Never Let Me Go Revision Booklet

Never Let Me Go Summary

Never Let Me Go is set in a dystopian world in which human clones are created so that they can donate their organs as young adults. The novel follows the life story of Kathy, a clone who is raised at a boarding school for future “donors. !t is related in "ashbac#$ Kathy is now thirty%one and about to start her &rst donations. 'or the past eleven years, she has wor#ed as a “carer, a nurse and companion to clones who are in between donations. Kathy reminisces about her time at (ailsham. (er two most important friends were )uth, a charismatic but manipulative and dishonest “*ueen bee, and Tommy, Tommy, a #ind boy with a bad temper temper who is disli#ed disli#ed by the other students. Kathy relates a number of anecdotes about how her relationships with )uth and Tommy Tommy change change over time. time. (ailsham places a great emphasis on art, writing, and other forms of “creativity. + mysterious woman named Madame comes periodically to ta#e the students best artwor# away to an o-%campus “Gallery. Tommy is not particularly good at these things and never gets pieces into the Gallery, which is part of why he is ostracied. /ne day when he is thirteen, Miss Lucy, a teacher and guardian, informs Tommy that it is all right if he has trouble being creative because it does not matter anyway. Kathy is shoc#ed by this. Kathy relates several anecdotes about )uths pathological lying. +t one point, )uth pretends to be talented at chess when she does not actually #now how to play. +t another, she pretends that a pencil case was a gift from her favorite teacher when in fact she bought it for herself. Nevertheless, Kathy becomes good friends with her, and when she loses her favorite cassette tape00which features a song called “Never Let Me Go,00)uth tries to help her &nd it. /ne day, Miss Lucy tries to e1plain to the students about how tragic and di2cult their lives will be once they become donors. (owever, the students are unable to process the information. +round age si1teen, Tommy and )uth begin dating each other. Kathy is slightly 3ealous but tries to hide her feelings for Tommy. + few months after Tommy and )uth get together, the students graduate from (ailsham and go to live at the 4ottage, a more rela1ed holding facility where the students are free to drive and otherwise act as they wish. +t the 4ottages, )uth becomes &1ated on impressing the older students, or 5veterans. Two of these veterans, 4hrissie and )odney, ta#e Kathy, )uth, and Tommy Tommy on a trip to Norfol# Norfol# because because )odney )odney believes believes he has found found )uths )uths “original, the person from whom she was cloned. /n the trip, 4hrissie and )odney confront the younger students about a rumor that if two (ailsham students are truly in love, they can get their donations deferred so they might have a few years together. No one has heard of this program, but )uth pretends that she #nows all about it.

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Tommy Tommy and Kathy split from from the the rest of the group. group. +t Tommys suggestion, suggestion, they loo# in secondhand stores for the favorite music tape that Kathy lost so many years ago. They &nd it and have an emotional moment together. )uth begins to notice the growing a-ection between Kathy and Tommy, and does what she can to sabotage the budding relationship. 6he tells Tommy that Kathy disli#es his drawings, and tells Kathy that Tommy could never fall in love with someone who has had casual se1, as Kathy has. Kathy is saddened by the situation, so she voluntarily leaves the 4ottages to begin her carer training. 6everal years later, rumors begin to circulate that (ailsham has closed. /ne day, Kathy encounters an old friend from (ailsham who informs her that )uth has begun her donations and is doing poorly. 7espite their tumultuous relationship when they were young, Kathy volunteers to become )uths carer. carer. )uth as#s Kathy to ta#e her to see an abandoned boat several hours away. Kathy agrees, and they stop to visit Tommy, who has also begun his donations. Tommys Tommys “recov “recovery ery center is near near the boat, and Kathy Kathy suspects this is why )uth )uth wanted to ma#e the trip. 8hen the trio is bac# together, )uth apologies for #eeping Kathy and Tommy apart. 6he encourages them to apply for a deferral so they can have a few years together, and gives them the address of Madame, whom she believes will be able to help. 6hortly after this, )uth dies. Kathy becomes Tommys carer. 9y this point, Tommy has made three organ donations and is approaching his fourth, which clones generally do not survive. Kathy and Tommy go to visit Madame, who #indly tells them that the deferral program never e1isted. 6he e1plains that (ailsham was a “progressive school, and that she and the other guardians were actually activists for the humane treatment of clones. The emphasis on artwor# was to show the public that the clones had souls. (owever, the humane%treatment humane%treatment movement has petered petered out and (ailsham has lost its funding. /n the way bac# to the recovery center, Tommy is overcome with emotion and throws a tantrum. (owever, (owever, he gets past this and comes to accept that he will die soon. 9ecause he is su-ering from increasingly gruesome medical problems, he as#s Kathy to stop being his carer. Kathy reluctantly agrees, and she bids farewell to Tommy as he gets ready to ma#e his fourth donation. 9ac# in present day, Kathy is about to ma#e her &rst donation herself. 6he is calm and even happy about this, because it will give her a chance to re"ect on her life. 6he has only permitted herself one “indulgence$ a few wee#s after Tommy Tommy dies, she goes to mourn mourn him in a &eld &eld in Norfol#. There, she imagines that all the things she has lost00most importantly, Tommy00will return to her.













