Blog 1
This book caught my attention because it seemed very suspenseful and a page-turner. I had read a couple of this book and fell in love. I usually don't read books personally but I feel like this book is a good fit for my taste in books I would read. And I if I was thinking if I liked this book I would start reading a lot more. Kazuo Ishiguro, the author of “Never Let Me Go”, was born November 8, 1954, Nagasaki, Japan. Kazuo’s family migrated to Great Britain, from there Kazuo graduated from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK studying creative writing. Before Kazuo became a famous writer he had worked as a social worker, where he met his wife also as a social worker. Not long after he had written his book called “Never Let Me Go”. |
blog 2 |
blog 3 |
Choose a character and explain what motivates them or what they value? How does this motivation/ value play a role in the book?
Kathy is the main character in the book “Never Let Me Go”. Kathy has had a job as a nurse for 11 years. What motivates Kathy are her best friends Ruth and Tommy. Although Ruth and Kathy might seem as they have had a rough patch of friendship. Kathy says “But in the end I managed it, and the instant I saw her again, at that recovery centre in Dover, all our differences—while they didn't exactly vanish— seemed not nearly as important as all the other things: like the fact that we'd grown up together at Hailsham, the fact that we knew and remembered things no one else did.” This quote shows that we learned that they have shared memories of Hailsham. The fact that they grew up together and remembered things that no other kid did, is why they are so close. It keeps a tight bond between Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy. Kathy also quotes “I can see now, too, how the Exchanges had a more subtle effect on us all. If you think about it being dependent on each other to produce the stuff that might become your private treasures —that's bound to do things to your relationships.” To Kathy, this dependency is a good thing and helps build trust. Ruth is Kathy's best friend. Like any other bestfriend relationship, they go through thick and thin together. Kathy values her relationships with both of her best friends Ruth and Tommy. Tommy is one of Kathy’s best friends up until they become lovers later on in the book. These friends have such a tight bond together brings together love, trust, families, and many more. Kathy’s relationships with her two best friends motivate her and have lots of value to her. |
What type of symbolism do you find in this novel? What do the objects really represent?
When Kathy was a child at Hailsham, she comes across a cassette by Judy Bridgewater, the song that speaks to her most is “Never Let Me Go”. Kathy likes to reverse on her time spent at Hailsham, a boarding school, and her childhood. Kathy generally only listened to the song in private in her dorm room and when she did she would feel certain emotions. Kathy quotes “What I was doing was swaying about slowly in time to the song, holding an imaginary baby to my breast. In fact to make it all the more embarrassing, it was one of those times I’d grabbed a pillow to stand in for the baby, and I was doing this slow dance, my eyes closed, sing along softly each time those lines came around again, oh baby, baby, never let me go.” Even though Kathy knew what the song meant the meaning of the lyrics, she misunderstood them and said to them, she assumed it was a mother who never wanted to give her baby up. The song “Never Let Me Go” was a symbolizes Kathy’s unreachable desire to have babies of her own, because clones are not allowed to have babies it is physically impossible. Kathy also quotes “Didn’t we all dream from a time about one guardian or other bending the rules and doing something special for us? A spontaneous hug, a secret letter, a gift?” Kathy explains that there are strict rules she has to maintain of being a clone, she can’t have babies,cant hug other alot, intimacy with other. Not only Kathy but the other people that are more like Kathy, the clones have boundries with others. |
blog 4
What is one theme of the book? Explain how the author conveys this theme.
In what ways do the events in the books reveal evidence of the author's worldview?
The power of memory is the theme of the book Never Let Me Go. Throughout the book, the author goes back and forth through the past with her childhood and then compares it to her current life. Kathy goes through tough times and handles it by using the past memories, she uses the memories to heal past time and holding on everything she lost. The author quotes “That’s most interesting. But I was no more a mind-reader then than today. I was weeping for an altogether different reason. When I watched you dancing that day, I saw something else. I saw a new world coming rapidly. More scientific, efficient, yes. More cures for the old sicknesses. Very good. But a harsh cruel world. And I saw this little girl, her eyes tightly closed, holding to her breast the old kind world, one that she knew in her heart could not remain, and she was holding it and pleading, never let her go. That is what I saw. It wasn’t really you, what you were doing, I know that. But I saw you and it broke my heart. And I’ve never forgotten.” This quote shows that Kathy’s memory is very distinctive and memorizes her important memories to look back on and realize what she had done right from wrong. Kathy also quotes “Maybe from as early as when you’re five or six, there’s been a whisper going at the back of your head, saying: “One day, maybe not so long from now, you’ll get to know how it feels.” So you’re waiting, even if you don’t quite know it, waiting for the moment when you realise that you really are different to them; that there are people out there, like Madame, who don’t hate you or wish you any harm, but who nevertheless shudder at the very thought of you - of how you were brought into this world and why - and who dread the idea of your hand brushing against theirs. The first time you glimpse yourself through the eyes of a person like that, it is a cold moment. It’s a cold moment. It’s like walking past a mirror you’ve walked past every day of your life, and suddenly it shows you something troubling and strange.” Kathy’s rough times in life are more than enough for her to take so she griefs from going back and forth through her past childhood. Her own thoughts and motivations remain somewhat open to argument.
In what ways do the events in the books reveal evidence of the author's worldview?
The power of memory is the theme of the book Never Let Me Go. Throughout the book, the author goes back and forth through the past with her childhood and then compares it to her current life. Kathy goes through tough times and handles it by using the past memories, she uses the memories to heal past time and holding on everything she lost. The author quotes “That’s most interesting. But I was no more a mind-reader then than today. I was weeping for an altogether different reason. When I watched you dancing that day, I saw something else. I saw a new world coming rapidly. More scientific, efficient, yes. More cures for the old sicknesses. Very good. But a harsh cruel world. And I saw this little girl, her eyes tightly closed, holding to her breast the old kind world, one that she knew in her heart could not remain, and she was holding it and pleading, never let her go. That is what I saw. It wasn’t really you, what you were doing, I know that. But I saw you and it broke my heart. And I’ve never forgotten.” This quote shows that Kathy’s memory is very distinctive and memorizes her important memories to look back on and realize what she had done right from wrong. Kathy also quotes “Maybe from as early as when you’re five or six, there’s been a whisper going at the back of your head, saying: “One day, maybe not so long from now, you’ll get to know how it feels.” So you’re waiting, even if you don’t quite know it, waiting for the moment when you realise that you really are different to them; that there are people out there, like Madame, who don’t hate you or wish you any harm, but who nevertheless shudder at the very thought of you - of how you were brought into this world and why - and who dread the idea of your hand brushing against theirs. The first time you glimpse yourself through the eyes of a person like that, it is a cold moment. It’s a cold moment. It’s like walking past a mirror you’ve walked past every day of your life, and suddenly it shows you something troubling and strange.” Kathy’s rough times in life are more than enough for her to take so she griefs from going back and forth through her past childhood. Her own thoughts and motivations remain somewhat open to argument.