What We Have Learned

"'And I saw a little girl, her eyes tightly closed, holding to her breast the old kind world, one that she knew in her heard could not remain, and she was holding it and pleading, never to let her go'" (Never Let Me Go, 272).

Reading books is kind of pointless unless you learn anything, so take it away, French Peas!

• Structure in life is important, but predestination dehumanizes.
• To an extent, we are all sheltered and should be aware of the mystery of the outside world.
• The past is a healthy thing upon which we can reflect.
• Human dignity should trump scientific achievement.
• Though they aren't always obvious, there are good thing in this world; we should hold on to them and make sure we never have to lose them.

I could deal with the cover of Brave New World -- a guy with a mechanical torso -- no problem. But the cover of Never Let Me Go is kind of scary for me, and I've noticed that I tend to set the book upside down after I read a portion of it. I'm assuming it's a really, really close-up picture of Kathy. For the most part, it's just a huge face, and I wanted to find something interesting in it, but it's just a huge face. There's a light reflected in her right eye that looks like a life saver or a Froot Loop. It's probably just a light.

How'd those predictions turn out?

"She shook her head slowly from side to side. 'There's no truth in the rumour. I'm sorry. I truly am'" (Never Let Me Go, 258).

Now that I've finished the book, it's time for me to revisit those predictions I made (the first five at about the halfway point in the book, and the sixth one with four chapters left in the book).

1. Correct! The entire world of cloning, sheltering, caring, and donating was explicitly explained in chapter twenty-two by Miss Emily, and all of my questions were answered (256).
2. Correct! It took Ruth years to admit to Kathy finally that Kathy and Tommy would make a good couple. By that time, it almost seemed too late for them to have a decent relationship (239).
3. Wrong! Kathy and Tommy took their trip to Norfolk the chapter after I predicted that would be the climax. The climax, instead, was when Miss Emily explained that the students' artwork was to prove that clones had souls (260).
4. Wrong! Kathy was a carer for twelve years because the system wanted her to be a carer for twelve years. The whole deferral thing was totally a rumor and had nothing to do with that (258).
5. Wrong! The clones do not share thoughts and memories with their possibles. The clones' only purpose in life is to advance science by donating whatever the world needs from their bodies. The only connection they have with their possibles is the fact that they share DNA -- nothing more.
6. Correct! In the end, like how John failed to reform civilization, Kathy and Tommy failed to get a deferral and learned the dark truth about their reality (258).

The ending of Never Let Me Go had the same effectiveness of Brave New World, warning the reader that once science becomes dehumanizing, going backward is nearly impossible.

"When in doubt, move a pawn."

"'I can see,' Miss Emily said, 'that it might look as though you were simply pawns in a game. It can certainly be looked at like that. But think of it. You were lucky pawns'" (Never Let Me Go, 266).

As I've said, my favorite quotes in the book have been analogies, and now that I'm finished reading, I think it's appropriate that this is the last analogy I'm going to analyze. Miss Emily is comparing the students (or clones, as these last few chapters verified) to pawns in a game of chess. They're insignificant parts of society controlled by everyone else. This analogy does not make cloning for the sake of scientific progress seem like such a great idea.

That last part -- "'But think of it. You were lucky pawns'" -- has a bit of a double meaning for me. Miss Emily intended it to be a comforting reminder, but it had the opposite effect on my brain. There shouldn't have to be lucky pawns because there shouldn't be any pawns at all. Additionally, it doesn't help me to think that most of the world's clones live in horrible situations when I know that the "lucky" ones are the ones with truncated, unaware lives.

The sad comparison of the students to pawns is a reminder of one of the themes of the novel. Scientific progress should not stand in the way of human dignity.

You're an idiot.

"'Of course not, stupid'" (Never Let Me Go, 243).

Shortest quote yet, woohoo! This part reminded me of another part in the book that reminded me of something I couldn't remember (page 170):

"'It's not going to be in Woolworth's now, you idiot!'"

"'Tommy, you idiot.'"

"'All right. You're a complete idiot, but all right.'"

Obviously, a common theme in the relationship between Kathy and Tommy is Kathy's persistence that Tommy's an idiot. It's kind of cute! Actually, I don't think it's kind of cute -- I think I'm supposed to think it's cute.

