In Never Let Me Go, the clones do not find out for some time about their short lives. They believe that they are simply school children who are not different from anyone other child. Miss Lucy finally tells the children, "Your lives are set out for you. You'll become adults, and then before you're old, before you're even middle-aged, you'll start to donate your vital organs" (Ishiguro 81). The children disperse and there is a general consensus among them that they always knew something was up. There was no outrage or indignation among the children, but rather a simple acceptance. They wanted things to remain constant, even if it meant an early death, which was only possible by acceptance of their fate. Later in the story, Kathy dances to the song "Never Let Me Go" and Madame sees her. Kathy notices Madame, and then sees there are tears in her eye, which Kathy surmises are tears of pity for a child who will never had a kid. Kathy later has the chance to confront Madame about this encounter when her and Tommy trail Madame to her home.
Kathy and Tommy follow Madame to her house with the hopes of receiving answers regarding "deferrals". Kathy and Tommy have allowed some hope to come into their bleak lives, but the hope rests on receiving a deferral of their donations by three years. The conversation quickly takes a bad turn, and the two realize that there is no hope for them receiving a "deferral". Miss Emily says, "It was never true. Even before the Morningdale scandal...It's best to be clear about this. A wishful rumour. That's all it ever was" (258). There was never any hope for Tommy or Kathy to avoid their fates. Both sit calmly as Miss Emily and Marie -Claude explain it all to them, pushing the hope deep out of their mind and resuming their state of resignation. On the return trip, Kathy is completely calm and resigned to her fate, whereas Tommy has one outburst of anger regarding his fate, before he too is calm and resigned once more.
Humans are mostly resigned to whatever hand we believe we are dealt in life, shown in Never Let Me Go when Miss Lucy reveals the horror of the children's future and when Madame and Miss Emily unravel the theory of "deferrals". Humans are consigned and complacent to the belief that one can only change so much in life, and thus are complacent when dealt less than satisfactory lives.
I agree with your comment that the characters in Never Let Me Go are very resigned to their own fates and do not fight their role in their dystopian world. I wonder, though, if Kathy’s becoming a carer is a slight rebellion, or another means of deferral for her. Ruth says, “I was pretty much ready when I became a donor. It felt right. After all, it’s what we’re supposed to be doing, isn’t it?” (Ishiguro 227), implying that Kathy is avoiding her destiny to become a donor. She’s maintained the role of carer for longer than the majority of future donors. Is being a good carer Kathy’s version of fighting her fate and avoiding her eventual “completion”? Becoming and remaining a carer is the only obvious way to avoid the donation process, and most likely the only imaginable way to avoid becoming a donor for Kathy. Though Kathy says that she is not necessarily kept as a carer because she is “fantastic” at her job, she still tries to help and do her best for her donors (3). Living a life where you face imminent death, and are likely not to impact the world in your short time on earth, Kathy does her best through caring for her donors and making their lives better. Despite being expected to just “complete” complacently with no lasting legacy, Kathy makes sure her presence is valued and makes a difference while she can. Though, of course, it is not an obvious or powerful rebellion, I think it is the most fathomable and realistic way to rebel for Kathy. Her role as a carer ultimately doesn’t alter the system, Ruth or Tommy’s fate, or the reality of Kathy’s eventual “completion”, but it allows Kathy to live longer and fulfill the goal of a meaningful life, one that impacts and changes the people around her, something that most clones are not expected to achieve.
ReplyDeleteI agree in that throughout the novel the clones are mostly resigned to their fates of donations, however I think that Kathy and Tommy's visit to Madame and Miss Emily is Ishiguro's way of exploring a small act of defiance against a system that is destined to fail clones. Miss Emily, when explaining the rumor of deferrals to Kathy and Tommy, notes the difference between them and the rest of the Hailsham students: they "thought carefully" and "hoped carefully" (Ishiguro 258). Kathy and Tommy had a small seed of rebellion against the fates that they were otherwise complacent in, which I think is interesting because in the lead up to their visit to Madame, both Kathy and Tommy held a quiet hope in what Madame could possibly do for them saying they'll "just have to see what she says" (244). However, the visit holds no hope for any deferrals and immediately Kathy and Tommy are again resign to their fates of a carer and donor. The most important aspect of this experience that I think that Ishiguro wants to get across to the reader is that humans, after being shut down for so long, hesitate to hope for a better fate and in the end will be content in the fate that is decided for them.
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