Dust In the Wind

"I was thinking about the rubbish, the flapping plastic in the branches, the shore-line of odd stuff caught along the fencing, and I half-closed my eyes and imagined this was the spot where everything I'd ever lost since my childhood had washed up, and I was now standing here in front of it, and if I waited long enough, a tiny figure would appear on the horizon across the field, and gradually get larger until I'd see it was Tommy, and he'd wave, maybe even call."  Never Let Me Go (p. 287)


I think it is interesting how Ishiguro ends the book.  Instead of a happy ending, we are left wondering what Kathy will do next.  Will she continue to be a carer, or will she finally become a donor?


The image of the rubbish caught in the fence represents Kathy's life.  When a piece of trash is on the side of the road, no one ever pays attention to it.  Usually, it is unknown as to where it came from and how it got there.  In the same way, Kathy has no idea how she got in this place.  Everything that made her who she was (Ruth, Tommy, and Hailsham) are gone.  She has lost that sense of identity and purpose in her life.  


Both Brave New World and Never Let Me Go end with the loss of everything.  Both Kathy and John lose a sense of purpose in their lives.  They feel they have no identity because they are outcasted by "normal" society.  In John's case, he was left out because he was a normal human.  On the other hand, Kathy was a clone who served the purpose of benefitting the modern world by giving up her own life. I think the two books connect on one similar basis: outcasts.  When someone feels left out of society, it can cause many negative effects both mentally and morally.   


After reading Never Let Me Go, I learned that humans want what is right, but if something stands in the way of a loved one, morals are allowed to be twisted.  Miss Emily wanted what was best for the students of Hailsham, and yet, she was still scared of them.  Madame even referred to the students as "little creatures."  I was confused by this, but I guess humans naturally are afraid of the unknown.  Feeling sorry for a person or group of people is never enough - action must be taken in order for change to occur.  


Here is a song I imagined playing in the background as the story ended.  I thought it was kind of a good summary of how Kathy feels.  

:)

Head Games

"I can see," Miss Emily said, "that it might look as though you were simply pawns in a game."  Never Let Me Go (p. 266)


An ongoing theme in this novel is this idea of Kathy's entire life just being one big game.  Truthfully, I would have to agree.  Even though Kathy was treated with more respect then other donors, this does not change her future.  No matter what she thought at Hailsham, her fate was always set even from day one.  But the question becomes, should we seize the opportunity to make someone's life better now, or should we just make someone's life miserable just because they are different and are bound to die anyways?  Since everyone is set to die one day, obviously, we should seize the day and make the most of what comes our way.  However, this situation is extremely different.  If donors are hidden in the shadows from the normal people, there is something morally wrong with the donations.  This is kind of like sweeping dust underneath a couch - it becomes out of sight and out of mind, but it is still always there.  


In the excerpt above, the word "pawns" represents the game of chess.  This is a metonymy because one part of the game represents the whole.  However, this game is also a motif in the novel, or a recurring image used throughout a work unifying the current situation to previous ones.  As I said before, Kathy is always comparing her life to a game of chess.  Whether it was with Ruth, her life at Hailsham, or becoming a carer, Kathy always felt like she was being played.  Hailsham only wanted the best for Kathy, but it was disappointing to her that even the guardians could not help her escape reality.  Hailsham was just a school of pretending - pretending that the life ahead would be different from what she was made to do.    

Today Was A Fairytale...

"Tommy, afterwards, said he thought she was about to burst into song, and that those curtains behind her would open, and instead of the street and the flat grassy expanse leading to the seafront, there'd be this big stage set, like the ones we'd had at Hailsham, with even a chorus line to back her up." Never Let Me Go (p. 251)

This quote reminded me of a Broadway musical-type fairy tale.  And it is interesting that Madame is the center of it.  For starters, Hailsham has been a fairytale-type place to all the students that attended the school.  Most donors treasure the time spent at the school.  For Ruth, Tommy, and Kathy, Hailsham represents an escape from reality.  At Hailsham, students were allowed to dream and reach for the stars no matter what the world presented.  A fairytale does the same thing.  In Cinderella, an outcast stepsister became a princess against what everyone thought.  In Tangled, Rapunzel escapes her tower and finds her true parents after seeing the floating lights and falling in love.  In Aladdin, Jasmine falls in love with a lowly, poor citizen of the kingdom.  All these fairy tales have one ting in common - dreams.  Without dreams, you can not experience a complete and full life.     

