Blog entry #11 Never Let Me Go

"I'd had this notion there were two quite separate Ruths.  There was one Ruth who was always trying to impress the veterans, who wouldn't hesitate to ignore me, Tommy, any of the others, if she thought we'd cramp her style.  This was the Ruth I wasn't pleased with, the one I could see every day putting on airs and pretending-the Ruth who did the slap-on-the-elbow gesture.  But the Ruth who sat beside me in my little attic room at the day's close, legs outstretched over the edge of my mattress, her steaming mug held in both her hands, that was the Ruth from Hailsham, and whatever had been happening during the day, I could just pick up with her where we'd left off the last time we'd sat together like that." page 129

Kathy juxtaposes her best friend, Ruth.  First of all, this is an unusual juxtaposition because it is a single person being contrasted against herself.  I think the author intended for this juxtaposition to reveal more dimensions about Ruth.  I think it serves to indirectly characterize Ruth.  From the juxtaposition, we can infer that she heavily concerned with the opinions of others.  She even goes to the extent of copying the mannerisms of the veterans.  But we see that there is still a side of her that isn't so superficial.  Ruth still cares to pour her heart out to her most loyal friend, Kathy.  This, I think, sets in stone Ruth's position as dynamic character. 

Blog entry #10 Never Let Me Go

"Over time, they would fade from our minds, but for a while those essays helped keep us afloat in our new surroundings." page 115

Here, the author does not directly state that the essays are comparable to boats, but it is implied through the word "afloat."  The purpose in this implied metaphor is to describe Kathy's feelings towards her "new surroundings."  She is apprehensive and anxious because she has spent her entire life in the confines of Hailsham.  Now, she must experience a frightening transition in her life.  The author shows her desperation by characterizing the new environment as unstable and hectic like the ocean. Kathy needs to maintain her connection to Hailsham because it is all she has, save her friends.  This is represented by a boat afloat in a new sea of surroundings.  The essays represent a connection to a safe place, Hailsham, in a new situation, the Cottages.

Blog entry #9 Never Let Me Go

"'God knows what she meant.'" Page 108

The purpose of the apostrophe is the illustrate the degree to which Tommy is confused about the word "evidence" in this specific context. Tommy declares God as to be knowledgeable of this "evidence" because Tommy knows that few things are revealed around Hailsham to the students.  I think the author intended to create this confusion with Tommy to create suspense.  The fact that Tommy and Kathy are wholly confused about what Miss Lucy said makes the reader all the more confused.  This will tightly grasp the readers attention because it is obvious that this "evidence" is significant.  If it weren't so, why would the author include it in the dialogue on page 108?  The reader is intrigued about the significance and excited about the revelation of this significance later in the novel.  Saying that only the creator of the universe knows only increases the mystique.

Blog entry #8 Never Let Me Go

"In those days I had this secret game.  When I found myself alone, I'd stop and look for a view- out of a window, say, or through a doorway into a room-any view so long as there were no people in it.  I did this so that I could, for a few seconds, at least, create the illusion the place wasn't crawling with students, but that instead Hailsham was this quiet, tranquil house where I lived with just five or six others." Page 90

Kathy's personality, I can't help but notice, resembles my personality.  She enjoys solitude, and the company of a few intimate friends.  I often need time to myself to collect and organize my thoughts.  I, as well, prefer the company of a few good friends rather than a noisy crowd of acquaintances.  I just don't get the same enjoyment in carrying idle chat with what are practically strangers as I do when I am deeply absorbed in stimulating conversation with those who I feel most relaxed around.  Kathy is partial to tranquility, as I am.  I cherish times when there is nothing going on, when there is an overpowering silence that induces a tranquil trance in which my mind is free to wonder wherever it pleases, with  no anxieties to hijack my train of thought.  A quiet place is conducive to critically thinking and problem solving.  I think this is why I abhor the times in which I go to a big, crowded event with masses of chatty individuals.

Blog entry #7 Never Let Me Go

"'Your lives are set out for you.  You'll become adults, then before you're old, before you're even middle-aged, you'll start to donate your vital organs.  That's what each of you was created to do.'" Page 81

I am beginning to make connections within the story.  The word "created" implies that these children at Hailsham have been artificially born.  Perhaps they are clones.  This is why they have been taught to be cautious in their lives.  They are taught to avoid cigarettes and to be wise when choosing a sexual partner. Their entire purpose in life is to provide vital organs to those in need.  They must been meticulously careful in how the treat their bodies.  This makes me wonder about the condition of the outside world at this time period.  Is it in that great of need that it needs to produce humans solely for the purpose of their vital organs?

