Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel Never Let Me Go is narrated from the point of view of the main character, Kathy. She looks back on her life in a nostalgic manner after dealing with various losses over the course of her life. Memory is all about perception, choosing to remember only the good aspects of life rather than the negative ones. Ishiguro demonstrates that memory is a powerful tool when it comes to dealing with loss, especially in the way that Kathy chooses to remember her best friend Ruth.
As Kathy narrates the important parts of her childhood, her relationship with Ruth is described in a way that is very relatable. It is evident that Kathy and Ruth have their ups and downs; they have arguments like most friends do from time to time. However, I find it interesting how Ishiguro discusses the concept of memory throughout the course of the novel. He makes it seem like Ruth and Kathy are choosing bits and pieces of their lives to remember because they are better than others. In fact, at the beginning of the novel, Ruth and Kathy are talking about the immature and silly poems they once coveted that they purchased at the Exchanges. Kathy remembers them as childish, while Ruth seems to glorify them, almost as if “she was determined to remember [them] as more sophisticated than [they] were” (18). Despite the silly nature of these poems, Ruth chooses to perceive them in a way that makes them seem better, perhaps to make her feel better as she looks back on her life. On the other hand, Kathy makes similar comments throughout the course of the novel. Ruth is her friend, yet also is manipulative. As a way of fitting in with the veterans, Ruth “wouldn’t hesitate to ignore [Kathy]” at the Cottages (129). This version of Ruth is unkind, yet Kathy chooses to remember the strengths of their friendship, often mentioning Ruth’s generosity. The tape that Ruth gifted to Kathy at Hailsham after she lost her favorite one is described as “one of [Kathy’s] most precious possessions” (76). Yes, Ruth is not a particularly kind person, and yet Kathy chooses to remember their friendship through the glorified memories of Ruth’s kindness, which causes Kathy’s memory of Ruth to be a happy, nostalgic one as she looks back.
Essentially, the memories are pieces of the past. For many of the students at Hailsham, their lives are too short to dwell on the insignificant and petty arguments, and rather on the friendships and lasting relationships they created over the course of their lives. While each individual probably has a negative memory to look back on, it is all about how people choose to perceive this memory when reminiscing on the past. Ishiguro uses Never Let Me Go to demonstrate the power in each of our memories, asking readers to focus on the things that really matter.
I would have never thought to focus on the memory and perception of the book, but I think it's a really good topic. Whether reading a book and hearing of the character's memories or listening to a friend rely a story, we'll always be an outsider looking in and will always have a different perception of what is happening and how we label the certain situation. It's also telling on how our perceptions of things change over time, yes Ruth may want to remember the poems as sophisticated, but how did she originally think of them when they first got them. I think it points out how the importance of items or memories or ideas change throughout our lives based on how we mature and learn to perceive them. In regards to the book, we as the reader focus on different "important" topics than the narrator. We see it from a different perspective and wish the narrator could see it the way we do; however that may be the whole point, to understand sometimes you'll never be able to walk in the other person's shoe even with as much detail you've been given (especially in the book) about the situation to understand why the person did what they did.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that Kathy tends to glorify the moments where she and Ruth’s relationship is at its best, such as the nights they spend at the cottages chatting about their personal thoughts or the time Ruth gave Kathy a new tape after Kathy lost her prized one. I also agree that Ishiguro favors looking back at the positive memories rather than negative ones. However, I do not think that Kathy, and, by extensions, Ishiguro, solely focuses on the pieces of their lives and relationship that are inherently better than others. For example, one of Kathy’s most detailed memories is the trip to go find Ruth’s possible, and throughout that recollection Ruth is portrayed very negatively. She tells Tommy to shut up after he agrees with her that the trip was pointless. She “[speaks] garbage” about the lives of her and her fellow clones (Ishiguro 167). Kathy earlier brings up the disputes they had over protecting Miss Geraldine and Ruth’s exclusion of her from the group, as well as the time Ruth lied to Kathy about where she got her pencil case from. Kathy often does dwell on the insignificant and petty arguments between her and Ruth, because those memories, along with the positive ones, have collected together to build her perception of Ruth. Kathy does focus on these negative memories of Ruth, but she underplays them in favor of glorifying her positive memories. As a result of this, her perception of Ruth is much more positive than the audience’s perception
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ReplyDeleteI personally believe that the approach to the memory portion of the novel is a huge aspect of figuring out each character’s personalities. However, when focusing on the memory (even as the reader) you only get the outside perspective in correspondence to what the author only wants us to see and think about. You mention that within the novel it shows how the main characters focus on the positive images and thoughts of the past putting everything in a light hearted mood, even if it might have been shown as negative. For example, when Ruth is reminded of the past with the events being more positive then they actually were. This can be seen in two different ways. One being that Ruth is trying to find validation on her life so that she doesn’t have any regrets or sadness when she does pass. Or another way that negativity might not have been taught to them as they grew up meaning that reminiscing on the past is a routine way to bring positivity in your life. In the “real world” we often have negativity because we know trade offs of events where they could have been better, however in this world of the novel the trade offs are unclear to the characters. Because of this, the memories are positive.
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