Never Let Me Go
Kathy + Tommy
the Kingsfield - 'king' ironic as it suggests something of value which juxtaposes the futility of the clones' existence, their lives are of no value but in fact their organs are of extreme value
"the buildings look more like wasteland" (at the Kingsfield) 'wasteland' symbolic of the lives that the clones lead
Ishiguro uses the clones as a symbol for society, people in our society lead pointless lives such as those working in the office that Ruth envisages and although we perceive that we have free will, the clones feel the same since they never try to escape their fate, they believe it is normal to are deceived into thinking they make their choices themselves with the end goal being donations.
when Tommy suggests that he gets a new carer, Kathy says "it's what Ruth wanted too" possibly suggesting that Tommy would have more respect for Ruth's desires than her own, which undermines the whole idea that it was Kathy and Tommy who were meant to be together and seek a deferral.
"Ruth wanted that other thing for us" "that other thing" suggests that Tommy doesn't view their relationship as love - can't name it, implying that their relationship isn't based on love but dependence, which he is uncomfortable saying -- Kathy is an unreliable narrator, their relationship is not as strong as she portrayed it.
by focusing on Ruth it also suggests that he himself did not want this "other thing"
"it's like there's a line with us on one side and Ruth on the other" ironic as this line that divides Ruth from the two is similar to the divide Tommy saw, feeling that he and Ruth were similar as they were donors whereas Kathy wasn't.
friendship
only forms of social contact they have
Kathy's determination to be a carer for past Hailsham students "I started seeking out for my donors people from the past, and whenever I could, people from Hailsham"
"it taking a bit of nerve on my part" for K to become R's carer
seeing Ruth again "it felt like we could talk and talk forever" because "we knew and remembered things no one else did"
realistic presentation
Tommy is the typical student goaded into making a fool of himself for the others' entertainment "there were rumours almost everyday of pranks"
it makes them seem normal and relatable to the reader - human
Ruth the typical leader who the other girls look up to - the Secret Guard "there was no doubt she was the leader" and the number of them changed "whenever Ruth allowed in a new member or expelled someone"
they still care for each other despite their quarrels
after going to see the boat "we seemed to remember everything we'd once meant to each other "
after Moira B criticises Ruth, Kathy defends her "even today, I'm puzzled by the sheer force of emotion that overtook me" and reflects on "the sort of loyalty she inspired in me in those days"
at night at the Cottages K + R would exchange "[exchanging} our deepest feelings" despite "however much we might have fallen out during the day"
identity
the importance of the collections
items "kept proudly next to a bed"
the sudent's keenness to find their possibles
the need to have artistic talent
Tommy
trapped: his temper tantrums chapter 1 football "Tommy burst into thunderous bellowing" . After seeing Madame and Miss Emily "distorted with fury"
more straightforward and belittled by Ruth: Chrissie + Rodney ask them about the deferrals on the way to Norfolk, R acts like she knows "'to be honest, I dont know what you're talking about' [...] Ruth stared daggers at him"
an outcast as he lacks artistic ability "producing work that seemed deliberately childish"
"he got left out of games, boys refused to sit next to him at dinner"
"how much you were liked and respected, had to do with how good you were at 'creating'"
Kathy and Tommy's unconventional romance is because they are never exposed to love that is deemed normal by society. The guardians don't show love, the donors don't have any parents figures to receive love. The only love they ever truly explore is sexual love and what is seen briefly on the television, no one has ever told Kathy that they love her. Therefore, she wouldn't tell Tommy. Donors, especially Kathy, don't realise that love is both spiritual and physical.Which is why they would appear cold, distancing themselves from the reader.
"Ruth would have understood. She was a donor, so she would have understood."
no discussion of ethics in the novel as the clones themselves don't question it -- acceptance of fate - no one voices opposition -- novel doesn't engage with the moral issue
don't have a strong concept of identity
got things from the outside through the Sales - these items were the only way that the clones could identify themselves which is why Kathy spent so long looking for her tape + held onto it so dearly
thought finding their possibles would be the answer to who they are
lies + deceit
the guardians lie by omission in order to protect the students from the harsh reality of their fate
Miss Lucy thinks they deserve to know what they are "told but not told", they had false hope about their futures + could never truly find their identity if they didn't know who they were
Kathy
uses a colloquial tone when narrating "I don't know how it was where you were, but at Hailsham we had to have some sort of medical almost every week"
first-person narrator - builds a relationship between her + the reader
speaks to the reader as if we were also clones
ambiguos - doesn't explain what the 'medical' is - assumes the reader knows as they are a clone too
unusual as she usually goes into plenty of detail about the events of her life but here she avoids talking about it
Ishiguro avoids talking about the scientific things because he wants the book to be a metaphor for human existence
non-linear time scale
avoids thinking about the future as it involves her becoming a donor + dying
"the drugs and the pain and exhaustion" polysyndeton (extra 'and') emphasises how terrifying Kathy's future is
frustrates the reader that she avoids talking about the donations programme - narrow, constricting view - we only find out what Kathy wants us to find out
fixated on her past as she can't plan a future that she'll never have
"they were our only means of building up a collection of personal possessions"
"the way he'd divided me off yet again, not just from all the other donors, but from him and Ruth" Tommy values Ruth more than Kathy by the end of the novel but Kathy suppresses this realisation "This never turned into a huge fight though"
doesn't give up, clings onto life "don't you sometimes wish, Kath, they'd hurry up and send you your notice"
T imagines a river with two people "trying to hold onto each other" but "They've got to let go" reference to title - cyclical structure
Ruth
T end of novel "she always wanted to believe in things" keeps her faith & hope that something better is waiting for them - hopes that giving K+T Madame's address will give them a better future
the characters invent stories in order to find meaning in life e.g. stories about the woods, Ruth's lies at the Cottages, deferrals rumour, possibles
"the memories I value most, I don't see them ever fading"
loss
"I lost Ruth, then I lost Tommy, but I won't lose my memories of them."
