Never let me go themes

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  • Created by: 12dalel
  • Created on: 25-06-16 11:17
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  • Never let me go, themes and motifs
    • Friendship
      • Family
        • Even though the clones don't have any real family they fight and care for each other as if they were one.
          • The guardians represent mother figures who just like in real life lie to their children to protect them from the truth
            • Should the clones be shielded from the reality of their fate or should they be told the truth (miss emily or miss lucy)
        • The clones wanted one of the guardians to show them special interest, this is why Ruth lies about miss gereldene giving her special treatment
      • Kathys flashbacks show the up and downs of her friendship with Ruth and Tommy but they also show the resilience their friendship has
    • Identity
      • The clones don't have surnames, they aren't proper people in the eyes of society
      • Ruth goes to look for her possible to see what she's meant to be like
    • Lies and deceit
      • Should the clones be shielded from the reality of their fate or should they be told the truth (miss emily or miss lucy)
    • Hope
      • The couples in the cottages are comforted by the hope that they might get a deferal
      • In the novel's universe hope only comes from falsehoods or at the expense of others, eg: kathy hopes Ruth and Tommy will break up
    • freedom
      • When Kathy and her friends are younger they are unable to leave hailsham, not because its impossible to escape but because they know no different and they have been taught to be scared of the outside world (the woods)
    • Memory
      • kathy  goes through lots of memories in the novel possibly to see if there was a specific moment in her life that led it to Tommy's dreath
    • Conformity
      • Kathy seems to find pride in how 'typical' she is
      • Ruth tries to copy gestures of older students at the cottages
      • The organ donation system runs smoothly because everyone accepts their fate as doners without a fuss
      • Conformity is a common theme in many dystonian novels however Ishiguro is unusual in the fact the he never offers a better alternative to conformity
        • With the exception of Tommy's tantrum on the field no characters show any signs of rebellion, big or small
        • People bullying tommy and nobody standing up for him represents the clones donations and the fact nobody stands up for them
    • Playing God
      • Society deciding who dies and who lives
    • Free Will
      • The clones are unable to change their fate of being doners however they never even try to follow their dreams
        • For example Ruth never tries to puresue her dream of working in an office which leads the reader to wonder their lack of free will is due to the system or if its a lack of initiative
    • Wilful Ignorance
      • Often characters in the novel shy away from questions they don't want to know the answer to
    • The individual's obligation to society
      • The organ donation system is based on the idea that the clones owe their lives to society and should be be willing to sacrifice them

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Fantastic mind map  

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