Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
I hated the ending of this book. Absolutely hated it. Nothing happened! The book just ended and we never really find anything out. Did the cloning continue? What happened with Madame and Miss Emily? Did Kathy ever become a donor?? I just wish Ishiguro would have put a little more in to the ending. He just sort of killed off Kathy's only real family and then left "waiting a little bit, then turned back to the car, to drive off to wherever it was I was supposed to be" (Ishiguro 288). I know he left it unresolved on purpose though. It is up to the reader to decide what they think should happen. I was sort of hoping for a happy ending where Tommy and Kathy finally have a lightbulb in their brain that they could live so much longer and happier together. I wanted them to run off together to Norfolk and "find their love" (because everything lost is found in Norfolk). This wasn't a romantic novel though, so that didn't seem plausible in the least bit. For me though, it was definitely an unsatisfactory ending and I was not pleased with Mr. Ishiguro. I liked the novel, just not the ending of it.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Never Let Me Go Blog Post #7
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
The moral questions this story raises are insane. Whether or not clones should be used for medical purposes? Whether or not these clones would then have souls? Whether or not it is ethical for these students to not have a decision and be kept in the dark? This book really makes you think about what you would do in a situation like this. It seems like a practical use, but if the students did have souls then it would seem weird. Personally, I don't think the students would have souls because they are clones. Miss Emily has a good point when she says, "How can you ask a world that has come to regard cancer as curable, how can you ask such a world to put away that cure, to go back to the dark days?" (Ishiguro 263). It really does make sense. Like, the people feel weird about it, but as long as they keep them just pushed off to the side and don't think about them, they know their loved ones can live longer and be cured of usually incurable diseases because of these clones. I don't know, it makes me think about what I would do. I think I would be against this. It seems too unnatural for me.
The moral questions this story raises are insane. Whether or not clones should be used for medical purposes? Whether or not these clones would then have souls? Whether or not it is ethical for these students to not have a decision and be kept in the dark? This book really makes you think about what you would do in a situation like this. It seems like a practical use, but if the students did have souls then it would seem weird. Personally, I don't think the students would have souls because they are clones. Miss Emily has a good point when she says, "How can you ask a world that has come to regard cancer as curable, how can you ask such a world to put away that cure, to go back to the dark days?" (Ishiguro 263). It really does make sense. Like, the people feel weird about it, but as long as they keep them just pushed off to the side and don't think about them, they know their loved ones can live longer and be cured of usually incurable diseases because of these clones. I don't know, it makes me think about what I would do. I think I would be against this. It seems too unnatural for me.
Never Let Me Go Blog Post #6
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Hailsham is a separate society built upon many, many secrets and strange rules that the students there grow up with. Some of the students refer to this aspect as "told and not told". The students were always given hints of what they were destined to do, but they were told at such an age that they couldn't fully comprehend the severity of their situation. Finally, in section 4, the students find out many answers to the secrets such as the Gallery and the deferrals. First and foremost, there are no deferrals. The deferrals were made up by students and Miss Emily says she tried to stop any rumor at the source, but it always kept coming back. I think this is because the students wanted to have some hope for a normal life that they came up with the deferrals to make themselves feel better about having somewhat of a normal life. The Gallery did seem to have purpose, though. And Tommy's theory wasn't that far off from what Miss Emily says. She tells Tommy and Kathy that they took their artwork to "prove you had souls at all" (Ishiguro 260). This is because people didn't approve of what they were doing at Hailsham and they were treating the students like they were less than human. So, Miss Emily and Madame came up with the Gallery to prove to others that they needed to be treated humanely because they actually had souls. I find this idea chilling and it makes me feel weird that there could actually be people with these sorts of ideas.
Hailsham is a separate society built upon many, many secrets and strange rules that the students there grow up with. Some of the students refer to this aspect as "told and not told". The students were always given hints of what they were destined to do, but they were told at such an age that they couldn't fully comprehend the severity of their situation. Finally, in section 4, the students find out many answers to the secrets such as the Gallery and the deferrals. First and foremost, there are no deferrals. The deferrals were made up by students and Miss Emily says she tried to stop any rumor at the source, but it always kept coming back. I think this is because the students wanted to have some hope for a normal life that they came up with the deferrals to make themselves feel better about having somewhat of a normal life. The Gallery did seem to have purpose, though. And Tommy's theory wasn't that far off from what Miss Emily says. She tells Tommy and Kathy that they took their artwork to "prove you had souls at all" (Ishiguro 260). This is because people didn't approve of what they were doing at Hailsham and they were treating the students like they were less than human. So, Miss Emily and Madame came up with the Gallery to prove to others that they needed to be treated humanely because they actually had souls. I find this idea chilling and it makes me feel weird that there could actually be people with these sorts of ideas.