"I'll have Hailsam with me, safely in my head, and that'll be something no one can take away."
"I heard Tommy had completed" he didn't leave her a letter or anything -- their relationship was no longer based on love
the fence in the final scene of the novel "all sorts of rubbish had caught and tangled" the fence represents the barrier that stops the clones from getting what they want -- their lives are the 'rubbish' that is gathered there
she can see into the field where there is freedom but cannot reach it, a symbol for their lives -- they have the illusion of free will but they don't have it
the fence in the final scene "imagined this was the spot where everything I'd ever lost since my childhood had washed up"
ends the novel with "to drive off, to wherever it was I was supposed to be" sense of longing but also hopelessness 'wherever' she can't figure out what the purpose of life actually is
slaves to their destiny
Kathy
k+t
"I get to pick and choose who I look after" ironic as it isn't much of a choice since she is still forced into the system of being being carer + watching people donate until they complete but she still takes pride in being able to 'choose'
memory
"the line would blur between what were my memories and what were his" K about one of her donors, he didn't want to remember his own memories bc he had such a horrific upbringing in the "deplorable conditions" of the other institutions where clones were raised that the reader never actually sees anything about also K would enjoy telling this donor about her memories as she took such pride in them
unreliable narrator "maybe I'm remembering it wrong"
humanity
Ruth calls Tommy a "mad animal" after Kathy returns from trying to calm Tommy down during one of his temper tantrums at the beginning of part 1, this dehumanises Tommy and links to when Madame later calls Kathy and Tommy, "you poor creatures" when they visit her in part 3, suggesting that they are completely subhuman
r
t
identity
"dependent on each other to produce the stuff that might become your private treasures" Art Exchanges - dependency socialised into them -- dependency of carers + donors
"how much you were liked and respected, had to do with how good you were at 'creating'" valued for their creativity + artistic ability at Hailsham but the rest of society only values them bc they are exact copies of one another so can provide them organs --ironic
"The lunch queue was one of the better places to have a private talk" idea of a prison + all the students spy on each other -- no privacy - human right -- dehumanises the clones from a young age
"There were all kinds of horrible stories about the woods" 'woods' become myths that keep the children in Halisham + instil within them a fear of the outside world so they never want to escape or seek a life other than what has been "planned" for them (as Miss Lucy describes)
Kathy + Ruth
"Even today, I'm puzzled by the sheer force of emotion that overtook me" (Moira B. - Secret Guard) Kathy is a stranger to herself, she is "puzzled" by her own emotions
"'Let's just agree. Let's agree I got it in the sale.' Then she gave us all a knowing smile" links to Miss Lucy's idea of being "told and not told" Ruth uses the same strategy to imply/infer things to manipulate the people around her without saying specific things
K+R
Ruth gets Kathy a new tape as she saw how upset K was when she lost it. the tapes look similar so she thinks it will please Kathy but in fact, although they look very similar, they are completely different bc of the music which is exactly like the clones - they look similar but their personalities + identities (what is within) are completely different.
"We had only the haziest notion of the outside world" they are purposefully alienated but after leaving the Cottages are expected to fit in
mentions the disappearance of the tape + the incident where Madame saw her dancing + says "I've no reason to link them now" which raises suspicions with the reader bc why would K mention it? Ishiguro uses the narrative to intrigue the reader + engage them
the "last years" at Hailsham "were more serious, and in some ways darker" Hailsham is an idyllic place that protects the students from the horrors of the outside world but as the time for them to leave nears, the shadow of their futures begins to be cast over them, making it "darker"
Miss Lucy seen "scrawling furious lines over a page" - the anger in NLMG is silent, reflected through repression -- T is the only one that really releases his anger with his "temper tantrums"
excluded from (the dystopian) society
not a novel about cloning, no discussion of the scientific process
Ishiguro makes the reader question whether their life, in which they claim to have free will, is really any different from that of the clones.
horses "if you like, you could have any of the others" 'the others' make it appear like Kathy has a choice + illusion of free will but Ruth retains control as only she can ride Thunder and she doesn't allow Kathy to use her "crop" on the horses
"I accepted the invisible rein she was holding out" 'invisible rein' metaphor for Ruth's control + control that we allow others to have over us -- R is powerful as K chooses to give her that power