By the end of the novel, it is revealed that Hailsham was a failed attempt to show the clones (post/humans) more humanity due to a change in peoples attitudes towards them. Furthermore, Kathy and Tommy’s goal of getting a deferral was denied although they were clearly in love. What do you think these dystopian endings for the characters reveal about the book and what the author is trying to convey?
ENGL 360 | Future Perfect Human
Prof. Myra Seaman | Fall 2016
The ending of this book is a fairly dismal comment on humanity. Ishiguro suggests that humans cannot overcome their fear of the other, or of being replaced by more evolved beings. Even Miss Emily, one of the most compassionate people to the clones, admits to Kathy, “I myself had to fight back my dread of you all almost every day” (Ishiguro 269). To cope with this intense anxiety, those in charge sweep the clones to the margins of society. The system of raising clones into donors is posthuman, as it regards the clones not as living human beings but a collection of organic components that can be removed. While Hailsham attempts to inject some nurturing into this system, it fails to change the system in any real way.
This question seems to be one of the ultimate ones Ishiguro leaves us with. Referencing things we have already discussed in class and read about, humans do not understand humanity. The idea of what is and is not a human, or a true human, has never had a fixed answer and has consistently been bent by society, in our history topics of racial hatred or “others” come to mind. In the novel, we the reader grow attached to all of the Hailsham students, we come to know their hopes and fears, their good qualities and their ugly qualities. To us, having lived with them and through them, they are as strikingly human as our own friends, while the ‘real humans’ like Keffers and Madame especially, are estranged from us as cold, unfeeling, distant, or menacing to the characters. In truth, in the books society, they are not considered human, they are merely clones. Organ bags. It is this central tension between how we the reader view humanity and how the society within the novel view humanity that leaves us feeling disgusted with the ending as a tragedy.
I think another lens can be applied to this question. Another one of the things Ishiguro Is trying to convey, with this book and the way that it ends, is that no matter how much we as human beings evolve, we will always be greedy and most concerned with our own self preservation. This is mostly primal instinct of course, hot-wired into our DNA, and we see this in the despicable truth of what Kathy, Tommy, and all other “clones” were ultimately designed for. Miss Emily says to them at the end, that the entire project came along so fast and, that “once they had a cure for cancer,” how could you possibly deny that cure to the world. This shows that survival instinct conquered humane practices and ethics. So in spite of the fact that this project of cloning was entirely and unquestionably immoral and cruel, they still nonetheless continued it due to self preservation and greed. There is the idea too that no matter how much these “clones” could appear to be “human” to the rest of the world they were the golden ticket to prolonging life, or cheating death, something everyone thinks about. Ultimately ideals of self preservation supercede any questions of morality, and therefore in turn the so called “humans” are able to turn a blind eye to the horrific nature of this project. I want to think Ishiguro is trying to challenge the reader to question this tough ethical question, and furthermore examine the ultimate greed human beings by nature have, whether it be to live longer, acquire wealth, etc. By presenting us with this ending we are indeed enlightened to the idea that if this event were ever to take place in the world, hopefully as ethical and compassionate entities we wouldn’t allow this sort of thing to happen. Hopefully the overall feeling would fall more in line with the Madame’s and Miss Emily types, who could see that in the end what was occurring was a terrible and unjust thing to do to these clearly human, arguably more human clones.
I agree with Hannah– the ending of this book is tragic, to say the least. Through the ending, the conception of clones, and the basic alienation of characters throughout the novel, I believe Ishiguro is trying to convey that humanity is fragile. Through Ishiguro’s language, readers are able to see from the beginning just how delicate the characters are and how they view the world. Of course, as James has already pointed out, the novel raises questions about morality, and how the clones are able to look past the dark details of what their future holds. Through Kathy, it is revealed to us that the unknown about the future can be a dark thought to swallow, and as a carer, she sees things that are inhumane. The same goes for Ruth and Tommy, who both eventually end up reaching ‘completion.’ By having the characters think this way, I believe Ishiguro wants to readers to think about how life is unsettling, and how our views and thoughts of the world can make us feel. As Hannah discussed, the level of post human in this story is difficult to ignore, especially because it leaves characters (And readers) without the nurturing that was supposedly existent at Hailsham.
This ending certainly portends a negative outlook for the future of clones. Kathy, through her recollections of life at Hailsham, demonstrates that the clones develop their own unique identities and social lives; however, they continue to be treated as sub-human. This refusal to acknowledge the clones’ humanity is a significant representation of society’s resistance to “redefine” itself. (The treatment of clones in Never Let Me Go is comparable to that of the pre-cogs in Minority Report; despite being “more than human,” they are used simply to preserve the human race by providing vital organs and preventing crimes, respectively.) Miss Emily references the Morningdale scandal in which a doctor scientifically develops superior humans; this discovery leads to Hailsham—the last bastion for the ethical treatment of clones—shutting down our of fear that genetically engineered humans will surpass their creators (264). The clones are marginalized and ultimately condemned to “complete” in order that “traditional” human beings can live, as both Ruth and Tommy do by the end of the novel. This dystopian ending effectively conveys the sacrifice that clones must make—a sacrifice that conclusively demonstrates their selflessness and humanity—while simultaneously highlighting society’s selfishness.