Even though this quote reminded me of a fairy tale, the rest of the chapter is pretty eerie.  The way Madame's house is described just sounded a little spooky to me.  It seemed a little too dark with too floors and rooms.  I am also still curious about what the Gallery is actually used for.  What is the Gallery?  Does it actually exist?  Why is Miss Emily inside Madame's house?  I guess I will just have to wait and find out...

Mr. Sun

"And beyond the dead trunks, maybe sixty yards away, was the boat, sitting beached in the marshes under the weak sun."  Never Let Me Go (p. 224)

I'm still not exactly sure why all the donors were so obsessed with the boat.  Is this just an excuse the donors use to escape their homes?  Or, did seeing the boat remind them of their own damaged selves?

In the quote above, the words "weak sun" are purposefully placed together to create a paradox.  A paradox occurs when two seemingly opposite words are placed together for a certain purpose.  When I think of the sun, I never think of it as weak (after all, all it has to do is explode, and we are all dead...).  Since the sun is the center of the universe and the source of all energy on Earth, it is extremely powerful.  Without it, we would not be alive.  However, Ishiguro still describes the sun as "weak."  This paradox serves a purpose to show that it probably was not a very sunny day.  The sun was probably hidden behind the clouds in the sky.  Also, "weak" was an appropriate adjective for the situation.  Both Tommy and Ruth were weak from their donations, but they were still powerful because they still had words.  The paradox not only describes the weather conditions, but it also shows just how tough Tommy and Ruth really are.

I thought it was extremely interesting how Ruth finally apologized.  I truly believe the donations changed her opinion on the world, but more specifically, her friends.  The reader can see that she does not want to die with regret or shame.  Really and truly, Ruth and Kathy were great friends even though they struggled through so many things.  I think the battles made them stronger in the end.

A New Chapter

"I thought about Hailsham closing, and how it was like someone coming along with a pair of shears and snipping the balloon strings just where they entwined above the man's fist.  Once that happened, there'd be no real sense in which those balloons belonged with each other any more."  Never Let Me Go (p. 213)

I think clowns are extremely ironic.  The one and only purpose for a clown is to create happiness; however, many people are afraid of clowns.  I think it is no mistake that Ishiguro used this image to create a metaphor.  In a way clowns are mysterious - after all, you never know what they might do next and their identity is usually sealed.  In the same way, Hailsham's closing was a type of mystery.  Hailsham, a place of happiness and dreams, scared many people who did not know what exactly made this school so special.  

The excerpt I found was part of a metaphor comparing the closing of Hailsham to the snipping of the strings of balloons.  The balloons actually represent the students of Hailsham who are connected by the very existence of the school.  Without a common denominator, people tend to drift apart.  Even though this has already happened, Kathy is still upset.  Hailsham is her last chance to hold on to the past,of sharing that escape from reality with others.  But now that this is gone, Kathy has to face the world alone.  But really, I think that everyone who attended Hailsham will always remember their experiences.  Nothing that is truly meaningful ever actually leaves a person's memory no matter how hard he or she tries to forget.  However, the closing of Hailsham is like a closing of a big part of Kathy's life.  When one chapter ends, another begins.      

All good things must come to an end...

"It wasn't long after that I made my decision, and once I'd made it, I never wavered."  Never Let Me Go (p. 202)


Part Two of the novel ends with Kathy's final decision to become a carer.  But, what led to this point?


First of all, I think Kathy struggled to find her own voice at the Cottages.  She tried way to hard to fit in with Ruth, Tommy, and all her friends from Hailsham.  I think her decision showed that she was now ready to face reality and the cruel world.


Secondly, Kathy needed to get away from Ruth.  Even though Ruth was a good friend at a time, she just became manipulative and bossy.  Kathy did not need that kind of influence in her life.


Finally, Kathy's hopes of holding on to Tommy were crushed.  Since Ruth told Kathy that Tommy would never be interested in her, Kathy feels there is nothing left at the Cottages that could really benefit her life.


I believe the exact moment everything changed was when Ruth said:  "It's not just me, sweety.  Kathy here finds your animals a complete hoot."  This showed a loss of trust between the triangle of people.  Without trust, relationships can not build.  I would also say that this was the climax of the novel.  This is the place where the most intensity and suspense is created.  Basically, all relationships start to fall down hill after this is said.  Without a climax, the novel could never come to a proper conclusion.


Unfortunately, Ruth's ride around her fate must end.  Now she must face it on a day to day basis.  How will she react?  How will seeing her friends die effect her?  

Winning!

