In chapter 11 of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, an important discussion
takes place between Kathy and Ruth regarding Ruth’s collection from Hailsham
which I found to carry a good deal of symbolic meaning and irony that
ultimately leads to a greater understanding of some of the themes of the book.
In this conversation which takes place at The Cottages, Kathy asks Ruth if she
kept any pieces of her collection from Hailsham with her after coming to The
Cottages. Ruth responds solemnly by confessing that, while she had initially
intended to keep her collection, she gave it to Keffers to dispose of once she
realized that none of the other veterans at The Cottages seemed to hold on to
any components of their own collections. To begin with, I found Ruth’s act in
throwing her collection away to be very ironic. Ruth, Tommy, and Kathy had spent
their entire lives up to this point at Hailsham; therefore, all their friends,
relationships, memories, possessions, and so forth were directly tied to this
one location. Once departing for The Cottages, however, the students’
collections became their only tangible remnants from this past life besides one
another. Unfortunately, because Ruth was always very conscientious of
impressing the veterans and was preoccupied with making every effort to “fit in”
with them, she lost all sense of connection to her collection the moment she
realized that no veterans had seemed to keep possession of their own
collections. Believing that holding on to her collection would make her appear
childish in front of the veterans, Ruth therefore resolved to dispose of her
collection by giving it to Keffers to sell. I find this ironic in the sense
that Ruth readily sacrificed her only tangible remnant of her past life, where
she not only belonged, but thrived and was both well-known and well-liked, in
an attempt to belong in her new lifestyle.
In addition to Ruth’s sacrifice of
her collection from Hailsham being ironic, I also found this fact to be
symbolic of the lifestyles which these young adults were asked to lead. These
young individuals have been created, educated, and raised for the sole purpose
of being sacrifices for the rest of society. For example, the students were
trained in art so that their best work could be sold to Madame and serve as “evidence;”
their bodies were created and refined so that they could one day donate vital
organs. All their lives, these young adults, who are presumably clones, have
been asked to continually make sacrifices for others for nothing in
compensation for such generosity. They create beautiful art, yet are asked to
give it away; they make friends, and are made to become separated from them
after leaving Hailsham and other stages of life; they build lifelong
relationships with each other and are then asked to care for one another as
they die in the process of donation; they lead lives that are as normal as
possible through their young adulthood and are then asked to sacrifice their
lives in order to donate vital organs to others. Although Ruth did willingly
give away her collection to Keffers, the manner in which she recalls this
instance implies that she did not particularly enjoy giving up her possessions.
For example, Ruth remarked, “I put them all in a bin bag, but I couldn’t stand
the idea of putting them out with the rubbish… I suppose he just took it away and
put it in some bin… but at least I didn’t have to know that” (Ishiguro, 131). I
find Ruth’s sacrifice of her possessions to be symbolic of all the sacrifices
which the students are asked to make in their lives. While the students
seemingly accept their designated lifestyles and fates without question, this
does not mean that they necessarily enjoy the fact that they are forced to
donate their vital organs. Similarly, although Ruth did not particularly want
to throw her possessions away, she seemed to feel pressured that making this
sacrifice was something she simply must do to coincide with the natural
progression of their lives.
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