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?  

The Point of Breaking

“And suddenly it was luminously clear to the Savage what he must do.”

“Don’t take that horrible stuff.  It’s poison, it’s poison.” Brave New World (p. 210 -211)

Finally, a clear plot line has surfaced!  So far, I have been extremely confused on who the main character actually is and when anyone was ever actually going to try to change this awful “New World.” 

I believe this is the climax of the plot line surrounding John.  Because he believes he has a soul, he probably thinks that everything that happens in his life has a purpose.  Moving to a New World, now that’s a significant change.  John is probably trying to figure out why he was sent to the awful place. 

After Linda died, John was probably extremely emotional.  After all, the workers were practically mocking him for his grief.  Influenced by his emotions, he decided to do something to free the thousands of twins from the prison they do not realize they are living in.  John figured out the key to the puzzle – soma tricks every person into believing everything the New World offers.  From the ridicules phrases to the identical outfits, everything has been a trick.  In order to hide the flaws of the New World, soma forces people to believe something they probably wouldn’t accept in the right state of mind.  This epiphany is the climax of the story, allowing the reader to put everything together.  Without a climax, the story would end with no knowledge of what the author was trying to teach the reader.  A climax places the storyline in the reader’s face making it not difficult to find the message.

So, maybe soma is a little more powerful than what I thought before… maybe not a drug or alcohol, but a brainwashing device.  A little more intense then what I thought, but the same kind of idea.