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.