the best interest of the students in mind, but were unsure how much should be told to the students. They were able to stick to their morals, but with a different understanding. Overall, I think that this novel is something that the readers can relate to because the controversy of what is right and wrong is still being debated today.
While reading Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, I became interested in how the topic of sex was portrayed differently at Hailsham and the Cottages than it is in today’s society. Ishiguro first mentions sex in the novel when Kathy is thirteen years old. Looking back on her teen years, Kathy realizes that when the guardians first started giving the students proper lectures about sex, they tended to collaborate the idea with donations. But at the time, the students had other things on their mind. Kathy states, “At that age we were call pretty worried and excited about sex, and naturally would have pushed the other stuff into the background” (Ishiguro 83). This shows that the guardians were given the chance to put into their heads a lot of facts about their future. At the same time, the students were socialized and educated to understand that as much as they had sex, they couldn’t produce children. I think it is interesting how Ishiguro makes the guardians tell the students to be careful who we had sex with because “sex affects emotions in ways you’d never expect.” By saying this, Ishiguro is saying that the clones are similar to humans in the fact that they both can experience emotions.
At the cottages, sex took on a more mature meaning. After being at the Cottages for a while, Kathy realizes that sex as a lot more straightforward and grown-up than is was at Hailsham. For example, students didn’t go around gossiping about what who had sex and what would happen next between the two people. It is when Kathy begins to have one night stands at the Cottages that she starts to feel that it’s not normal for her to have sex with any boy. She realizes that Miss Emily was right- sex needed to be with the right person. After leaving the cottages, the students’ views of sex continued to change, particularly for Ruth. It is not until years later that Ruth realizes that Kathy and Tommy should be together. Ruth begins to feel bad about Kathy having one night stands with random boys and not having sex with someone whom she really loves, Tommy. I think Ruth even regrets having sex with Tommy knowing that she was not in love with him. Ruth admits, “that even though she was with Tommy at the time, she couldn’t resist doing it with other people” (Ishiguro 232). I was very happy with Ishiguro when he finally allows Tommy and Kathy to have sex with each other, which was how sex is suppose to be- between two people in love.
Unlike today’s society, the students of Hailsham and the Cottages did not have to deal with the influences of the media. For them, sex was an experiment. They tried it out; if they liked it they kept doing it, if they didn’t like it they stopped. In knowing they couldn’t have babies, I think the students begin to view sex as nonchalant, which is how many Americans view sex today. Personally, I believe that sex should be between two people who truly love each other and understand the consequences of their action. This is also what I think Ishiguro is trying to make the reader understand. Ishiguro wants the readers to realize that sex not only produces a child one must provide care for, it can mess with one’s emotions, particularly girls. Many girls in today’s society believe that if a man has sex with her, he automatically loves her, which is not the case. Ishiguro wants us to have sex with the right person at the right time so our emotions do not get hurt by any means.
Post a Comment