Essay About Unnecessary Hatred in Never Let Me Go

In Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, the themes of discrimination, hatred and unacceptance are demonstrated by the relationships between three specific characters in the novel. Three young children, Kathy, Ruth and Tommy D. first grow up at their school, Hailsham. They are not normal children and Hailsham is not a regular school. There are quarrels, misunderstandings and a love triangle throughout their lives. They end up becoming adults and begin to deal with more obscure issues as they mature. 

At the beginning of the story, Tommy is strongly discriminated against by the other children because he is different. As a young boy, Tommy is heavily made fun of because he is not artistic and he often has severe meltdowns. The other children try and do everything possible to laugh at him and tease him. “... There [are] rumours almost every day of pranks that … [are] played on him. ... [Kathy] thought sooner or later someone would start saying it had gone too far, but it just kept on, and no one said anything.” (15) This situation is an example of not just discrimation but ignorance to the problems and terrible things happening to a young child who is already struggling. Much hatred was shoved at Tommy even though he didn’t do anything wrong. Tommy often has tantrums in response to anger and frustration. These tantrums are frowned upon by the other children. ”... [One day,] when Tommy was left standing alone [on the field], ... the boys all began sniggering, … Ruth [says]: “It’s coming. Hold it. Seven Seconds. Seven, six, five …” … Tommy burst into thunderous bellowing, and the boys, now laughing openly, started to run off …” (9) This boy is clearly upset and struggling but no one seems to show him any care in the world. The kids add commentary to his situations and only laugh when he is in a state of panic. Everyone at Hailsham is so used to humiliating Tommy that it has become a regular thing for most of the children yet Tommy still doesn’t catch on to why he is being made fun of. “[Tommy] doesn’t suspect a thing.” [Kathy] searched for signs of disapproval about what the boys were going to do to [him].” (7) No one cares enough to stick up for Tommy, even the ones who feel slight sympathy for the boy. The torturing continues to happen and all of the children become used to Tommy being attacked. It even becomes a normal thing to Tommy himself. The discrimination should never have gotten to this point although it still continues to get worse. Ruth is a character who later in the novel grows to become very close to Tommy. “Ruth gave a little laugh and said “The idiot!” (7) This is a great example of someone judging someone else before they get to know them. Ruth is one of the main terrorizers of Tommy throughout their childhood. She is terrible to him for a very long time. She laughs at him, calls him names and is downright awful to him before she begins to understand him. 

The complex characters of Kathy and Ruth also play a large part in the novel. Their relationship is difficult and complicated. The two girls have never gotten along perfectly, even as children. Kathy was one of the only people that felt sympathy for Tommy and Ruth was always the one who would constantly bully Tommy. Ruth ends up growing to fall in love with Tommy and leaves Kathy slightly jealous and upset. They are able to move past the feelings and begin to get along. The three of them are paired together to move out of hailsham and live at the cottages together. The girls' relationship has never been perfect but they begin to become annoyed with each other quickly. While living with Ruth, Kathy becomes infuriated by Ruth’s actions. “[The] early months at the Cottages … [are] a strange time in [their] friendship. … [they] quarrel … over all kinds of little things, but at the same time [they] confide …  in each other more than ever.” (126) Ruth and Kathy fight with each other often but they both know that they must support each other as well. Kathy still tends to assume the worst of Ruth’s intentions at times. Kathy becomes especially annoyed at Ruth due to her close relationship with Tommy. “[Ruth makes] a big deal of it, always putting her arm around Tommy and sometimes snogging him … while other people [are] still about. … [This behavior] looks ... immature at the cottages.” (120) Kathy is upset with Ruth and slightly jealous of her intimate relationship with Tommy. Kathy wishes that she had confessed her feelings for Tommy earlier and proceeds to take out her anger on Ruth. Kathy becomes extremely “irritated” (122) due to the situation. She becomes angry at Ruth when Ruth really does not do anything obviously wrong. This instance is another example of unnecessary hatred towards someone. Instead of acting on her feelings with explanation, Kathy leads to hate.

Through this novel, Ishiguro demonstrates how a person can develop great hate towards someone else for no apparent reason. In the circumstances discussed, the morals of unacceptance and discrimination are demonstrated in depth by the three characters studied. Hatred is an extreme problem in modern society and should be further investigated and acted on.