9y the time Never Let Me Go was published in :;;<, author Kauo !shiguro was already one of the most renowned and critically acclaimed 9ritish writers. (e had previously received the 8hitbread and the 9oo#er =rie for earlier wor#s, and his The )emains )emains of the 7ay was was adapted into into a highly successful successful &lm. Never Let Me Go addresses some contemporary issues. !n :;;> and :;;?, ma3or legislation permitting stem%cell research research was passed in the @nited 6tates and the @nited Kingdom, raising *uestions about the role cloning ought to play in improving the health of “normal humans. !t also e1plores more timeless *uestions li#e childhood bullying and the role of se1 in relationships. Never Let Me Go was e1tremely well%received critically, and is included in the curriculum of many high%school and college courses. !t was adapted into a &lm by Mar# )omane# in :;>;.

Character List

Kathy

Kathy (. is a thirty%one%year%old clone who has been bred for her organs to be harvested when she reaches adulthood. 6he wor#s as a Acarer,A a #ind of nurse% cum%companion to clones who are in the process of ma#ing their donations, and is very good at her 3ob. Never Let Me Go follows her life story. Kathy is empathetic, mild%mannered, and passive. Ruth

KathyBs best friend from childhood. 7espite her sel&shness and pathological lying, )uth has e1cellent social intelligence, and often perceives realities that others miss. 'or e1ample, she is the &rst to notice that Madame is afraid of the students, and she correctly deduces Kathys feelings for Tommy when they live together at the 4ottages. )uth goes out with Tommy, but eventually feels badly about #eeping him away from Kathy. Late in life, she tries to ma#e amends. Tommy

Tommy Tommy 7. is another one of KathyBs KathyBs classmates classmates at (ailsham. (ailsham. +s a boy, he is ostracied by the other students because of his short temper and immaturity. +s an adult, he is #ind%hearted, enthusiastic, enthusiastic, and painfully naCve. (e is involved in a love triangle with Kathy and )uth.













Miss Geraldine

+ #ind guardian and art teacher. Miss Geraldine is especially beloved by the younger students. Miss Emily

Miss Dmily is the head guardian and the leader of (ailsham. +s adults, Kathy and Tommy Tommy learn learn that she she was a prominent prominent advocate advocate for the humane treatment treatment of of clones. Miss Lucy

+ brus*ue, athletically built guardian who believes the students should be taught everything about their futures as organ donors. Madame

+ mysterious 'rench woman who periodically visits (ailsham to ta#e the studentsB best art away to Athe Gallery.A !t is later revealed that she is also an activist for progressive treatment of clones, and the art is to prove that the clones have souls. Roy !

+ (ailsham student one year older than Kathy, Tommy, and )uth. (e initiates the “to#ens controversy. controversy. Moira "!

+ (ailsham girl in Kathys year who is e1pelled from )uths “secret guard. Laura

+n outgoing, vivacious (ailsham student in Kathys year. 6he has great di2culty when she is re*uired to become a carer. #arry C!