As I said, the excerpt from page 170 reminded me of something that I couldn't remember, and when I came across Kathy's calling Tommy stupid a second time, I just had to pursue it. I talked with a reliable source, and got this information:

"Robin [from How I Met Your Mother] says 'You're an idiot,' instead of 'I love you,' and if she DOES say 'I love you,' Ted says it means she's already broken up with you in her mind" (reliable source).

So I think the conclusion we can draw here is that Kathy and Robin have a lot in common. Hey, this is my first How I Met Your Mother reference!

Predestination Predictions

"'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?'" (Never Let Me Go, 227).

Again, we have a reminder of the recurring theme of predestination. Ruth's words in this quote were enhanced a few pages later when they saw the poster of the office, reminding them of Ruth's old aspirations. At that point, I believe, Ruth had some sort of epiphany that people should at least try to do things that sound unfeasible. I think that's why Ruth told Kathy that she should try to get a deferral with Tommy.

The theme of predestination in Brave New World was presented through a few rebellious people. Bernard and Helmholtz both left their positions in civilization to be banished to a place where they could express themselves more freely. John, the protagonist (I think), tried to rebel against the order of civilization when he threw soma out the window. I'm adding a late prediction to my list:

6. I think it's going to be similar in Never Let Me Go. Kathy and Tommy are going to try to rebel against the social norm and try to get a deferral at their age. (By the way, they're basing all of this on theory, so they could be after something that doesn't exist.) I'm a little nervous that it's going to turn out like it did in Brave New World with the characters' inability to behave how they want to in society. John's ultimate failure was a good warning against predestination, and I think it's probably going to be a similar failure with Kathy and Tommy.

Mm, cheese . . .

"'And do you suppose' -- I said this gently, without a hint of sarcasm -- 'if we're driving all that way, we should think about calling in on Tommy? Seeing his centre's just down the road from where this boat's meant to be?'" (Never Let Me Go, 216).

Kathy's discussion with Ruth in chapter eighteen revealed her to be a dynamic character. When she was a teenager, she was very sarcastic (as I quoted in an earlier post):

"'It didn't hurt, did it? When I hit you?' 

'Sure. Fractured skull. Concussion, the lot. Even Crow Face might notice it. That's if I ever get up there'" (Never Let Me Go, 14).

Additionally, the two of them were able to talk without any quarreling. The mature conversation effectively demonstrates that the characters are no longer children or teenagers but adults. Even Ruth, now, is comfortable reflecting on the past without trying to pretend it didn't happen.

I also want to point out another euphemism in the book: Kathy said that donors "complete" rather than die. I feeeeel like that was the exact same word used in Brave New World to describe death, but I might be wrong about that.

Speaking of being comfortable reflecting on the past, there's one thing I forgot to include in an earlier blog. One of the veterans talked about how "eating cheese late at night always disturbed your sleep" (189); it reminded Kathy of Hailsham, but it reminded me of how I always eat cheese late at night. The word "always" in that sentence was not a hyperbole.

Supporting a Hypothesis (that cooouuuld be right)

"'What does it matter anyway? What's the rhubarb patch got to do with anything? Just get on with what you were saying'" (Never Let Me Go, 190 and 202).

My goal of this post is to support this hypothesis: Kathy's motivation for leaving the Cottages is that her unique connection to the past has weakened her ties with her friends.

My first piece of evidence is the symbol of the "essays" (197). Few people at the Cottages took their assigned essay as seriously as Kathy did. The essays didn't seem all that important even to Kathy, but she read and took notes enthusiastically. She figured that since essays were important at Hailsham, if she treated them with importance at the Cottages, she could maintain the binding between the Hailsham students.

My second piece of evidence is the above quote that showed up twice in chapters sixteen and seventeen. Kathy continued to make references to things that happened at Hailsham to Ruth, but Ruth never responded to them well. Kathy wanted to keep her present life connected with her past, whereas her friend was more intent on cutting off that connection.

Once Kathy's difference from her friends weakened their relationships, she had no second thoughts about beginning her training to become a carer (202). I've known since the beginning of the novel that Kathy is, for some reason, a special person (since being a carer for twelve years is apparently a big deal [3]), and I think that stems from her special connection with the past.

