Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro Book Review

People may know who they are, but never who they will become. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro illustrates the young students of Hailsham and the discovery of how their fates are unethically tied together. Hailsham is a boarding school in England that serves the sole purpose of raising new generations of clones. The students grow and mature, isolated in Hailsham, only for them to have their organs harvested one by one. As the students grow minds of their own, they begin to question their meaning and purpose to the world they know. Ishiguro uses animal metaphors and annoyed tones to prove that a person’s identity is shaped by many different aspects. 

Ishiguro uses metaphors to clarify the Hailsham students' place in society. Madame, a rare outsider to the school, had always appeared off when around the students. Over the past weeks, Kathy and her friends at Hailsham have had playful inquiries about Madame. Almost as a dare, the circle of friends rushed around her, unveiling the truth, “Madame was afraid of us. But she was afraid of us in the same way someone might be afraid of spider” (Ishiguro 35). Ishiguro uses a metaphor to compare how the children from Hailsham are viewed to humanity as spiders are. Comparing the clones to insects depicts them as inhumane. As spiders are viewed as unsettling or alarming to humanity, the same is true for the clones. The haunted look that overcame Madame’s face pushed the children to question what they must be to come off so appalling. The simple joke unraveled into a complex stepping point of their lives. Before the interaction, the students had no awareness of the terror they inflicted on the population.  After the last game with the outsider, the clones were portrayed to feel emotional conflict. The experiment gives the clones light on how they are absolutely unique to the outside world. The horrifying thought carried fear among the group. Kathy shares the discomforting feeling of, “walking past a mirror you've walked past every day of your life, and suddenly it shows you something else, something troubling and strange” (Ishiguro 36).  The metaphor between a mirror and life aids Ishiguro in conveying the hardships of self-acceptance and the inevitability of human imperfection. Kathy illustrated a flipped mirror, showing herself transformed. The depiction of Madame’s reaction to their presence caused their identification of origin’s role to identity. Ignorance was proven not favored by any of the Hailsham students, as they later pursued the missing parts to their identity.

Furthermore, Ishiguro uses tone to better express the mixed emotions of clones. Using the clone's origin, Hailsham, Ishiguro explores questions of self-knowledge. Before transitioning to donations, the clones become fixated on finding their 'originals'. Many found it would offer them insight into their inner selves and path in life. The idea of finding one’s model was a key part of a student’s self-worth. Therefore, when friends of Ruth claimed they saw her possible in Norfolk it made Ruth thrilled inside. An opportunity as such was rare, so the group traveled to Norfolk in the hope of Ruth. The journey became a disappointment when the realization hit, Ruth’s possible was not the alleged woman. Out of sheer anger, after the group left insensitive comments, Ruth exclaimed, “‘look in rubbish bins. Look down the toilet, that's where you'll find where we all came from’”(Ishiguro 166).  The aggravated tone in Ruth’s voice instantly proved how dejected Ruth is about not confirming her possible to be someone of importance. Ruth degraded the friends by referring to their origin being “down the toilet” letting the reader comprehend the great meaning of self-knowledge. The clones found it would offer them insight into their inner selves and path in life. Ruth discovering her original clone was a way for her to confirm her own existence’s uniqueness, justifying her often dramatic behavior, or proving her will to live in society. Living in cottages outside of Hailsham introduced her to other people going by the term “veterans”. These teens who gave Ruth the idea to find her modeled clone also founded new dreams. Ruth desired to reside in working in an office building, wielding authority, and establishing a position of respect. In the end, the failed search for the possible led only one individual to be out of sorts, Ruth herself. As friends, they began to joke about the awkward conclusion of the trip, but Ruth said coldly still gazing straight ahead of her, “‘You wouldn’t think so if it was your possible we’d been looking for’”(Ishiguro 165).  Once again, an irritated tone is implemented by Ishiguro to convey the mood Ruth had been concealing. Displeased, Ruth tries to place the others in her perspective of the trip. Ruth touched on the fact that everyone else did not know their possibles either by emphasizing “if it was your possible ''. This reinforces the question of whether in the novel the clones struggle with self-identity as humanity does.

In the novel Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro, the never-ending search for identity is represented by the clones continuously striving forward. Persistently in life no matter human, or clone, both follow a quest to find one’s true self. Ishiguro demonstrates this through Ruth’s actions, uniqueness, and dreams to become a part of high society, all adding to the shaping of her identity. Touching on the concept of accepting oneself wholly, Doug quotes, “Identity cannot be found or fabricated but emerges from within when one has the courage to let go” (Doug Cooper).