+ handsome, *uiet boy with whom Kathy plots to have se1 in her last year at (ailsham. This never happens and when she sees him at a recovery center years later, he does not recognie her. Ke$ers

The grumpy careta# careta#er er at the 4ottages. 4ottages. #annah













+ very beautiful AveteranA at the 4ottages who seems to su-er from low self% esteem. 4hrissie is unusually interested in (ailsham, which she did not attend, and is in a co%dependent relationship with )odney. Rodney

+ handsome, laid%bac# veteran in a relationship relationship with 4hrissie.

Glossary o% Terms

bedsit

+ modi&ed studio apartment that includes a bedroom, a sitting area, and a #itchenette. bluebottle

+n insect similar to the common "y. bonhomie

'riendliness and camaraderie. carer

+ clone who acts as a nurse and companion to other clones who are undergoing their donations. 4lones become carers through an application processE it is unclear whether being a carer actually results in deferring donations. collection

6tudents at (ailsham have few possessions, so they put great care into their AcollectionsA00artwor# that they buy from other students at the *uarterly D1changes. com&lete

+ euphemism that the clones use for death. Most clones AcompleteA after their third or fourth organ donation. Cotta'es

+fter graduating from (ailsham around age >F, the students are sent to live in the 4ottages, where young adult clones are allowed to live freely until their













The training that that donors must must undergo to become carers. carers. Culture "rie(n'

+ class where older (ailsham students role%play situations they will encounter in the outside world, such as ordering in a restaurant or tal#ing to a police o2cer. donor

Most of the characters in Never Let Me Go are clones designed to become AdonorsA00that is, organ donors. 8hen they reach young adulthood, they are forced to begin a series of organ donations that will eventually #ill them. E)chan'e

The students at at (ailsham are are encouraged encouraged to create create art. Dach *uarter, *uarter, they bring their artwor# to a special event called an D1change where they can trade their pieces for those done by other students. Gallery

Growing up at (ailsham, the studentsB best artwor# was ta#en away to a mysterious AGalleryA o- campus. 8e later learn that the Gallery was created by a group of activists, including Madame, to demonstrate to the public that the clones are human beings with souls and thus should not have their organs harvested. 'uardian

)efers to the adults who run (ailsham and act as both teachers and parent% &gures to the children there. uniors and Seniors Seniors

The children children at (ailsham are divided divided into three three classes$ classes$ !nfants, uniors, uniors, and 6eniors. Kathy is Athirteen or fourteenA in her 6enior H year, which suggests that students become seniors in what corresponds to si1th grade in the @nited 6tates. lorry

+ 9ritish word for a truc#. &ossible

The clones use use this slang term term to refer refer to AnormalA AnormalA people people who could could potentially be the AoriginalsA from which they were modeled. recovery centre















rounders

+ 9ritish game similar to baseball. Sales

+t (ailsham, the periodic 6ales are the studentsB only connection to the outside world. +t these events, they can use to#ens earned for good artwor# to buy toys, clothes, and #nic##nac#s. !t is unclear where the items at the 6ales come from, although they are pre%used which suggests that they are charitable donations from non%clones. sno''in'

9ritish slang for heavy #issing.

Ma*or Themes

Con%ormity

The characters characters in Never Let Me Go place a cultural premium premium on conformity00 conformity00for for e1ample, Kathy repeatedly emphasies how AtypicalA she is, and )uth blatantly copies the gestures of older students at the 4ottages. The organ donation system seems to run relatively smoothly because everyone is willing to accept docilely their fate as donors. 4onformity is a common topic for dystopian science &ction novels li#e Never Let Me Go, but !shiguro is unusual in that he does not suggest a better alternative to conformity. 8ith the e1ception of TommyBs brief tantrum in the &eld, no character indulges in any act of rebellion, large or small. The novelBs universe universe is one one in which conformity conformity is an immutable *uality of human human nature.













time with Tommy. !shiguro is ambiguous about where this lac# of free will comes from00because )uth never tries to wor# in an o2ce, we never learn whether her unhappy life is due to the system or her own lac# of initiative. Communication

=art =art of the novelBs heart%brea#ing, heart%brea#ing, elegiac ending can be attributed to the charactersB failure to communicate. 4ommunication failures factor into pivotal moments in the plot, such as )uthBs moc#ing of TommyBs drawings. (owever, there are also barriers to communication that lie beyond the charactersB controlE for e1ample, )uth never &nds out whether her plan to reunite Kathy and Tommy wor#ed. #o&e