"...and for several minutes, I felt as though I'd triumphed; that now they'd been left in each other's company, they were suffering a fate they thoroughly deserved."  Never Let Me Go (p. 196)


Even though most people will not admit it, everyone loves winning and being right.  Maybe not as much as Charlie Sheen, but you get the idea.  No one ever wants to face the fact that they are wrong.


When Kathy thinks this, it is verbal irony, or a discrepancy between literal and implied meaning.  Literally, she is correct.  When she left the situation, Ruth and Tommy were left in their own company to figure things out on their own.  However, the implied meaning is that each other's company would destroy their relationship.  Since they are a couple, usually spending time together and solving problems builds relationships - it does not tear them down.  Although Kathy wishes to destroy the corrupt relationship from the inside out, she probably actually helped them out by leaving.  Therefore, she didn't actually win which I believe she will realize later.  However, she made the best decision she could in a bad situation.


I'm beginning to wonder who Tommy really likes.  Ruth is bitter and sarcastic when she learns that Kathy knows more about Tommy then she does.  Apparently, Tommy does not regret telling Kathy everything until Ruth opens a can of worms by telling Tommy that Kathy had laughed at his artwork.  I felt really bad for Tommy at this point.  He has been trying so hard to make something worthy of the Gallery, and all Ruth ever does is laugh at him.  So my question is who is Tommy trying to prove he is in love with: Ruth or Kathy?  His relationship with Kathy is probably damaged at this point, but I think even now a relationship with Kathy would healthier then the relationship he is in right now.

Art Therapy

"She told Roy that things like pictures, poetry, all that kind of stuff, she said they revealed what you were like inside,  She said they revealed your soul."  Never Let Me Go (p. 175)

In my AP Art class, many people decide to major in art.  One of the most popular majors that I have heard so far is Art Therapy.  Where you would find a job in this field, I have no idea, but the whole concept really intrests me.  According to Mr. Stratton, the way people draw certain things can reveal so many things about what a person in thinking.  For example, if dark colors are used by a child, the child may be sad or lonely. 

Even though that seems totally irrelevant to the novel, it really isn't.  At Hailsham, the best works are collected for the "Gallery," something no one is really sure that even exists.  According to the theory above, the guardians believe that art can reveal a person's soul.  This may seem far-fetched, but according to art therapy, this may actually be true.  I'm not sure if two people have to draw the same in order to be in love, but I think this process may be sort of on the right path.  Artistry can really reveal many things about a person.

During sophomore year in Mr. Boyle's class, I read a book called The Pact by Jodi Picoult for a book report.  In the book, the main character was accused of murdering his girlfriend even though she commited suicide.  An entire trial took place to covict him of murder.  Some of the evidence used in the case was Emily's art.  Apparently, in of the paintings she finished before her death, she used dark colors and images perhaps hinting at sadness and depression.  In the end the main character was not convicted of death; this shows how art can truely reveal what a person feels in everyday life, further proving the above theory.         

And It's Like the Fog Has Lifted

"We're modelled from trash.  Junkies, prostitutes, winos, tramps.  Convicts, maybe, just so long as they aren't psychos."  Never Let Me Go (p.166)

In this excerpt, words such as trash, junkies, prostitutes, and convicts all bring out a disturbing image.  Usually, these words are used in a negative way.  This brings me to the next literary term:  connotation.  Connotation is the associations and emotional overtones that have become attached to a word or phrase.  Usually, crime, junk, tramps, trash, and prostitution have a negative connotation because they are referenced with something illegal or dirty.  Trash does not necessarily always have a negative connotation, but in this context, people are compared to trash.  If I were ever called trash, personally, I would take it negatively.

Why does Ishiguro use such harsh language at this point of the book?  I think it just shows how upset and disappointed Ruth really is.  Normally, she would never throw a fit like that in front of the veterans.  However, she finally cracks; this means that she can not keep up her act of maturity forever.  I do not think Ruth actually believes what she says, but obviously, her self-cofidence is dwindling.  Ruth feeds off success, and if something goes wrong, suddenly she is thrown in uncomfortable territory.  This reveals that Ruth really does need her friends even though she acts like they are hindering her success.  Without people building her up all the time, she would be nothing. 

If Ruth abuses Kathy and Tommy so much, why do they hang around?  Obviously, Kathy and Tommy could be a great couple if Ruth wasn't standing in the way.  But does Tommy really love Ruth or Kathy?       

Road Trip!

