In Never Let Me Go The main characters never try to escape their fate of an early death (Although, the could easily attempt to disappear into society). Instead they hope only for postponement thought a deferral and, ultimately, accept their fate when postponement is denied. Why do you think this is?
ENGL 360 | Future Perfect Human
Prof. Myra Seaman | Fall 2016
This is a very intriguing point. The donors’ lack of consideration to “complete themselves” serves to show their true humanity. The entire novel continually works towards convincing readers that the Hailsham students are just as human as humans, though the actual humans in their society do not view them this way. As the number one human instinct, their instinct to survive is the most persuasive proof that they feel and act like genuine humans.
I think when considering why the donors never try to escape their fate and ultimately just accept it, we have to look back on how they were raised at Hailsham. It is clear that Hailsham is an institution that functions to raise donors with the least amount of dread and fear of their fate as possible. As we see especially in the first part of the novel, the children at Hailsham are “told and not told” what is going to happen to them when they leave (81). The children are told at a young age what their role in the world is; they are intended to be donors. Their fate is presented to them in a way that diverts attention away from fear and instead makes their fate just a fact. Tommy has his theory that the guardians had “timed very carefully and deliberately everything they told [them], so that [they] were always just too young to understand properly the latest piece of information” (82). This kind of thing happens over and over again as the kids grow up, so their fate comes as no real surprise to them–although it is terribly alarming and unpleasant, it is their fate and they need not hide from it. In a way, they have prepared for this “role” their whole lives.
I agree with Miller, by the way the clones were raised at Hailsham, they have come to accept and not be afraid of completing. It seems like they have all gone through the stages of grief already, much like terminally ill patients in hospitals. The reader can seen the various stages in certain characters; Ruth is bargaining, Kathy is accepting, and Tommy is the rage. With their childhood at Hailsham and at the Cottages, the students are given as normal a life as is possible, and donating and eventual completion is just how their life is. This makes it no less horrific for the reader, and no less reprehensible for the world, but it is almost a comfort that the fact that they will complete is accepted. If Kathy had been anything other than her calm and accepting self, it’s hard to see her as going anything other than mad.
I was initially troubled by this point as it seems like a pretty serious loophole that Ishiguro has left unattended. However, I now think the characters’ overall acceptance of their “fates” is a component of Ishiguro larger construction. In short, the collective surrender to fate or, more directly, to a seemingly omnipotent force that will certainly kill, the characters are surreding to authority. What is most disturbing, though, is that throughout the novel, the authority that has created the system of clones, donors, carers, and schools like Hailsham exists invisibly in the background. We, the reader, are seldom, if ever given a look at officials, government structure, or the political situation of the larger world. Moreover, the lives of those at Hailsham and of all of the clones in general seems to be governed by a nearly automated force. I think this silent and seemingly all powerful “thing” that governs the world in Ishiguro’s novel is the most terrifying and truly dystopian part of it.
I think what the author is trying to play with is the contradicting paradigms of the donor’s lives and their contribution to a better society. The lingering question present in Ishiguro’s book is also present in the dystopian future of Minority Report: do the ends justify the means? Both stories feature the outcome which we can easily agree would be a good thing; no more murders/abundant medical treatment. But the jarring complicity of these worlds towards what must be done in order to achieve these ideals is what is impactful and worth dwelling on.
What is jarring to me is the complete acceptance of the donors roles, both by the populous and by the donors themselves. Beyond the obvious ethical conflicts, I find it dangerous that the society is willing to sweep their consciences under the rug in order to make their system work, and keep up the appearances of an ideal system by brainwashing their participants.
I completely agree with Miller, the Hailsham students are told about their future in a way that doesn’t give them much time to think about it. By the time they are mentally able to accept the truth about what the future holds they’ve already compartmentalized it and made it less of a burden to themselves. I also agree with Levena, in that we see the truth about the students at Hailsham and are horrified, which I think is intensified by the lack of care they seem to give that information. The fact that they are so accepting of their fate makes the truth seem even more disturbing. It also seems to ask if the good of the many is worth the sacrifice of the few (and especially those few that humans see as inferior to themselves).
In a way, the students at Hailsham’s response to their fates seems to be a reconciliation with “fate”. They say they always had a “feeling” or even though it was unspoken, they just knew. As a result, what was there for them to do? It’s not like they could escape because they did not even know what was in the real world. What resources or means did they have of escape? In a way it’s also skidding on the side of predestination – they were created and have a specific purpose and it seems futile to try to fight fate. In addition, I feel at this point, Tommy has already given donations and Kathy is going to start; it’s a little exhausting to try and fight any longer, especially with how late in the game all the information is revealed to them.