!shiguroBs outloo# outloo# on hope is highly con"icted. !t may ma#e people feel better and allow them to live Adecent livesAE the clones are happier at the 4ottages because they have the idea that they can apply for deferrals if they wish, a rumor that Miss Dmily allows to e1ist because it gives people hope. Nevertheless, Nevertheless, in the novelBs universe, hope only comes from falsehoods and delusions, from KathyBs hope that )uth will brea# up with Tommy, to the illusive hope o-ered by the imagined deferral program. The individual,s obli'ation to society

The organ organ donation program program is premised premised on the idea that the the clones owe owe their lives to society, and should be prepared to sacri&ce them. This principle00not the actual donation program00is the novelBs real point of interrogation. Madame e1plores this notion when she tries to e1plain to Tommy and Kathy that they should be happy they had happy lives at all, given that so many clones did not. -layin' God

The most common common ob3ection ob3ection raised to cloning and genetic genetic engineering, both both in Never Let Me Go and in general, is that it involves playing God. !n the novel, !shiguro e1plores other ways that individuals might play God$ arguably, the clones who try to change their fates are playing God as much as the scientists













polariing ending. +lthough readers might ob3ect to Kathy and TommyBs docile acceptance of their fate, !shiguro implies that only someone who has shared KathyBs e1perience as a clone can understand her choices.

7!0Then there were rumours almost every day o% &ran3s that had been &layed on him! !!! 1 thou'ht sooner or later someone would start sayin' it had 'one too %ar4 but it *ust 3e&t on4 and no one said anythin'!5 Kathy4 -a'e /8

KathyBs account of TommyBs youthful trials foreshadows one of the novelBs ma3or themes. !shiguro does not suggest that people are immoralE rather, he portrays a world in which individuals always assume that someone else will ta#e a stand for morality00and then no one does. !t may seem crass to compare TommyBs bullying to mass slaughter, but this is part of the point00to Kathy and her peers, forced organ donations have become so commonplace that they are no more upsetting than a disturbance in the schoolyard.

6! 09idn2t we all dream %rom time to time about one 'uardian or other bendin' the rules and doin' somethin' s&ecial %or us: A s&ontaneous hu'4 a secret letter4 a 'i%t:5 Kathy4 -a'e ;<

This passage serves several several functions. functions. /n the most most basic level, level, it demonstrates demonstrates that the clones are fundamentally human and desire elements of the human e1perience Ili#e having parentsJ00even those elements to which they have never been e1posed. !t also shows the e1tent to which the strict rules at (ailsham discourage human intimacyE any special relationship with a guardian is strictly forbidden and must be conducted in secret. +t another point in the novel, Kathy e1plains that students at (ailsham do not hug each other much. !n Never Let Me Go, human intimacy is the only way the clones rebel against the system. 9y introducing human intimacy as rebellion early in the boo#, !shiguro sets the stage for Kathy and TommyBs romance later in the novel.













8!0+e all 3now it! +e2re modelled %rom trash! un3ies4 &rostitutes4 winos4 tram&s! Convicts4 maybe4 *ust so lon' as they aren2t &sychos! That2s what we come %rom! +e all 3now it4 so why don2t we say it:5 Ruth4 -a'e /;;

!shiguro uses the cloneBs origins as an opportunity to e1plore *uestions of self% #nowledge and free will. The clones become &1ated on &nding their BoriginalsB because they believe that it will o-er them insight into their personalities and their futures. (owever, they are con"icted about whether they actually want to #now their origins because as )uth says, Aclone modelsA are often somehow undesirable. )uth and Tommy ruminate fre*uently about whether &nding oneBs original is actually worthwhile, raising *uestions of whether a personBs fate is determined determined by their birth or by their choices.

