Never Let Me Go- Quotes and analysis

“They want me to go on”

Suggests there is a larger governing body controlling society (elements of dystopian fiction).

“Or maybe I’m remembering it wrong”, “I’m not trying to boast”

This shows the narrator is reliable.  

“On that particular afternoon”, “Sun glistening on the muddy grass”

Seems as though she is romanticizing the story. The text suggests Ruth is dead- her view of her may be softer than what she actually was like- issues with the reliability of her narration of these stories.

“People out there”

They don’t know who is out there, deciding their fate, sense of othering by disassociation.

“I don’t know how it was where you were, but at Hailsham we had to have some form of medical almost every week”

This embeds scientific elements in their normal lives, such nuances gives subtle scientific elements to give the Science fiction element. This also helps with suspension of disbelief as there is a vague mention of science which allows the readers to interpret it in their own way.

“Carer”, “Donor”, “whitecoats”

These are all euphemisms for the harsh reality that they have to face, it makes them seem more passive to their situation.  

“it just kept on, and no one said anything”-  Kathy page 15 about Tommy being bullied.

Shows even though the clones knew it was wrong they did not complain- like how they just acted passively towards the cloning process.

“Didn’t we all dream from time to time about one guardian or other bending the rules and doing something special for us: A spontaneous hug, a secret letter, a gift” Kathy page 60

This demonstrates that the clones are fundamentally human and desire elements of the human experience, like having parents-- even those elements to which they have never been exposed.

“The problem, as I see it, is that you've been told and not told. You've been told, but none of you really understand, and I dare say, some people are quite happy to leave it that way.”- Miss Lucy, Page 79

Miss Lucy is an example of someone who defies the system due to moral strain she feels it necessary to tell the clones about parts of their reality.

“It was like when you make a move in chess and just as you take your finger off the piece, you see the mistake you've made, and there's this panic because you don't know yet the scale of disaster you've left yourself open to.”

Idea that this process is irreversible and the damage cannot change, as there are clearly people benefiting from the donation programme, if they were to close it then it would do more bad than good.  

“We challenged the entire way the donations programme was being run. Most importantly, we demonstrated to the world that if students were reared in humane, cultivated environments, it was possible for them to grow to be as sensitive and intelligent as any ordinary human being”- Miss Emily, Page 256

Direct link to Frankenstein and…