Thus ends Part Two.

Getting Things Straight

"Suppose two people say they're truly in love, and they want extra time to be together. Then you see, Kath, there has to be a way to judge if they're really telling the truth" (Never Let Me Go, 175).

Now that I've read chapter fifteen, I'm going to differentiate between three things that have been confused in my mind for my whole life: symbols, motifs, and themes. I'll give one example of each of them.

1. Symbol: "'Judy Bridgewater. Songs After Dark'" (170). Symbols stand for something bigger than them, and I'm sure this tape has to symbolize something(s). For me, it stands for the connection between Kathy's past and her present. The reason that these flashbacks are happening is that they're important to the person into whom she developed, and the tape "brings back memories of that afternoon in Norfolk every bit as much as it does our Hailsham days" (173).

2. Motif: "'Like I said, Kath, Ruth doesn't know about the animals'" (179). A motif is a recurring idea, and I feel like the strong connection between Tommy and Kathy versus the weak connection between Tommy and Ruth is everywhere in the novel. When they were in the shop, Kathy was very aware that they were the only two people in it. Tommy and Kathy can have heart-to-heart conversations that Tommy and Ruth cannot have.

3. Theme: the complexity of love (quoted at the beginning of this post). Love is an important part of human life, and throughout the novel, especially in Part Two, the characters have been trying to figure out what it means and implies. They've already recognized that love is something extremely difficult to judge and lies with "'our souls'" (176). There have also been hints of the idea that physical intimacy cannot stand for emotional connection, another common theme about love.

Woolworth's

"So we went into the Woolworth's, and immediately I felt much more cheerful. Even now, I like places like that: a large store with lots of aisles displaying bright plastic toys, greeting cards, loads of cosmetics, maybe even a photo booth" (Never Let Me Go, 157).

When the Woolworth's was introduced as a place where Chrissie and Rodney get birthday cards, I highlighted it and annotated, "I've heard of that." Then I thought about it a lot and remembered that it was a significant place in the United States during the Civil Rights Movement.

It started with four black students who sat at a Woolworth's counter in Greensboro. They were not served because of their race, but they stayed at the counter until closing. Each subsequent day, more African Americans gathered at the counter as part of a large-scale sit-in.

I don't even know if the two Woolworth's stores are connected in any way, but I still wonder if the author choose Woolworth's for allusion purposes. I could easily draw a parallel between the students' sitting where they weren't allowed and Kathy's eavesdropping on Ruth and Chrissie. It's probably just a coincidence, but I'm going to pretend that it's an allusion. Either way, I think it's an appropriate choice of store.

". . . I'll stroll into somewhere just like that, where you can hang around and enjoy yourself, not buying a thing, and the assistants don't mind at all" (157).

One time, I went to Walmart for the sole purpose of putting stuff on my head, so I can totally relate to Kathy on this one.

My Predictions

"Since each of us was copied at some point from a normal person, there must be, for each of us, somewhere out there, a model getting on with his or her life" (139).

Way to throw in something else that I don't understand; my first prediction is that it's all going to be spelled out for me at the end of the novel, which would be nice. Sometimes it's kind of annoying, though -- Kathy's very withholding right now. Parks and Recreation quote opportunity!

Leslie: That fish over there kinda reminds me of my mom.
Justin: Why?
Leslie: It's just being very withholding.

I've read thirteen chapters so far, and I'm very confused about what's going to happen with the characters, so I'm going to make some predictions that will probably turn out to be embarrassing later on (organized from most likely to most far fetched):

1. All of the donor/carer/possible/deferral business will be explicitly explained to me by the end of the novel. I think it's just that kind of book.
2. Ruth and Tommy are going to continue their relationship way too long before anyone realizes that he should be with Kathy.
3. The trip that Kathy and Tommy will take to Norfolk later in the book will be the climax of the story.
4. The reason that Kathy is a carer for twelve years is that she managed to get a super-long deferral from donating.
5. Each person is actually two people. I'm not talking about emotional duality like the "two quite separate Ruths" (129) discussed in chapter eleven. I mean that there are two physically separate Kathys and Ruths and Tommys walking around England who share thoughts and memories.