"What they said," Chrissie continued, "was that if you were a boy and a girl, and you were in love with each other, really, properly in love, and if you could show it, then the people who run Hailsham, they sorted it out for you.  They sorted it out so you could have a few years together before you began your donations."  Never Let Me Go (p. 153)


When Rodney and Chrissie first mentioned the road trip, I knew something fishy was going on.  After all, why would veterans want to hang out with the newbies?  Ruth seems extremely fake and overbearing, so personally, I would not want to hang out with her.


Anyways, the literary term I want to expand on is motivation.  Basically, it is the reasons why a character does something.


We are all motivated by something (otherwise, I would be sleeping right now).  Right now, I am motivated by the fact that blogs are due in two days.  Characters in novels are usually motivated by different things like fame, fortune, or power.  


Rodney and Chrissie plan the road trip to get information from Ruth, Kathy, and Tommy.  All three students have one thing in common - they all attended Hailsham; therefore, Rodney and Chrissie assume they hold the key to a longer life.  At first, I thought Hailsham was so recognized because it was like a rich, private school.  But apparently, the staff at Hailsham can literally extend lives.  I think Rodney and Chrissie are selfish for lying to Ruth about a possible look-a-like just to find out more about deferrals.  This just shows a  character's motivation is not always a positive one.


Since the guardians at Hailsham can now extend lives, and the only possible explanation is magic, I officially pronounce that Hailsham = Hogwarts. (I wish...)

Dream Futures

"I suppose it was mainly us newcomers who talked about "dream futures" that winter, though a number veterans did too."  Never Let Me Go (p. 142)


It always starts junior year - all the adults start asking what college you will be attending and what you plan on doing in the future.  For me, I didn't actually know until this summer, so I would usually respond with the brilliant answer of "I don't know."


I'm just going to assume these students are around the same age as juniors.  Instead of this "I have no idea" business, these donors are set on what their "dream future" holds.  These are not far-reaching dreams:  most aspire to work in a grocery store or an office.  But why are their dreams so small?  Is this because they already know deep down what reality holds for them?  Or is it because they are so different from the rest of society?


I thought it was interesting that most of the student's dreams would be fulfilled in America.  Of course, America has always been seen as the "promise land" with ample opportunities for success.  In reality, this is not always the case.  Throughout the novel, the donors have been trying to find a way to escape reality.  Maybe America is just one more outlet for escape.


The whole "model" concept was extremely interesting to me.  How can they model a person off another?  Do they use their DNA or something else?  Are the "donors" born, or are they created?  And why would you want to know what the person you were modelled from is doing?  If it were me, knowing what I could've been would just make my situation all the more gloomy.  

Escape from Reality

"I think of easy-going days drifting in and out of each other's rooms, the languid way the afternoon would fold into evening then into night.  I think of my pile of old paperbacks, their pages gone wobbly, like they'd once belonged to the sea.  I think about how I read them, lying on my front in the grass on warm afternoons, my hair - which I was growing long then - always falling across my vision.  I think about the mornings waking up in my room..."  Never Let Me Go (p. 119)

The Cottages seem like a pretty peaceful place to me.  I've been wondering if the Cottages are a little like college or if they are just like a nice camp before the students are shipped off to die.  This actually kind of sounds like the book series The Hunger Games.  Basically, children are choosen by the Capital to sacrifice themselves for the annual "Hunger Games" to keep the Districts from causing a rebellion.  However, before the tributes are sent off to fight to the death, they are pampered and treated like royalty.  (If you haven't read these books, I would highly suggest it)

The paragraph above contains a literary device called anaphora.  Anaphora basically means that two or more sentences begin with the same phrase or clause.  Each of the sentences in the above excerpt begin with "I think" and end with poetic imagery.  With the use of dramatic details, Ishiguro creates a dream-like state.  Maybe Kathy feels like this was the last place where she could escape from reality in her life.  At the Cottages, she was not forced to face the fact that she was going to die a slow and painful death.  When Kathy becomes a carer, she must accept her fate and struggle with it on a day to day basis.  Anaphora emphasizes Kathy's dream like state and the innocence of the entire place.

I'm not sure why, but the Cottages almost seems like an upscale concentration camp.  I mean, they are living on a "renovated" farm.  Why are the donors kept away from society?  In fact, where has society been all along?  

Oh, and I tried to find a song called "Never Let Me Go" by Judy Bridgewater, but apparantly, it doesn't exist.  What a disappointment...       

