While reading Never Let Me Go, I found myself questioning from where the insecurity
surrounding the clones’ models stems. Ruth, for instance, states, “We’re
modelled from trash. Junkies,
prostitutes, winos, tramps. Convicts, maybe, just so long as they aren’t
psychos. That’s where we come from” after realizing a potential “possible” is
not her original model (166). Kathy, too, questions her origins, attributing her
strong desire for sex (of which she is ashamed) to a model in the sex industry.
Kathy tells Tommy, “I thought if I find her picture, in one of those magazines…it
would just, you know, kind of explain why I am the way I am” (181).
Throughout the book, I assumed the
only “normal” people who had clones made were wealthy, paying to keep a version
of themselves on hold in order to live a longer life. The possibility of a
person of lower socioeconomic status (such as a “junkie” or “tramp,” as Ruth
says) having a clone still does not make logical sense to me. However, upon
further reflection, I think these inclinations each girl has about her model
are not meant to be reflections of the rules of the society in which they live,
but instead of how they feel about themselves.
Ruth delivers her scathing speech
after a failed attempt to find her model; though “she’d been making out the
whole thing was a bit of a joke,” Ruth cares deeply about the possibility of
finding her model, and is devastated to discover it could not be her (146). I
think it’s possible Ruth feels embarrassed to have gotten her hopes up only to
be disappointed, and her insecurities manifest themselves in her speech. Ruth
projects her own feelings of shame onto something that cannot respond: her
model.
In much the same way, Kathy
projects her own insecurities about herself and her developing feelings on her
model. Doing so provides a simple rationalization of her feelings and someone
in which to place blame for her faults. In this way, both girls are humanized; in
an already insecure time in which adolescents are finding themselves and coming
to terms with their sexuality, Ruth and Kathy are responding much the way teens
in real life do. I think these responses only add to the assertion that these
clones are people, struggling and dealing with many of the same issues “normal”
people do.
Ishiguro, Kazuo. Never Let Me Go. Vintage Books, 2005.
Print.
I strongly agree with everything you have said thus far. Never Let Me Go is representative of many things, but one of the strongest notions I got while reading was that it is about teenager’s struggling to find their place in the world. This is a struggle for many teens today, attempting to figure out who they are and why they are the way they are. The struggle to determine one’s identity can lead to much angst, causing irrational behavior and actions that are perceived of as rude to many. This angst manifests itself in the form of Ruth’s ever-changing personality, constantly copying the veterans’ actions while at the Cottage. In attempting to determine what her place in this strange, dystopian society is, Ruth clashes with her only friends, oftentimes driving them away, as “she was struggling to become someone else, and maybe felt the pressure more than the rest of us” (Ishiguro 130). Young adult reading this book may not necessarily side with Ruth on her actions, but they can at least rationalize and relate partially to the emotions Ruth must have been feeling when she betrayed Kathy’s trust and why she grew upset after the trip to Norfolk. The confusing emotions must have felt tumultuous and chaotic, and being unable to properly deal with them—as many teens are—she acts irrationally and out of character. As Kathy puts it, and as many readers can agree with, “we were all of us struggling to adjust to our new life, and I suppose we all did things back then we later regretted” (Ishiguro 131).
ReplyDeleteIshiguro, K. (2005). Never Let Me Go. Vintage Books.
You make a great point that Ruth’s anger when the possible she goes looking for does not turn out to be her reveals her human qualities, although she is a clone. The children at Hailsham are so protected from the outside world that there is really no way to know that possibles or originals would be anywhere near them. Still, the clones build up hope - while Ruth does not outwardly show that she is hopeful her possible will be someone she could admire, Kathy can tell that she is upset when things don’t work out (Ishiguro 164) . Moreover, her angry rant that they are “modeled from trash” makes her disappointment quite apparent (166). Building up hope and expressing disappointment with anger are inherently human tendencies, which make the clones seem more like people despite their sole purpose as organ donors. As we’ve talked about in class, Ishiguro emphasizes that Never Let Me Go is primarily about human relationships in the interviews he does regarding the novel. I think the time that Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth spend at the cottages exposes their human-like emotions more than any other phase Kathy reflects on. The ups and downs of Kathy and Ruth’s relationship at the cottages further proves this, as they do not confront the toxic parts of their friendship in favor of maintaining happy memories they’ve experienced over time, just as real people do.
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