Never Let Me Go Blog Post #5
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
DYNAMIC CHARACTER: is one who changes in some important way as a result of the story's action
Ruth is a dynamic character in this story, meaning that she changes in some important way throughout the story. From the time when Ruth was young to the time when she is a donor, Ruth undergoes some sort of change. The first evidence of this is in the beginning of chapter nineteen. Ruth is essentially being ganged up by Tommy and Kathy during the car ride to see the boat. Kathy makes a rude comment and Tommy laughs about it and Ruth just sort of stops talking and turns to the front and stays quiet. Usually, she would have fought back and hurt them even worse than they hurt her. Ruth also changed because she used to be so courageous and seemed to have a lot of things together. When they are journeying to the boat, Ruth sees an obstacle and says, "You didn't say anything about this. You didn't say we had to get past barbed wire!" (Ishiguro 222). This now shows that Ruth is now in need of Tommy and Kathy when she used to be able to only need them when she saw fit. Now she actually depends on them. I think some of this change occurred as a result of her becoming a donor. She shows bitterness towards Kathy because she hasn't become a donor yet and I think Ruth believes that Kathy should become one.
DYNAMIC CHARACTER: is one who changes in some important way as a result of the story's action
Ruth is a dynamic character in this story, meaning that she changes in some important way throughout the story. From the time when Ruth was young to the time when she is a donor, Ruth undergoes some sort of change. The first evidence of this is in the beginning of chapter nineteen. Ruth is essentially being ganged up by Tommy and Kathy during the car ride to see the boat. Kathy makes a rude comment and Tommy laughs about it and Ruth just sort of stops talking and turns to the front and stays quiet. Usually, she would have fought back and hurt them even worse than they hurt her. Ruth also changed because she used to be so courageous and seemed to have a lot of things together. When they are journeying to the boat, Ruth sees an obstacle and says, "You didn't say anything about this. You didn't say we had to get past barbed wire!" (Ishiguro 222). This now shows that Ruth is now in need of Tommy and Kathy when she used to be able to only need them when she saw fit. Now she actually depends on them. I think some of this change occurred as a result of her becoming a donor. She shows bitterness towards Kathy because she hasn't become a donor yet and I think Ruth believes that Kathy should become one.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Never Let Me Go Blog Post #4
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
In the final chapter of this section, Kathy H. gives a little more insight into the future situations and the donations situations. She hints at the idea of "possibles". Basically, each of them was a copy of a normal person and were copied at some unknown time, so I don't even know if they were ever babies. This means that somewhere in the world, there should be the model they were copied from going on about their own lives. This whole concept is just creepy to me. It is also very sad. These kids know that their futures are never possible for them. They've been told from an early age that their lives are already planned out and they'll become carers and then donors and then, eventually, die. Ruth has these vivid ideas about working in an extravagant office one day and all her dreams about her future are sad because they won't happen. Kathy does give a little hint, though. She says, "...I even started wondering if maybe it was all feasible: if one day we might all of us move into a place like that and carry on our lives together" (Ishiguro 144). So I don't know what this means, but maybe it's a little bit of a foreshadowing to their futures possibly. Maybe some of them will get to do what they want. We do already know, though, that Ruth is in donations and Kathy is caring for her, so if they were able to do something, it would have to be before they fulfilled their destinies in donations and caring.
In the final chapter of this section, Kathy H. gives a little more insight into the future situations and the donations situations. She hints at the idea of "possibles". Basically, each of them was a copy of a normal person and were copied at some unknown time, so I don't even know if they were ever babies. This means that somewhere in the world, there should be the model they were copied from going on about their own lives. This whole concept is just creepy to me. It is also very sad. These kids know that their futures are never possible for them. They've been told from an early age that their lives are already planned out and they'll become carers and then donors and then, eventually, die. Ruth has these vivid ideas about working in an extravagant office one day and all her dreams about her future are sad because they won't happen. Kathy does give a little hint, though. She says, "...I even started wondering if maybe it was all feasible: if one day we might all of us move into a place like that and carry on our lives together" (Ishiguro 144). So I don't know what this means, but maybe it's a little bit of a foreshadowing to their futures possibly. Maybe some of them will get to do what they want. We do already know, though, that Ruth is in donations and Kathy is caring for her, so if they were able to do something, it would have to be before they fulfilled their destinies in donations and caring.