;!0Somethin' in me *ust 'ave u&! A voice went? @All ri'ht4 let him thin3 the absolute worst! Let him thin3 it4 let him thin3 it!2 And 1 su&&ose 1 loo3ed at him with resi'nation4 with a %ace that said4 @es4 it2s true4 what else did you e)&ect:25 Kathy4 -a'e /B8

This passage typi&es !shiguroBs !shiguroBs e1ploration e1ploration of agency and passivity passivity.. KathyBs decisions to be passive are never characteried as voluntaryE she does not give up, but rather Asomething Asomething in herA gives up. (er deep psychological resignation resignation here is signi&cant, because similar emotions lead her to accept her fate as a donor. This becomes a #ind of chic#en%and%egg problem$ !shiguro never clari&es whether this sense of resignation causes her to surrender to fate, or whether her seemingly inevitable future as a donor is what inspires her pervasive sense of futility.

!0The %act was4 1 su&&ose4 there were &ower%ul tides tu''in' us a&art by then4 and it only needed somethin' li3e that to (nish the tas3! 1% we2d understood that bac3 thenDDwho 3nows:DDmaybe we2d have 3e&t a













>!+hy would he 3now: !!! #ow could he &ossibly 3now what Chrissie would have %elt: +hat she would have wanted: 1t wasn,t him on that table4 tryin' to clin' onto li%e! #ow would he 3now: Ruth4 -a'e 77;

)uthBs comments may be poignant, but they also problematie some of the novelBs fundamental premises. premises. Much of the novelBs appeal and tragic e-ect is based on empathy, the assumption that !shiguro can ma#e readers feel what the characters feel. (ere, )uth calls attention to the "awed logic of empathyE no one can ever understand what another individual goes through. This concept reminds readers readers to thin# about the story analytically, as an abstractionE it also invites a more sympathetic reading of )uth, whose behavior may have been motivated by emotions to which readers are not privy.

B!0+hy did we do all o% that wor3 in the (rst &lace: +hy train us4 encoura'e us4 ma3e us &roduce all o% that: 1% we2re *ust 'oin' to 'ive donations anyway4 then die4 why all those lessons: +hy all those boo3s and discussions:5 Kathy4 -a'e 78B

Kathy as#s these *uestions about (ailsham, but they could easily be applied to the world outside the novel as well. Throughout the novel, !shiguro e1plores the *uestion of whether it is worthwhile to live a decent life if one is going to die no matter what. Madame, Miss Dmily, and the other humane%treatment advocates believe that Aboo#s and discussionsA are worthwhile even if a person is condemned to live a short life. Kathy, who must actually live the conse*uences of this mentality, grapples with this *uestion throughout the novel.

/
!shiguro carefully builds up the plotBs poignancy so that readers will be frustrated















Never Let Me Go ta#es place in a dystopian @nited Kingdom, where disease has been eradicated. This apparent blessing has been accomplished by breeding human clones, who are forced to donate their vital organs when they reach early adulthood. Kathy (., a thirty%one%year%old clone who will soon ma#e her &rst donation, narrates the novel. Kathy is a “carer$ she acts as a nurse and a companion to clones that have started the donation process. 6he is proud of her s#ill as a carer, and her superiors seem to have recognied her success, as she is allowed to choose the donors she cares for, a special privilege. 6he often chooses to wor# with students from (ailsham, the boarding school she attended in her youth. !t is implied that (ailsham was a very special school, and most clones did not have happy childhoods, as Kathy did. Kathy often reminisces about her time at (ailsham. +s a child, she mostly played with other girls, especially )uth, her best friend and occasional occasional rival. 6he recalls watching from the sports pavilion as one boy, Tommy, was bullied by his friends. The other girls girls laughed when when Tommy Tommy threw threw a tantrum, tantrum, but young Kathy was was concerned that he would get mud on his favorite shirt. 6he tried to interfere interfere with his tantrum but Tommy accidentally hit her in the face. (e felt guilty immediately, and Kathy did not hold the incident against him. + few days later, Tommy apologied to Kathy on their way to a medical chec#%up. Kathy was slightly embarrassed by his aw#ward behavior and the public setting of his apology, but she began to pay more attention to him. 9ecause of his aw#wardness, his short temper, and his bad wor# in art class, all of his peers re3ect Tommy, and they often play cruel pran#s on him. Kathy is upset by this













mentioned that the students werent taught as much as they should be about donations. Kathy and Tommy were puled by this, since there was no apparent relationship between Tommys creativity and the donations. +t (ailsham, a mysterious woman #nown as Madame too# the students best artwor# to a place o-%campus called the Gallery. The students were never allowed o- campus, so they were not sure that the Gallery even e1ists, but it became a point of pride to have ones wor# ta#en there. /ne time when Kathy was eight, the students swarmed around Madame to test their suspicions that she was afraid of them. 6he became very sti- and uncomfortable, and the incident hurt the students feelings. Analysis

