I enjoyed reading Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go.
The characters and the storyline are intriguing and kept pulling me in. A
question I had after reading the book, however, is what was Ishiguro’s point?
The novel is science fiction and describes a dystopian society, so what are
Ishiguro’s readers supposed to take away from this? I will offer my own
interpretation, but I am also curious to hear what others think Ishiguro’s
message was.
I think this book is used to encourage appreciation of what
life has to offer. We are not like the students of Hailsham. We have the
freedom to pursue art, music, love, or whatever else we desire. We are not
confined by the strict rules the students at Hailsham are set to follow. Our
futures are undecided, and we can pursue whatever we want with that. We can go
to America (or travel elsewhere), we can be teachers, racecar drivers, all of
things that weren’t possible for Hailsham students are possible in this world. Personally,
this is what I take away from novels that describe a dystopian society. I think
it is encouraging to think about all the possibilities we have in our own lives
when comparing that to the limited freedom available to the characters in the
novel. This point was emphasized when Miss Lucy had an honest conversation with
the students about their futures. Miss Lucy said, “You were brought into this
world for a purpose, and your futures, all of the, have been decided … You’ll
be leaving Hailsham before long, and it’s not so far off … If you are to have
decent lives, you have to know who you are and what lies ahead of you, every one
of you” (Ishiguro 81). Now this is not something that came to a shock to the students
at Hailsham. They knew that they were created for a purpose and that they would
complete someday. However, the severity of their harsh reality didn’t set in
until Miss Lucy gave this speech. The Hailsham students are given a lot of
freedom and opportunities compared to the students in other schools for clones.
At the end of the day, the world sees all clones as the same. They are not human,
and they have one purpose in life. This got
me to think about stereotypes we have in our society. Sometimes people feel
trapped because the world only sees them in one way, and it is hard to break that
mold. However, unlike the students at Hailsham you have a way out. Our futures
are still undecided and our only purpose in live is to do what makes up happy.
This is my personal takeaway from the novel, but I am sure
it changes reader to reader. I am curious to know what you took away from the
book and what you think the message is that Ishiguro is trying to deliver to
his readers.
I like how you take on your own interpretation of Ishiguro's message because like you, I don't quite understand the overall message he was intending to give readers. In fact, I still find myself questioning many events that took place within the novel, and what their purpose was. For example, one aspect of the novel that still has me confused is why would Madam and Emily want to show the clones had souls if they themselves were still scared of the clones and knew it would never amount to anything more than fair treatment? I don’t understand the purpose of wanting to give the clones a better life when they know their lives will ultimately result in the same ending. Additionally, I think it gives the clones a sense of false hope for better lives, and even to an extent, false hope to ever being viewed as normal members of society. I know Ishiguro’s intended message was to show friendships with the pressing matter of morality but I see the message differently. I feel the book relates to the reader through a sense of false hope; everyone has goals they wish to obtain within their lives but we often will never accomplish all of these goals. I think it relates to almost every reader in the sense that we, ourselves, build up these false hopes within our lives and will die nearly complacent with not achieving all of what we wanted. I know it most likely wasn’t the author’s intended message but I took away this message as the author criticizing our habits, and showing that more people should strive to achieve everything they want to out of life.
ReplyDeleteI really loved the outlook that you have on Kazo Ishiguro’s point in writing his novel, Never Let Me Go. I did not consider that Ishiguro could potentially be trying to convey a positive message through a dystopian society. My personal main takeaways from the book was much more negative, although similar to your point. I thought that Ishiguro was attempting to highlight the dangers of complying to the “normal” life path. Like the example you highlighted, when Miss Lucy said, ““You were brought into this world for a purpose, and your futures, all of the, have been decided … You’ll be leaving Hailsham before long, and it’s not so far off … If you are to have decent lives, you have to know who you are and what lies ahead of you, every one of you” (Ishiguro 81). In the end, the clones accept this and never attempt to change their fate. This parallels a lot with adulthood. People spend their entire childhood in classes, then are told to get a job, buy a house, and start a family. Most people accept this as their destined path in life without ever considering not getting married at all, living in an apartment, traveling the world, never having children, and so on. I believe that Ishiguro was attempting to create a frustration in the reader through this dystopia that they should have about their own lives but fail to do so. After reading your response, I think that he may also attempting to motivate the reader to chase their dreams. Ishiguro includes the concept of deferment for clones in love, then reveals that it is merely a rumor among the clones. It shows that the clones do have a desire to experience more like people do in real-life. The difference between the book and real-life is that the readers can actually work to experience more. By showing a circumstance where people are unable to experience love, freedom, etc., Ishiguro is also emphasizing that people in the real-world are in positions to experience these things. Overall, I think the novel has no one main takeaway but is intended to push the reader to reflect on their own life and society.
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