In Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, a common theme is the inevitability of loss. This theme can be seen in many different aspects of the novel. One of the aspects is how Kathy revisits her memories at Hailsham with her childhood friends Tommy and Ruth. The recollection of Kathy’s memories can foreshadow the fear and dread the characters feel as their lives are purely for donating their organs and then coming to “completion”. Kathy understands the fate of her life and tried to hold onto her memories as closely as she can.
The destiny of each of the characters’ lives as clones also emphasizes the importance of the title. Since the clones know their lives are not supposed to last long, and their purpose is to donate their organs to humans in the real world, they try to find ways to stop or prolong their completion time. The main hope for the characters, especially Tommy and Kathy, to spend more time together is for a deferral of their donations. This was always a hope for the characters, but sometimes it sounded too good to be true, as why wouldn’t everyone try for a deferral if they knew they were supposed to “complete” soon?
Tommy and Kathy confront Miss Emily and Madame on if they could receive a deferral but are informed that the rumor of deferrals does not exist, “She shook her head slowly from side to side. ‘There’s no truth in the rumour. I’m sorry. I truly am’” (Ishiguro 258). The inevitability of loss is confirmed for Tommy and Kathy as they are told that deferrals do not exist. This explains why everyone does not try for a deferral, because there are none. Although a deferral does prolong Tommy and Kathy’s lives together, there is no escaping the inevitability of loss for them – as a deferral is only an extension of time together, and their fate is still to donate their organs and complete.
As Tommy and Kathy now know their lives are bound to complete soon, the title Never Let Me Go is emphasized even more. Tommy has a tantrum that reminds the readers of the Tommy that was introduced in the beginning of the novel, and Kathy tries to calm him down, “Then I realised he too had his arms around me. And so we stood together like that, at the top of the field, for what seemed like ages, not saying anything, just holding each other, while the wind kept blowing and blowing at us, tugging out clothes, and for a moment, it seemed like we were holding onto each other because that was the only way to stop us being swept away into the night” (Ishiguro 274). Tommy and Kathy hold each other tight, as the wind tries to pull them apart, in an attempt to not let each other go, as they just found out their time together is coming to an end.
As Tommy and Kathy now know their lives are bound to complete soon, the title Never Let Me Go is emphasized even more. Tommy has a tantrum that reminds the readers of the Tommy that was introduced in the beginning of the novel, and Kathy tries to calm him down, “Then I realised he too had his arms around me. And so we stood together like that, at the top of the field, for what seemed like ages, not saying anything, just holding each other, while the wind kept blowing and blowing at us, tugging out clothes, and for a moment, it seemed like we were holding onto each other because that was the only way to stop us being swept away into the night” (Ishiguro 274). Tommy and Kathy hold each other tight, as the wind tries to pull them apart, in an attempt to not let each other go, as they just found out their time together is coming to an end.
I agree that the idea of loss is something that is incredibly relevant in Never Let Me Go. This topic brings in a lot of ideas about mortality and death. When people are told that they only have a certain amount of time to live, it impacts their mental health. As mentioned, the inevitability of loss is something that breaks down the clones' mental status and Caroline's description of the scene with Tommy is a great showcase of this. I think that, overall, Ishiguro does a great job of discussing the various ways that people cope with the concept of death, especially in a society where this is super normative. It would be much more unrealistic to have these same responses to this fate in the society that we live in, and it was helpful, while reading the novel, to immerse myself into this separate world.
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