Sex, Setting, and Split Infinitives

"As you'd expect, sex was different at the Cottages from how it had been at Hailsham. It was a lot more straightforward -- more 'grown up'" (127).

I wanted to choose a quote that reflected the idea that the new setting of the Cottages is a new experience for all of the characters. I figured this would be the most awkward one.

Now that Kathy, Ruth, Tommy, and other, less significant characters are at the Cottages, they have to make adjustments. It's hard to adjust to a "new life" (131), which Kathy expressed in chapter eleven. Hailsham was more sheltered under teachers like Miss Emily. Some things like donations and sex were mysterious, hushed topics. At the Cottages, the characters have more opportunities to freely talk about things that were previously forbidden for them.

I think the setting of the Cottages is a kind of bridge for the characters, connecting childhood at Hailsham to adulthood (and I figure I'm supposed to have a bunch of questions about what happens to adults in this book). I'm not sure if it's appropriate to compare it to college because I don't think academics have been discussed at all, but I suppose it's kind of like that. It's an awkward transition period, and I think I'll get to learn a lot more about things I'm not quite sure about yet.

Also, there are two split infinitives in chapters eleven and twelve: "to first violate" (129) and "to just listen" (143). It could be Kathy's "voice" or something silly like that, but I think I'm going to blame all of these insignificant-to-most-people errors on British publishers.

(Also, title alliteration? FTW.)

"We've run out of time. We have this one-minute discussion period going on here."

"It was like when you make a move in chess and just as you take your finger off the piece, you see the mistake you've made, and there's this panic because you don't know yet the scale of disaster you've left yourself open to" (Never Let Me Go, 124).

Though I'm still bitter about the oxford comma issue, I have to admit that Ishiguro is very good at making analogies. The other one I can remember is the puddle one, which also happened in a conversation between Kathy and Ruth.

It's an interesting idea to compare a quarreling conversation to a game of chess, but it's kind of accurate. There are some moves of little consequence that are kind of like pleasantries. There are moves where you put your opponent in an unfortunate situation, which is like being on the winning side of a debate. Then there are the moves that Ishiguro described, which are like when you slip in the middle of a conversation. Also, clocks in chess are the scariest things of my life; they're kind of like the Obama-McCain town hall debate when Tom Brokaw kept cutting them off.

Both this analogy and the puddle analogy described "mistakes" Kathy made when she was conversing with Ruth, and both of them allowed Ruth to embrace her annoying, manipulative side and dominate the conversation. Their characters really don't go well together. You know what characters do go together? Kathy and Tommy. I just . . . don't . . . like . . . Ruth.

Kathy, don't go there -- it's forbidden!

"I shrugged. 'As you say, Tommy and I, we've always been able to talk.'

'Yeah, and he really respects you. I know because he's often talked about it. How you've got guts and how you always do what you say you're going to do. He told me once if he was in a corner, he'd rather have you backing him than any of the boys.' She did a quick laugh. 'Now you've got to admit, that's a real compliment. So you see, it's got to be you to our rescue. Tommy and I were made for each other and he'll listen to you. You'll do it for us, won't you, Kathy?'" (Never Let Me Go, 104).

GAHH.

People are actually this stupid, aren't they?

Anyway, I have more important things to discuss in this post. Chapters eight and nine were full of mysterious teachers, dramatic relationships, and sex stories. Naturally, I'm going to talk about Harry Potter.

That's the third floor corridor of Hogwarts. The first picture is from the sixth computer game, which really wasn't particularly fun -- Hogwarts was well designed, though. But that's not the important picture; the second picture is from the first movie when the third floor corridor was actually dangerous:

"'And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to anyone who does not wish to die a very painful death'" (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone [paperback], 127).

And now, Never Let Me Go:

"Anyway, that was what I was doing that morning after I'd fetched whatever it was I'd left in the classroom and come back out onto the third-floor landing" (90).

And then a creepy thing happened with Miss Lucy! I'm telling you, the third floor is the scariest one. If you numbered the floors at Roncalli one-two-three, it'd be the one with all (but one) of the scary English classrooms.

That's all I really wanted to do for this post: do a headdesk in response to Ruth and Tommy's relationship and then make a loose comparison to Harry Potter.

Thus ends Part One.

"I shouldn't have said that."

