"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.