Never Let Me Go Blog Post #3
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
THEME: the insight about human life that is revealed in a literary work
I think one of the main themes in this book is a theme about sex in societies. Sex plays a major role in the society of Hailsham and on. It's really weird in this book, like, the students are 15 and 16 years old and are concerned about sex with others. They are told at an even earlier age that they can't have babies, which I have yet to discover why. Some of the kids are even excited because then they cant have children. We find out in section two that they are almost clones of another person and I know from Biology that most clones can be infertile due to chromosomal issues and what not. These kids seem perfectly normal, though, so I'm still trying to figure out why exactly they can't have children. The guardians send mixed signals about sex. Kathy remembers them talking about "'respecting their physical needs,' and how sex was 'a very beautiful gift'" (Ishiguro 95). The guardians would also talk about rules dealing with not visiting boys' rooms after nine o'clock and how classrooms, sheds, and pavilions were off limits after dark. So these kids are definitely growing up with a very confused sense of sexuality. It's almost like a game to them and there seems to be a lot less sex going on than what is being inferred. Except when they move to the cottages, there is actually a lot of sex occurring there. They severely frowned upon any sort of gay relations too. These kids are very confused about their sexuality, and don't have sex for the right reasons. I think that we will find out the consequences of this lack of teaching in the area of sex later on in the book.
THEME: the insight about human life that is revealed in a literary work
I think one of the main themes in this book is a theme about sex in societies. Sex plays a major role in the society of Hailsham and on. It's really weird in this book, like, the students are 15 and 16 years old and are concerned about sex with others. They are told at an even earlier age that they can't have babies, which I have yet to discover why. Some of the kids are even excited because then they cant have children. We find out in section two that they are almost clones of another person and I know from Biology that most clones can be infertile due to chromosomal issues and what not. These kids seem perfectly normal, though, so I'm still trying to figure out why exactly they can't have children. The guardians send mixed signals about sex. Kathy remembers them talking about "'respecting their physical needs,' and how sex was 'a very beautiful gift'" (Ishiguro 95). The guardians would also talk about rules dealing with not visiting boys' rooms after nine o'clock and how classrooms, sheds, and pavilions were off limits after dark. So these kids are definitely growing up with a very confused sense of sexuality. It's almost like a game to them and there seems to be a lot less sex going on than what is being inferred. Except when they move to the cottages, there is actually a lot of sex occurring there. They severely frowned upon any sort of gay relations too. These kids are very confused about their sexuality, and don't have sex for the right reasons. I think that we will find out the consequences of this lack of teaching in the area of sex later on in the book.
Never Let Me Go Blog Post #2
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Miss Lucy is an odd character to me. She seems to know so much and she seems to want to tell all the kids what she knows so badly, but she just can't seem to find the right words. In section two, I think she has a sort of outburst because she can't hold it in any longer. She over hears some boys talking about their futures and the reader finds out very important details about the students and their futures. Miss Lucy says, "Your lives are set out for you. You'll become adults, then before you're old, before you're even middle-aged, you'll start to donate your vital organs. That's what each of you was created to do" (Ishiguro 81). If I was told this as a thirteen-year-old, I don't know what my reaction would be. The messed up part, though, is that none of the kids react like a normal person would. They already have this idea about it and they just accept it like it's nothing. It's sick and I don't understand how people just go along with it. I have to learn more about the purpose and the people behind the operation first. Miss Lucy has this sort of empathy towards the kids I think, too. I feel like she was in their shoes at one point because she has so much trouble with not telling the kids about their futures. Maybe she went to Hailsham too.
Miss Lucy is an odd character to me. She seems to know so much and she seems to want to tell all the kids what she knows so badly, but she just can't seem to find the right words. In section two, I think she has a sort of outburst because she can't hold it in any longer. She over hears some boys talking about their futures and the reader finds out very important details about the students and their futures. Miss Lucy says, "Your lives are set out for you. You'll become adults, then before you're old, before you're even middle-aged, you'll start to donate your vital organs. That's what each of you was created to do" (Ishiguro 81). If I was told this as a thirteen-year-old, I don't know what my reaction would be. The messed up part, though, is that none of the kids react like a normal person would. They already have this idea about it and they just accept it like it's nothing. It's sick and I don't understand how people just go along with it. I have to learn more about the purpose and the people behind the operation first. Miss Lucy has this sort of empathy towards the kids I think, too. I feel like she was in their shoes at one point because she has so much trouble with not telling the kids about their futures. Maybe she went to Hailsham too.
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