Never Let Me Go is famous not only for its provocative plot, but also for its unusual mode of narration. Narrated in the &rst person, the novel uses the rhetoric of speech, as opposed to the literary register more common in &ction. !shiguro ta#es pains to ma#e Kathys voice seem spo#en, as opposed to written. (e accomplishes this primarily through a series of *uali&cations and modi&cations. For e)am&le4 he writes on &a'e 7/?

“Then it all stopped, not overnight, but rapidly enough. ! was, as ! say, watching the situation closely around then, so ! saw the signs before most of the others. !t started with a period00it might have been a month, maybe longer, when the pran#s went on pretty steadily...













!shiguro suggests that only someone with similar e1periences can truly understand Kathys story, and that readers must ma#e an e-ort to relate to her.

Cha&ters =; Summary

Kathy e1plains that she loo#s forward to becoming a donor because the process will give her time to rela1 and thin# over the events of her life. 8ith that, the narrative "ashes bac# to her youth at (ailsham. !n unior ?, the students begin to resent Madame for ta#ing their best artwor# away to the Gallery. They would otherwise be able to trade these pieces for other students wor# at (ailshams *uarterly D1changes. Dventually, the Guardians agree to reimburse the students with to#ens for the art that is ta#en away. (owever, the controversy inspires one girl to as# Miss Lucy why the art is ta#en to the Gallery in the &rst place. Miss Lucy refuses to e1plain because she believes the students would not understand if she told them. There are are many many confusing moments moments at (ailsham. 6ometimes 6ometimes students students misbehave at the 6ales Iwhere they are allowed to trade to#ens for items from the outside worldJ, and Miss Dmilys lectures after these incidents always bewilderE she fre*uently becomes emotional and alludes to concepts the













Things are are aw#ward aw#ward between Kathy Kathy and )uth )uth for a while after after the botched botched confrontation. Dventually a mutual friend as#s where the pencil case came fromE this is uncomfortable for )uth because she must answer the *uestion consistently, but she also doesnt want to continue with the lie now that Kathy #nows the truth. Kathy intervenes, e1plaining, “There are some very good reasons why we cant tell you where it came from IFHJE this smooths things over between the two girls. /ne day in geography class, Miss Dmily characteries the county of Norfol# as a “lost corner because it is so rural and remote. (ailsham also has a “lost corner$ this is the students nic#name for the lost%and%found area on the third "oor. !t becomes an inside 3o#e that all items lost in Dngland somehow end up in Norfol#. +t a 6ale, Kathy buys a cassette tape by a singer from the >O<;s named udy 9ridgewater. The music is “coc#tail%bar stu-, not the sort of thing any of us at (ailsham li#ed I;J, but Kathy is especially ta#en with a song called “Never Let Me Go. 6he interprets the song to be about a womans love for her baby. /ne day, Madame stumbles upon Kathy dancing and singing the song to an imaginary baby. Madame becomes very emotional and begins to cry, resulting in an aw#ward and unsettling moment for Kathy. 6everal months later, Kathy loses the cassette and is very upset, but tries not to ma#e a fuss about it in front of the other students. )uth tries to &nd the tape, and when that fails, gives Kathy another one. +lthough the music is nothing li#e udy 9ridgewater00it 9ridgewater00it is orchestral orchestral music music for ballroom ballroom dancing00Kathy dancing00Kathy is touched touched by the gesture, which she recognies is intended to repay her for the pencil%case incident.