Oh the Irony

"'Tommy's right. You're just the person to have when you're in a corner.'"  Never Let Me Go (p. 105)

Ruth is pretty oblivious of a lot of things in the first half of the book.  However, she has also been an ever-changing character.  She denies reality by creating her own fantasy world (which who can blame her when her fate is so horrible), she protects one of the teachers from "danger," she leads her own gang, and she even has her own boyfriend.  The breakup with Tommy was probably one of the big events in her life.  However, she is oblivious to the fact that Tommy has been running into so many obstacles in his life.

When Ruth says the statement above, she considers Kathy to be one of her closest allies.  She tells Kathy that Tommy considers Kathy to be someone who can help a person out of difficult situations.  However, Ruth does not realize that Kathy has been helping Tommy all along.  In fact, I believe Tommy and Kathy have a better relationship then Ruth and Tommy ever had.  The above excerpt is an example of dramatic irony (which takes place when there is a discrepancy between the reader's understanding of the scene and a character's understanding of a scene, usually because the reader has knowledge the character does not).  Ruth thinks that Kathy has been helping her all along; in reality, Kathy has been on the side of Tommy helping with his problems.

Here is a good example of dramatic irony from the Big Bang Theory.  Enjoy :)

Morals, Morals, Morals

"... and even though they knew, intellectually, that we couldn't have babies, they still felt uneasy about us doing it because deep down they couldn't quite believe we wouldn't end up with babies."  Never Let Me Go (p. 96)

This chapter is one of those morally conflicting chapters like in Brave New World.  However, this time, the "normals" are the people with morals, while the donors are taught to have no morals what so ever.

I have two theories for this.  One, the guardians and other leaders want to create a distinct line between the donors and the normal people.  This way, when the donors serve their life purpose, no one can feel bad for what they have done.  Two, the guardians wish to ease their own minds by thinking of  the donors as only animals.  Guardians do not want to grow attached to their students because they know that in the end, their fate is sealed.  I'm going to guess that the guardians are in on this deal in some way.  Maybe this is why Miss Lucy leaves at the end of Part 1.  I think she may have finally accepted how wrong the process of donation really was.     

I think it is interesting how similar but different Brave New World and Never Let Me Go really are.  For example, in Brave New World, the "perfect people" are the norm.  However, they still have emotions, relationships, and problems just as the people of Hailsham.  But the students in Hailsham seem to be the outcasts.  Either way, both suffer pretty much the same problems, but in different ways.

Okay, what is up with the total ignorance of the letter "z"?!  It is driving me nuts.  Realise and recognised are just two examples.  I'm guess that this is the British spelling or something like that, but can't we just all be on the same page with spelling... 

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

"All that business about "unzipping," that was typical of the way the whole subject impinged on us when we were thirteen."  Never Let Me Go (p. 88)

And so, the creepiness begins.

Just when I thought Kathy may be living in a normal(ish) environment, she finds out that she is being raised solely for the purpose of having her organs taken away from her.  I thought it was a little odd that this did not come as a shock to any of the students.  I guess feeling different has something they have dealt with their entire lives; however, I do not think they knew of the exact reason they were different up until this point.  My question is: are the "donators" treated any different then the "normal" people?  It seems like the donators are kept hidden as a kind of "don't ask, don't tell" situation.   

In the excerpt above, the bold word in the sentence (unzipping) is a metonymy, or a figure of speech in which a person, place, or thing is referred to by something closely associated to it.  In this case, "unzipping" refers to the donations.  In a way, a person is "unzipped" in order for an organ to be taken from the body.  Referring to the donation directly would not add to the imagery of the story.  However, "unzipping" is a graphic image of what the donations stand for.  Also, it presents the students of Hailsham as objects, not people.  Obviously, the donators have emotions and curiosities just as normal people do, so I think something is wrong with this picture.

Deep Questions

"You can imagine what a shock this was.  Before Miss Lucy's reply, we'd all been glaring at Marge, really furious she'd asked such a rude question - to us, she might as well have asked if Miss Lucy had ever attacked anyone with an axe."  Never Let Me Go (p. 68)

This is my theory so far in the book:  Madame is scared of all the children because they are all secretly her clones and that's how she knows what they are thinking.  Pretty sure that is a legit theory. 

