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.