Never Let Me Go 7

"The problem, as I see it, is that you've been told and not told. You've been told but none of you really understand, and I dare say, some people are quite happy to leave it that way."

Never Let Me Go pg 81

My favorite character, Miss Lucy, finally adresses the children as they ought to be adressed. It recurring throughout the novel that these children know nothing about their future and their destiny. I always found it strange that they spoke so strongly of art and local geography, but not one chapter is mathematics or human interaction outside the Hailsham walls. Similarly, this motif of hiding the real purpose of the boarding school is used by the author. Ishiguro always beats around the bush when it comes to donations. To me, this is the biggest part of these children's lives so one would think it would visibly be a part of everything they do, but at the same time how could one be a kid if they know they'd never be an adult? Even as Kathy nears donations, moments such as Miss Lucy's outburst stand out strongly in her memory. Miss Lucy is one of Kathy's role models, I would say, because she told the students the truth in a way they could comprehend it instead of avoiding the question or explaining it in a complex way that a prepubescent child could never understand. I'm hoping that this ignorance motif is over now, and everything is out in the open, leaving donations to be the only troublesome motif left at Hailsham. However, that's a terrible destiny to look forward to. In this case, is ignorace bliss?

Never Let Me Go 6

"'when we lost something precious, and we'd looked and looked and still couldn't find it, then we didn't have to be completely heartbroken. We still had that last bit of comfort, thinking one day, when we were grown up, and we were freeto travel around the country, we could always go and find it again in Norfolk."'
Never Let Me Go pg 66


Norfolk is just a county or city in England. For all I know it really does exist but maybe it doesn't, I'm no geography buff. However, I do know that to the students, Norfolk was hardly a geography lesson. Granted, they played it off as a joke, but they all know Norfolk has deep symbolism  for them as a whole. Referred to as the "lost corner", this real or imaginary place was a source of great hope. As the quote says, these kids could always hold out for Norfolk, where everything they lost could be found. I think this could go past literal posessions and carry on with friendships emotions and even lives. To me, Norfolk is kind of like heaven: unexplained, sometimes mocked, but always in the back of our minds. Even on someone's lowest days, they know that God (or in the novel's case, the lost posession) will be waitingat the gates of heaven (or Norfolk) to comfort them. Call me sappy, but I think it's a good connection. Norfolk is Hailsham's light at the end of the tunnel.

p.s. It does exist!

Never Let Me Go 5

I CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO INDENT.

Here's the real world! I was beginning to wonder if these children were actually children at all, but their inner adolescense comes out in chapter 5. Kathy opens up about rumors, cliques, and betrayals and I couldn't have been more delighted to stop all of the "donation" talk. This clique, the secret guard (a little demented I know) was what we would call the cool crowd, and of course lead by none other than Ruth herself. To complete the preteen girl stereotype, the guard liked to bend and break rules, which brings up the rumors of what's outside Hailsham and what happens to those who venture outside the walls. Sidenote: The New York Times is sick for calling this book a "tour de force". At first I didn't know what it was, but upon googling it I learned that force, in this situation refers to "to compel, constrain, or oblige (oneself or someone) to do something". My adventures on dictionary.com are not helping my confusion. I think the characters know they will be forced to donate (hence force), and the book is exploring, or touring, how this effects their lives. A tour of the misery of knowing you'll have a short life. That's just not right. Anyway, the guard's leader lies to her ladies about a prized posession being a gift from their favorite teacher, and none other than her supposed best friend finds out and confronts her. Kathy, being the good person she is, regrets outting her best friend immediately after. It was refreshing to have a typical "preteen scene" played out, kind of like comic relief, but still cruel because as a reader I'm still not too sure when these girls are going to be asked to donate.

Never Let Me Go 4

"I won't be a carer any more come the end of the year, and though I've got a lot out of it, I have to admit I'll welcome the chance to rest- to stop and think and  remember."

Up until this point I found this book so very random, and a tad demented. I didn't quite understand the purpose of having a first person narrator, but this quote showed me that this book is a giant flashback, a memoir of sorts. Kathy H. is using this time, which she knows is the last bit of her life, to look back to her glory days, her days at Hailsham. This book is Kathy distracting herself from her future, vital organ donation, and looking back to what were the best days of her short life. She appreciates being a carer (whatever that is), but would rather take time to live in the past for awhile, before the donations were looming so closely over her head. This also leads me to believe that being a carer is not a pleasant job. I just can't really appreciate the author leaving out so many little things. I do love the satisfaction of figuring it out on my own, but I feel like I can't fully comprehend anything at this point. I feel like all of my conclusions could very well be wrong.

Never Let Me Go 3

"Funny thing is, this walk with her, it did help. Helped a lot.When you were saying earlier on, about how things seemed better for me now.Well it's because of that."
- Never Let Me Go pg 28

Tommy, the speaker in this situation is explaining his controversial conversation with Miss Lucy to Kathy H.. Tommy, unlike every other "student" at Hailsham was not gifted with creativity, so in the children's eyes he had some sort of educational leprosy and was avoided and teased regularly. This all started Tommy's outrageous temper tantrums. Upon seeing Tommy so shook up, Miss Lucy calmly told him that it's okay to not have creative talents. This one conversation was Tommy's motivation to calm down, which made the children lose interest in teasing him. It was his motivation for a behavioral switch that Kathy H. doesn't necessarily agree with. It's interesting to see that such a life changing conversation for Tommy puzzles Kathy so much. One would think that she would be happy for her good friend because she couldn't bear to watch the bullying, but she isn't quite sure if Miss Lucy is right. To Kathy, accepting not being creative seems like a paradox, but to real people in today's world it's common sense.

Never Let Me Go 2

" I must have fancied him."

 Never Let Me Go page 18

The vernacular of this book lends the reader to believe that the characters are British. Up until this point I had just assumed that it was an American novel set in America, but apparently I'm wrong. Anyway, the author was explaining that Kathy H. never took part in insulting Tommy. Kathy, looking back, puts the pieces together and decides she must have been infatuated with Tommy from an early age. I personally find British vernacular very comical, and frequently find myself chuckling as I read. What I don't understand is why the British insist on using "s" in the place of "z" (ie. realise instead of realize). I just don't understand the need for the change. Thanks Great Britain, I now have a new pet peeve. If the rest of this book is written in this manner, which it will be, I'm going to struggle to get through it without editting out the British vernacular. This quote was intended to be a simple, mindless blog but has morphed into a depressing revelation.

Never Let Me Go 1

"I can remember us back in the juniors, pleading with guardians to hold the next lesson in the pavilion instead of the usual room." Never Let Me Go page 6

 This quote is the beginning of a flashback in the life of Kathy H. As she completes her year as a carer (still not sure what that is), she looks back to her days at Hailsham, a different kind of boarding school. Unlike students of my time, all these students want is tohold class in a different setting, which shows that they are different than my generation, but I'm just not sure how yet. It also suggests that their lives are very repetitive, and even the slightest change is seen as exciting because Kathy H. remembers this small childhood request much later in life. This pavilion was a big deal to the students at Hailsham. Kathy also makes a point to say "us", which implies that this request wasn't uncommon by the students. Because the author takes time to take the storyline back to the pavilion, I think something important to the plot will happen there. Another interesting tid bit about this quote is that it describnes the students as "juniors"; however,  this does not mean high school juniors but a much younger age. Also instead of teachers, the adult is refferred to as a "guardian" which may mean these people just watch the children more than they educate them.