Observing Humanity

In Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro, the students at Hailsham observe one another closely, indicating their need to fit in with one another and their propensity for human emotion, further proving their validity as humans.

One of the first memories Kathy shares of Hailsham involves watching other students. Kathy remembers that they “shouldn’t be so obvious about watching” as they observe Tommy and the other boys playing soccer (7). Kathy and her group of girls, including Ruth, watch from the pavilion before Tommy throws a tantrum. Their observance of Tommy’s demise makes them feel more secure in their position inside a group. The need to be part of a group is prevalent among people. Kathy was not always the one doing the observing, either. After Kathy asks to speak to Tommy and they make plans to meet by the pond, she mentions that “the way sound travelled across the water was hard to predict; if people wanted to eavesdrop, it was the easiest thing to walk down the outer path and crouch in the bushes on the other side of the pond” (25). Kathy is keen to protect her privacy but knows that it might not be possible because of the commonality of watching one’s peers at Hailsham. The lack of privacy between students draws them closer to one another, especially since, as clones, they can only rely on other clones. Because the students have little privacy, their observation of one another for social cues shows their need to fit in, which is a very human quality.

Even after laving Hailsham, observation and watching still play a big role in Kathy’s relationships. At the cottages, there is “an unspoken agreement to allow for a mysterious dimension where [they] went off and did all this reading” (123). Kathy and the others spend enough time together to know whether someone is telling the truth about what they’re reading, but in order to keep up appearances, they pretend not to know. They use observation, or, in this case, a lack of observation, as a method of fitting in and adapting to new surroundings at the cottages. Later, when Ruth, Kathy, and Tommy are finally reunited, Ruth observes Kathy and Tommy like they are “people in a play she [is] watching” (220). I see this as the point that Ruth truly realizes what she has done by keeping Tommy and Kathy apart. Ruth’s careful observation of the pair ignites her remorse, another very human quality. Throughout Never Let Me Go, Ishiguro uses the motif of observation among Hailsham students to demonstrate their normalcy and ignite empathy in the reader.