"Tommy thought it possible the guardians had, throughout all our years at Hailsham, timed very carefully and deliberately everything they told us, so that we were always just too young to understand properly the latest piece of information. But of course we'd take it in at some level, so that before long all this stuff was there in our heads without us ever having examined it properly" (Never Let Me Go, 82).

This is something that I think is probably prevalent in the real world. Sometimes I think about how this is probably a major reason everyone in the world has a unique set of morals.

It's kind of like hypnopaedia, I suppose, but it's not quite as structured. If Tommy's right, though (which I think he very well could be), then people in the world are intentionally putting things in humans' minds without the person having any say in it. That's dehumanizing, and I wonder sometimes whether or not it's happening to us in real life unintentionally. Anyhow.

I learned a lot about the outside world again in chapter seven from (surprise, surprise) Miss Lucy. She's kind of like the Hagrid of Hailsham because she keeps giving the students clues that none of the other teachers would. Can't . . . embed . . . this video. . . .

From what I've gathered, first, the students will become carers (82), and then after that, they start to donate vital organs (81). That would explain why it's so horrible for them to smoke. Like in Brave New World, it seems like predestination is going to be a theme. Predestination didn't look so great in that book, and it's probably not going to look so great in this one, either.

Beyond Hailsham: "A Fantasy Land"

"This might all sound daft, but you have to remember that to us, at that stage in our lives, any place beyond Hailsham was like a fantasy land; we had only the haziest notions of the world outside and about what was and wasn't possible there" (Never Let Me Go, 66).

There's a structural thing in the chapters that's been bugging me (besides the sub-par grammar, I mean). The book, so far, has been based on a bunch of interconnected anecdotes and hasn't been one fluid story, which is fine. But every time Ishiguro introduces a new anecdote, he puts this at the end of the previous one: "And all of that changed the one time that [some person] and I [past tense activity]." Then, there's a line break and the next anecdote starts. I suppose it's nice that there's a pattern.

I'm not complaining about the anecdotes themselves, though. They're doing a good job of slowly creating a world about which I know very little but increasingly more.

I haven't decided yet if the world is a kind-of-utopia like in Brave New World. Miss Lucy's character has kind of been acting as a window into the secret world around the students -- apparently smoking for them was worse than smoking for her (68). Also, like in Brave New World, the characters can't have babies (73).

In Brave New World in your pants, the characters all knew about the mysterious world, and the reader was slowly introduced to it. I like the difference in Never Let Me Go in that we're kind of learning about the "fantasy land" at the same speed as the characters; it makes me feel more included in the book.

Comma Splice

"It was like the split second before you step into a puddle, you realise it's there, but there's nothing you can do about it" (Never Let Me Go, 54).

This is a good analogy because it's something that most people can relate to -- the feeling of stepping into a puddle after you see it, or the feeling of trying to go up another step after you realize it doesn't exist. Sometimes you can get this feeling when there's not enough time to process what's going on around you. Other times, you have plenty of time to process what's going on, but you feel like you have to keep going no matter what. If you're cool, you collected these cards:

Either way, the feeling that Kathy had when Ruth alienated her from the secret guard in chapter five was a crappy one. This part in the book reminds us that the characters are still just children; these kinds of silly things happen with children.

Then, in chapter six, we get another good reminder of this with the symbol of Ruth's pencil case. Around this pencil case were bold actions, inquisitive minds, broken and reformed friendships, and little fibs. These are all parts of childhood.

The one thing that everyone should know is that when there are children present, you shouldn't use comma splices. They're worse than curse words. I hope the characters can't hear the horrible mistakes -- excuse me, literary license -- of Ishiguro. Bad influence.

Serial commas: you should use them.

"I only have the one vague memory of Ruth from that early part of our lives.

I'm playing in a sandpit. There are a number of others in the sand with me, it's too crowded and we're getting irritated with each other" (Never Let Me Go, 45).

Now that I've read four chapters, I'm going to talk about Kazuo Ishiguro's style.

With the exception of dialogue, most of the narration is written in compound or complex (or both) sentences. I appreciate that, but I don't appreciate that he doesn't use the Oxford comma. That disturbs the force.¹

The tone of the book has been more conversational than I'm used to. The author isn't afraid of second person point of view, and Kathy refers to herself and the reader as "we" sometimes. It's a better way to connect with the audience, I think. Probably also for that purpose, there are a lot of dead metaphors -- "in hot water" (44), for example.

