Human beings tend to be fearful of their ever-impending mortality. This is quite understandable since the lifespan of humans varies significantly, and one could never be sure what may cause their death or when it may happen. But as seen throughout Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel Never Let Me Go, the idea of mortality is essentially non-existent. The characters are groomed from birth as clones to be utilized in a massive scheme of organ harvesting. The characters are sheltered from society their entire childhood, meaning they are free from society’s implications and beliefs, which allows them to live somewhat of a pure life devoid of the fear of death. The characters have been grown and cloned for only one purpose, and that is to provide their vital organs when they are required.
However, none of the characters seem to care that their fate is limited to being an organ bank. Personally, even if I had been brought up in the same circumstances I would at least question my purpose and why such an elaborate system exists. In fact, the characters seem to appreciate their role and are satisfied when they are able to execute their role. This can be seen in Kathy at the very beginning of the novel when she says “Okay, maybe I am boasting now. But it means a lot to me, being able to do my work well”(Ishiguro 3). This scene is Kathy talking about her experience as a carer taking care of countless donors and how she is unnaturally been employed for a long period of time. But why is this particular scene significant? The entire novel has been written in such a manner that the narrator, Kathy, is recounting her life through her memories at the age of 31. So the perspectives provided at the beginning of the book serve as the culmination of her changing thought process throughout the book.
This culmination results in her seemingly being quite appreciative of the life and role she has had until this day. Her satisfaction can be seen in further display when she exclaims “if I’d never started choosing, how would I ever have got close again to Ruth and Tommy after all those years?”(4). Instead of being sorrowful that her friends’ organs had to be harvested and that she was taking care of them while she was perfectly fine, she was appreciative and pretty happy with her situation. Also, the choosing part of the quote is a privilege she acquired years into her job.
The overall acceptance of reality, fate, and mortality seem to provide the characters of the novel a way to enjoy their lives without having to constantly be fearful. Maybe finding the positives in every grim situation and living with that in mind is the message that Kazuo Ishiguro wanted to convey since he mentioned in the interview that the novel was meant to convey a happy message rather than a tragedy.
In class, we often talked about how we would live our lives if we accepted our own incoming mortality. Though you state that Kathy and some of the other characters seem to accept their fate as donors, I disagree. One of the main things that comes to mind is their idea of "possibles." They are so in need of a different life for themselves, that they will search for and attach to a stranger and think that this could have been their life. This is a pure fantasy and a way for them to escape their situation. Though Ruth's ended up not looking like her or being her true possible, just the hope and notion that her possible was discovered was such a profound factor in her life. On page 158, Ruth is elated that her possible is working in an office building, just like she dreamed. Because they are so fascinated with possibles, this leads me to believe that they are not content with their fate.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, though I do think that the characters do a good job finding the positives in their lives, they all realize that there is much more to life. I think it is super sad how they are so oblivious at times and do not always know what they are missing out on. It is important to cherish what you have in your life, so that is why they are so intent on maintaining and appreciating their relationships. However, in the end, Kathy suggests that Tommy knew all along that they got the short end of the stick, explaining his anger issues. This could be a sign of them not accepting their fate as well.