Blog entry #6 Never Let Me Go

"This might all sound daft, but you have to remember that to us, at that stage in our lives, any place beyond Hailsham was like a fantasy land.." Page 66

The setting seems to be very important in shaping the minds of the children at Hailsham.  They are so accustomed to Hailsham that anywhere outside is "fantasy land."  This fact causes much mystique about the outside world.  The Children, for sometime, speculate about the town Norfolk, suggesting that it could be one huge center for the lost items of England.  They also are so intrigued about one character, Madame.  Madame comes in from the outside world to take their priced works.  The children all wonder what business she has with taking  their work.  What purpose does their work serve in the outside world, they wonder?  Hailsham also confines the students to only knowing a few type of characters.  They are never really able to experience the variety of positive and negative personalities that exist in the world.  They are socially limited in the fact that the mostly only know guardians and other students at Hailsham. 

Blog entry #5 Never Let Me Go

"When it got bad, it was like they cast a shadow over the whole of Hailsham." Page 50

The purpose of this imagery is to describe the effect the woods at Hailsham have on the atmosphere of Hailsham.  It is understood that the woods don't literally cast a shadow encasing the whole of Hailsham.  The image of the shadow helps to translate the attitude of the students concerning the woods into a visual.  The children feel apprehensive wonder about what lurks inside the infamous Hailsham woods.  This fear engulfs the entire body of students.  A shadow can also engulf things, but it physical phenomenon.  It is up to the reader to decipher the fear of the students by associating the physical reality of a shadow to an ominous atmosphere.  When this is done, the woods accurately portray the overpowering, mystifying, and terrifying atmosphere of Hailsham.

Blog entry # 4 Never Let Me Go

"'Miss Emily had an intellect you could slice logs with.'" page 43

When describing the intellect of Miss Emily, hyperbole is utilized.  The hyperbole, or figurative exaggeration, intends to focus the reader on the subject of Miss Emily's intelligence.  This is done to make the impression that Emily is extraordinarily sharp.  The hyperbole emphasizes just how intelligent Miss Emily appears to be.  It would be mundane to plainly declare Miss Emily to be especially bright.  Miss Emily's intellect appears to be so exceptional that describing it in the parameters of what the mind is actually cable of does not suffice.  Her intellect is so keen that it takes on physical strength.  This impossible declaration about her intellect effectually characterizes her intellect.

Blog entry # 3 Never Let Me Go

"it was like we'd walked from the sun right into chilly shade." page 35

This marks an important realization in Kathy's life.  Kathy realizes that she is different than Madame.  She realizes that Madame, as well as others in life, are really indifferent to Kathy's existence, and that many would rather shrug Kathy and her friends off to avoid contact.  She says it is like walking into a chilly shade.  The guardians, for the duration of Kathy's time at Hailsham, have been friendly and affectionate towards the children.  They even are concerned when Tommy isn't working to his full potential.  Now, though, she experiences the inevitable "chilly shade" of meeting people who react with sincere apathy to the sight of her.  The simile above intends to describe the juxtaposition between the guardians that have frequented Kathy's presence and these new and uncanny kind of people, apathetic and "cold," if you will.

Blog entry # 2 Never Let Me Go

"Of course, you don't exactly see yourself reflected back loads of times, but you almost think you do.  When you lift an arm, or when someone sits up in bed, you can feel this pale, shadowy movement all around you in the tiles." Page 18

I've been noticing a conversational tone in the story.  The narrator involves the reader in her story by the use of the pronoun "you."  For example, when Kathy is describing one of the centres she has worked at, she describes it as if you were there experiencing it.  She could have easily described the centre from her perspective, but she instead involved the reader.  I think this is done intentionally by Ishiguro to get the reader more involved in Kathy's story.  The conversational tone allows the reader to be more emotionally attached.  The tone makes it seem as if you are there and she is pouring out her memories directly to you.  They call it "conversational" for a reason; Ishiguro has created a one-way conversation, between Kathy in the reader, that is the medium through which the story is delivered.

Blog entry # 1 Never Let Me Go

"I know when to hang around and comfort them, when to leave them to themselves; when to listen to everything they have to say, and when just to shrug and tell them to snap out of it." -page 3

The narrator employs parallelism in the very beginning of the book to characterize proficiency in her job as a carer.  Parallelism is, in this case, intended to draw attention to what the narrator has to say.  She wants the reader to be informed of her abilities.  Perhaps Kathy finds a sense of pride in her achievement of commendable status as a carer.  Ishiguro wants the main character, Kathy, to seem as human as possible when telling her story.  This includes a human quality, pride, and a natural tendency to speak gently of one's self when speaking to others.  This is Kathy's one chance at a first impression, so Kathy of course will present the positive, exemplary aspects of her character.  This is why, I think, that in the beginning of the book she makes sure to explain her boasting (as she calls it) as to not come off as conceited.  Kathy, for example, after exalting her own abilities, recognizes the many other carers who are "just as good who don't get half the credit."