the “secret guard. Three years later, Kathy seems to be at a liminal stage in her developmentE her choice to confront )uth in the &rst place indicates a degree of immaturity, but she is considerate enough to allow her friend to save face. 6imilarly, )uth remains aloof in this section but begins to recognie that social relationships involve give%and%ta#eE she fervently searches for a way to repay Kathy after the latter refrains from humiliating her about the pencil case. This contrasts sharply with the way she handled the chess incident several years earlierE rather than being grateful to Kathy for #eeping her secret, )uth e1pelled her from the secret guard. The theme of of willful ignorance ignorance begins to ta#e center stage stage in this section. section. The students often choose not to press Miss Lucy for more information about donations because they sense that they are not ready for the whole truth. 6imilarly, all of the girls in the secret guard guard recognie that its not real, but they willfully suspend disbelief. The sta#es are much lower in the latter situation, but it demonstrates that the impulse to willful ignorance is inherent to human nature00its not 3ust something that crops up in life%or%death matters li#e the organ donations. Cha&ters /< Summary

+s the students get older, Miss Lucy continues to ma#e cryptic comments, including an allusion to “terrible accidents that have happened at other schools. /ne day when Kathy is &fteen, Miss Lucy overhears the students tal#ing about the careers they want when they grow up, and she becomes very upset. 6he















should “practice having se1 with someone she doesnt care about &rst, so she will #now what shes doing when she does fall in love with someone. This plan runs amo# amo# when )uth and Tommy Tommy brea# brea# up. Many Many of Kathys Kathys friends believe she will be )uths “natural successor I>;;J as Tommys girlfriendE Kathy begins to li#e this idea and loses interest in (arry. (owever, before Kathy can pursue the relationship, )uth con&des that she wants to get bac# together with Tommy Tommy and as#s Kathy Kathy to help her do so. so. Kathy reluctantly reluctantly agrees agrees to help. 6he goes to encourage Tommy to patch things up with )uth, but Tommy is not interested in tal#ing about relationships. !nstead, he tells Kathy about another conversation he has had with Miss Lucy. The guardian seemed very upset, and told Tommy that Madames gallery is “much more important than ! once thought I>;PJ. 4ontrary to what she told him as a child, he must actually try very hard to be creative. Kathy is unsettled by this, so she abruptly ends the conversation by urging Tommy to get bac# together with )uth. + few months before Kathy leaves (ailsham, Miss Lucy is &red, and )uth and Tommy begin dating again. +t si1teen, the students are dispersed to living facilities across Dngland for young













bedtime heart%to%hearts would be treated with careful respect ... we wouldnt use against each other anything wed tal#ed about I>:FJ. This section displays displays Kathys Kathys pragmatic pragmatic regulation regulation of her emotions. emotions. 6he decides early on that she will lose her virginity to someone she does not care much about, so that she will have e1perience when she falls in love. Li#ewise, she cares deeply about Tommy but does not allow herself to thin# of him as a romantic possibility until 4ynthia and (annah suggest that he li#es her. This personality trait helps to e1plain her emotional reserve later in the boo# when Tommy Tommy ma#es ma#es his his &nal donation. donation. (owever, we might also view Kathys pragmatism as an intellectual posture towards death, to be contrasted with Miss Lucys outloo#. Miss Lucy chooses to be fully aware of death and its conse*uences, as she believes this is the only way a person can live a “decent life. (owever, this brutal honesty costs Miss Lucy her 3ob and more importantly, her emotional healthE she often seems upset and barely able to control herself. +lthough Kathys worldview re*uires her to avoid thin#ing too carefully about the donations, it also allows her to e1perience some happiness and inner peace in spite of her blea# future.













misunderstanding misunderstanding by insinuating that she will be allowed to wor# in an o2ce after she graduates from the 4ottages. 4hrissie and )odney as# about a rumor theyve heard00that (ailsham students are allowed to apply for deferrals before beginning their donations if they are “really, properly in love I><












not consider the angst that might result if, for e1ample, their original turned out to be someone undesirable Ias )uth suggests many of the originals areJ. They can only imagine a positive outcome from #nowing their “futures, a detail that resonates poignantly with the gruesome deaths they will e1perience as donors. )uths character becomes more comple1 in these chapters. !n Norfol#, her pathological lying crosses a line when she lies to 4hrissie and )odney about the deferral program. 8hile her previous deceptions have been petty and self% serving, this is the &rst that is overtly cruel. /n the other hand, we also begin to understand why )uth and Kathy are friends at all00they are loyal to each other no matter what, and for all her "aws, )uth can also be “encouraging, funny, tactful, wise I>:FJ. 7espite the comprehensive se1 education at (ailsham, Kathy has a con"icted relationship with se1. +s a young adult, she does not realie that her se1ual urges are normal, and )uth is little help00although she tries to support Kathy, she agrees that her friends casual liaisons are “strange. 7espite #nowing about se1 ob3ectively, Kathy and her peers su-er because they do not communicate much about se1 and relationships Imuch of Kathys an1iety comes from concerns about