The excerpt at the beginning of this post confuses me, though. Why introduce a memory as distant and vague and then switch to the present tense? Usually the present tense makes things more tangible and real. So that's a legitimate question I have.

¹I'm seriously serious about this. Just look at the last sentence of the quote at the top of my post -- it almost looks like a comma splice. But noooo, some people just won't use a serial comma. I can sometimes understand it when the list is just of single words, but that sentence would have been ten times easier to read with the Oxford comma. I feel very strongly about this.

Speculation, Speculation, Speculation

"'What's going to happen to us one day. Donations and all that'" (Never Let Me Go, 29).

I don't know what "donations" are, which is probably Ishiguro's intention. He's been using euphemisms like "donations," "donors," and "carers" throughout the first few chapters without explanation. I'm pretty certain he's leaving open ends for us to speculate about the futures of Kathy, Ruth, Tommy, and friends. So I'm going to start speculating.

I've picked up on a few things that seem to be motifs. One of them I mentioned in my last post -- it seems to be vital that the author identify whether or not certain areas are safe for private conversation. I was wrong in my last post; apparently, the lake is not so good for that. That maaakes me think that the donors and carers have one-on-one sessions sort of like the ones that have happened in the book so far. Maybe there are exchanges of secrets.

Also, I found another person with a last initial of H. First, "Kathy H." on page three, and "Carole H." on page thirty-two. Maybe the carers get last initials of H. when they grow up.

"But if you really want to share secrets . . ."

"'It didn't hurt, did it? When I hit you?'

'Sure. Fractured skull. Concussion, the lot. Even Crow Face might notice it. That's if I ever get up there'" (Never Let Me Go, 14).

In A Separate Peace in your pants, I remember reading about the dangers of sarcasm. "It was only long after that I recognized sarcasm as the protest of people who are weak." Often, I'm a fan of sarcasm, but in this case, it reveals weakness in Kathy. Tommy is being super apologetic and sincere, and instead of returning that, she hides behind a shield of sarcasm. She also denies Tommy's sincerity at the end of chapter two -- "'Don't talk rubbish, Tommy'" (24) -- so their characters are at odds with the whole issue of sarcasm versus sincerity.

There's something that's been bothering me in these first two chapters, and I think it's a setting thing. Kathy keeps introducing a place as "where you go to have private conversations" and then moving to a different private setting every five pages. I'm nooot quite sure why we can't just stick to one or two; maybe it's really important, like a motif. Really important that I know the characters can have private conversations in the pavilion (6), in the dorm (15), in the Great Hall (22), by the lake (24), in a box, with a fox, in a plane, or on a train. Not those last four, but it still seems excessive to me.

Mmm, I can't read about the Great Hall without at least posting a picture of it:

I like polo shirts, too.

"Laura kept up her performance all through the team-picking, doing all the different expressions that went across Tommy's face: the bright eager one at the start; the puzzled concern when four picks had gone by and he still hadn't been chosen; the hurt and panic as it began to dawn on him what was really going on" (Never Let Me Go, 9).

Never Let Me Go in your pants, and I'll never let you go in mine.

I think what's going on in this quote is a bit of imagery -- I can fairly well picture the expressions on both Laura's face and Tommy's face. First, the images characterized Laura and Tommy for me. Laura is a girl who has the nerve to sit inside of a safe pavilion and make fun of somebody else. Tommy is a boy who has a fairly malleable temperament.

The imagery also showcased the pretty quick progression in Tommy's mood as he realized what was going on. At first, I was thinking, "Hey! He has a polo shirt. He must be cool." But then he started playing football and had a huge tantrum, so I couldn't relate to him much after that.

I haaave two comparisons to make. First, the sports pavilion reminded me of the humming pole at St. Mark (the place where people like me would go to, you know, observe recess rather than take part in it). Also, the part where Kathy said, "At first I thought this was just the drugs . . ." reminded me of soma. I worked hard to find a Brave New World connection, and that's all I got so far. I mean, the first part of chapter one left a lot of questions in my head, and that happened a lot in Brave New World, too.