Mortality and Memories

The exploration of mortality in Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go examines what it means to be human and have a soul. The clones’ home of Hailsham was created as part of a movement to humanize clones and demonstrate their equality to humans. Students were raised in a positive and nurturing environment and taught to produce artwork in a hope to convince the world clones had souls. Hailsham’s movement is ultimately unsuccessful which argues that souls can’t be proven to exist rather they are just an inherent part of being human. By the end of the novel, Miss Emily and Madame must come to terms with accepting their world how it is and the place that clones have in it. This parallels Tommy and Kathy’s realization that “deferrals” don’t exist and that there is no delaying their fates as clones. The novel’s theme of accepting mortality is faced by all humans regardless of if they are a clone or not and for Tommy, “maybe the reason you used to get like that was because at some level you always knew” (Ishiguro 270). Part of being human is being able to recognize your own mortality. Tommy agrees with the ideas of Miss Lucy and that it was wrong to raise students at Hailsham without being more direct about their fate. While Hailsham failed at its original purpose it ultimately becomes a source of comfort for Kathy who must accept losing Ruth and Tommy.

Kathy’s acceptance of finally becoming a donor is represented by the novels title. While her time will be limited she will never lose the memories that made her who she is. The whole novel is told in flashbacks and Kathy is only able to face her situation in the present after going through her life’s story. Kathy’s memories are source of strength for her character, and she gets very upset whenever Ruth pretends to not remember things about their past. Kathy is reluctant to become a carer for both Ruth and then Tommy, but she realizes that to complete her memories and fully understand her past she wants to spend time with her friends one last time. Before Tommy and Kathy visit Madame to understand Hailsham’s purpose and the meaning of their art they connect with Ruth who finally admits to her wrongdoings and keeping them apart as a couple. Ruth is manipulative and always wants to be in control of situations so that she can avoid confronting hard truths. Ruth’s character represents denial and despite this Kathy recognizes that, “she wanted the best for us at the end, and though she said that day in the car I’d never forgive her, she was wrong about that. I’ve got no anger left for her now” (Ishiguro 279). Kathy comes to peace with how she was treated by Ruth and even follows her wish to spend time with Tommy. Kathy utilizes her memories to prove to herself that she has a soul and is happy to finally become a doner knowing her past has made her who she is.