Anyways, the excerpt above exemplifies how the average 8-year-old's brain works.  Someone colors out of the lines, and suddenly, he is the kid who no one likes.  Okay, maybe that is an exaggeration, but you know what I mean.  The narrator, Kathy, uses an exaggeration (or hyperbole) to show how the question really bothered everyone.  Honestly, I can imagine a normal child asking a question like this... I mean after all, even I can remember being curious about things I wasn't really supposed to know about.  Since cigarettes were obviously a "no-no" topic, I'm sure questions were on all of the children's minds.  Kathy exaggerates by comparing asking if Miss Lucy had used cigarettes with asking if Miss Lucy was ever a murderer.  Pretty extreme, I'd say. 

I thought this quote was a little ironic as well.  The children obviously equate cigarettes with murder and death.  I think this is no misprint of the author.  Just as Brave New World warned people of alcohol and drugs, Ishinguro is warning modern day people of the danger of cigarettes.  It is ironic in the fact that passage really has a double meaning - 1) asking questions about banned topics is unforgivable and 2) cigarettes are a dangerous thing.       

Pretty Little Liars

"But the truth was, those of us who'd grown close to her, we each played our part in preserving the fantasy and making it last for as long as possible."  Never Let Me Go (p. 52)

Games and avoidance of the truth.  I think this is a normal part of a normal childhood.  But for how long should it last?  Obviously Ruth is the leader in her group of friends.  She makes the decisions and chooses the fantasies the group follows.  I'm not exactly sure how old the gang is when they are during Senior year, but it seems to me they are old enough to know the difference between fantasy and reality.  I'm beginning to wonder if Ruth knows something about the real world that she is just trying to hide from her naive counterparts or if she just enjoys manipulating people.

But if everyone knew about the childishness to the games, why did they all play along?  Ruth must have some type of power or popularity that everyone wants.  Otherwise, I think her friends would have left a long time ago. 

All of these stories of Ruth remind me of the show Pretty Little Liars.  In the series, the girls are manipulated by one of their best friends, Alison.  Even though they know that Alison is not the best influence, they continue to play her games.  When she suddenly dies, the girls realize just how much A played with their lives.  The series is really about a person pretending to be A ruining their lives, but I thought Alison is directly related to Ruth.   

"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more."

"And though we just kept on walking, we all felt it;  it was like we'd walked from the sun right into the chilly shade."  Never Let Me Go (p. 35)

Is it just me, or does Madame seem like Cruella Devil?  I'm not really sure what it is about her, but she seems to me like a rich lady out for power and money.  I guess I will find out soon enough.

In this chapter we are introduced to a new character Kathy calls "Madame."  This is not really her name, but no one else really knows what to call her.  She seems to have authority and power over the guardians and students at Hailsham; however, Ruth proves that Madame is actually scared of the people at Hailsham.

In the above excerpt, Ishiguro uses a simile to illustrate how the students felt when walking so close to Madame.  The simile not only explains the emotions of the students, but also the aura of a symbol of authority.  Madame is a representation of the unknown world outside of Hailsham to the students.  Obviously, they have not really traveled beyond the walls of the well-known.  But ironically, I'm going to assume that Madame hasn't either.  Both parties feel uncomfortable in the situation of walking past one another.  The simile serves a tool to add imagery and depth to the novel.

This simile is also a juxtaposition.  The word "sun" reminds me of words such as warm and bright.  These words are the opposite of the words "shade" and "chilly."  I think this is the point where the students begin to realize their perfect world may not be as perfect as they thought...

Shady Creativity

"What she said was that if I didn't want to be creative, if I really didn't feel like it, that was perfectly all right.  Nothing wrong with it, she said."  Never Let Me Go (p. 23)

Obviously, both Never Let Me Go and Brave New World are somehow similar.  So far, I am just seeing the differences.  In Brave New World, the perfect world banned creativity and anything of individual thinking.  However, the students in Never Let Me Go are encouraged, or almost forced, to show creativity.  After Tommy says this quote to Kathy, Kathy is shocked.  She can not believe that anyone would not want to show creativity. 

I think something a little fishy is going on.  In the next chapter, the reader finds out about a "Gallery" where all the most original and best art is taken to be "displayed."  Since no one has actually seen the Gallery, it almost seems as if community members are using this art for shady purposes.  I've heard that this book has something to do with clones, so maybe the art connects with the creation of clones in some way. 

So far, it is pretty obvious that if a student is not creative, he or she is looked down upon and shunned by other students.  It is pretty interesting how one difference can cause so much prejudice even in "the perfect world."  I feel like this is like how it is in grade school - if one person is not athletic and outgoing, suddenly they find themselves as the outcast.  No matter how much humans try to create the perfect race, human nature always takes over.  

I appreciate how the artists in this book are the cool people because usually they are considered to be strange.  Go art.