In the novel, Never
Let Me Go, the narrator, Kathy, takes the reader through a natural
retelling of her life. As the story is told naturally and seemingly without an
end goal in mind, it represents the type of life that Kathy and her cohorts at
Halisham live. Although the students at Halisham live relatively happy and free
lives, they are still destined to complete a very specific fate. The inevitable
nature of Never Let Me Go is a metaphor for all human life, and how
humans go about accepting it.
As Kathy begins her
narration through various flashbacks and stories, she makes it clear that her
story is unreliable. Her memory, much like everyone else’s, has its own faults
and is clouded by emotion and new revelations. Early on she confesses to the
reader, “this was all a long time ago, so I might have some of it wrong”
(Ishiguro, 13). Instead of making this a definite story, Ishiguro instead
allows the reader to interpret Kathy’s memories in their own way. As the reader
is never completely sure how true Kathy’s stories are, the whole novel takes on
a dreamlike quality that makes it transportable and relatable to many
others.
As the story comes to a
close, Kathy and Tommy take a trip to see the Madame, and question her about
the rumors they have heard. Until around this time, the now graduates of
Halisham have not fought against their fates, and have accepted their donations
with relative ease. Even after Kathy and Tommy learn that the referrals are
only, “a wishful rumor” they still manage to just continue their stories (258).
As a reader, I initially struggled with their acceptance of their fate, and
wanted them to fight it more, but over time I realized that we also accept a
large number of upsetting fates without much struggle.
The
retelling of stories in Never Let Me Go consistently makes references to
human existence as a whole. The reader weaves through Kathy’s life as she
shares her thoughts and stories, but is never fully sure how true and reliable
her statements are. The purpose of this novel is not to inspire an uprising,
but instead to share the process of acceptance and life. Although the story
includes many different shocking sections, the reader and the characters both
accept their fate and choose to continue on with their stories.
I enjoyed your post and agree that the inevitability of the students' deaths make their lives that much more relatable. The fact that Kathy's memories are somewhat unreliable add to this. If Ishiguro were to write Kathy with an ability to perfectly and robotically recount her memories, I think that readers would begin to see how clones may be less than human. Instead, in this world the clones are imperfect and able to process their memories and experiences: "Looking back now, I can see why the Exchanges became so important to us" (16).
ReplyDeleteAlso, I like your evidence of Kathy and Tommy and how they go to the Madame. The fact that they see a chance to elongate their lives together implies their most relatable human trait: hope. In fact, Ruth encourages them to see the Madame because of the hope she has for them. This is made clear when she says "You and Tommy, you've got to try and get a deferral. If it's you two, there's got to be a chance" (233). Kathy and Tommy go and talk to the Madame which further shows their humanity. Both have hope that there could be more life for them to spend with each other. All in all, your post made good points about how the clones' humanity is displayed through their reactions to their circumstances.