will ma#e up for the fact that he never got artwor# into the Gallery when he was a (ailsham student. 8hen he shows them to Kathy, she is very impressed by their *uality. *uality. Months later, )uth discovers Kathys udy 9ridgewater cassette. Kathy #nows that she will be 3ealous that Tommy bought the cassette for her, so she passes it o- to )uth as a harmless, platonic interaction. )uth accepts this but remains suspicious. Dventually, )uth learns about Tommys drawings and his plans to use them to defer his donations. 6he is e1tremely e1tremely 3ealous that he told Kathy &rst, so she tells Tommy Tommy that that both she and and Kathy thin# thin# his drawings are pathetic. pathetic. Kathy Kathy is too stunned to react, so she 3ust resigns herself and tells Tommy it is true. 6everal days later, )uth and Kathy discuss the incident. Kathy tries to advise )uth to be #inder to Tommy, because sometimes he is upset by the way in which she behaves. )uth seems to ta#e this advice well. (owever, she then informs Kathy in a very patroniing way that she #nows Kathy has feelings for Tommy, but Tommy could never see her li#e “a proper girlfriend I:;>J because Kathy















section that Kathy is almost pathologically passive and unable to ma#e decisions. This becomes clear through through her inaction inaction when )uth )uth claims that Kathy Kathy disli#es disli#es Tommys Tommys artwor#. artwor#. !t !t is signi&cant that that Kathys only important important act of agency agency in this section is e-ectively a non%action00by choosing to begin her carer training early, she avoids resolving her problems with )uth and Tommy.

Cha&ters />7<













/n the way bac#, Tommy and Kathy nag )uth, as#ing her why she never even tried to become an o2ce wor#er, as she had once dreamed. )uth is agitated by this and eventually changes the sub3ect. 6he earnestly apologies to Kathy for the way she handled Kathys con&dences about her se1ual urges00in fact, Kathys urges were completely normal, but )uth pretended they were strange to ma#e her friend feel bad. 6he also apologies for #eeping Kathy and Tommy apart when they were clearly meant to be together. )uth wants Tommy and Kathy to apply for deferrals so they can have a few years together, and she has procured Madames address to help them do this. Kathy













(ailsham as empty and surrounded by marshlands, not unli#e the boat. !mportantly, Tommy, )uth, and Kathy are only able to seriously discuss their role as donors after confronting this symbol of their shared past. This suggests that the past might prevent people from seeing the present clearly, a thematic idea that also lends insight into Kathys narrative, which relies heavily on memory. Cha&ters 7/76 Summary













/n the way bac# to the recovery center, Tommy as#s Kathy to pull over. (e has a tantrum in a muddy &eld, 3ust as he used to do as a child. +fter their trip to see Madame, Kathy and Tommys relationship becomes slightly aw#ward aw#ward and distant. (owever, they still tal# about serious matters, including Tommys Tommys fourth fourth donation, which is coming coming up. (e is afraid afraid that he will still be conscious after the fourth donation, with “nothing to do e1cept watch your remaining donations until they switch you o- I:OJ. Dventually, Tommy decides that he no longer wants Kathy to be his carer. (is













!shiguro seems to weigh in at the end of the novel$ “Maybe ! did #now, Tommy says, “somewhere deep down. 6omething the rest of you didnt. I:
The science of of human cloning is not the primary primary concern concern of Never Never Let Let Me Go, and !shiguro ta#es artistic license with some of the details of how humans are cloned in his novel. Nevertheless, many of his *uestions about the ethics of human cloning are ones that have been raised and debated in real life.















6! #ailsham closes at the end o% the novel! +hy mi'ht this detail be













8ater imagery appears fre*uently in the novel, especially toward the end.

Never Let Me Go Revision Booklet

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