Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go is a novel set in an alternate history in which clones are raised to provide organs for transplantation. The story follows the life of one clone, Kathy, from her childhood at a boarding school for clones, to her adulthood working as a carer for other clones.
The novel is set in two distinct time periods: the first is Kathy’s childhood at Hailsham School, and the second is her adult life. The setting of Hailsham School is crucial to the development of theclone characters; it is here that they first learn about their purpose in life, and it is also where they form their strongest bonds with each other. The second setting, Kathy’s adult life, serves as a contrast to the innocence of her childhood. In her adult years, Kathy must confront the reality of her impending death, as well as the ethical implications of the cloning program.
The novel’s alternate history setting allows Ishiguro to explore themes of mortality, love, and morality. Never Let Me Go is a powerful examination of what it means to be human, and Kazuo Ishiguro is one of the most accomplished authors writing today.
The context and setting play a major role in the novel “Never Let Me Go.” According to Webster’s dictionary, Context is defined as “the whole situation, the background, or the environment relevant to a particular event, personality, creation” as well as “the parts of a sentence paragraph, discourse etc., immediately next to or surrounding specified words or passages and determining its exact meaning. In other words, what surrounds certain text helps determine that texts true meaning.
In Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, the setting is in England and the context is based on Kazuo Ishiguro’s life. Kazuo was born in 1954 in Nagasaki, Japan but he moved to England when he was five years old with his parents. Kazuo went to a boarding school called St. Paul’s Cathedral School which is located in London. Kazuo says that his experience at St. Paul’s Cathedral School was “a very happy time for me” (Ishiguro 18). Kazuo later attended the University of Kent where he completed his undergraduate degree in philosophy and literature.
Kazuo states that, “I didn’t do terribly well in my exams, but I had a good time” (Ishiguro 18). Kazuo later attended the University of East Anglia where he completed his Masters in Creative Writing. Kazuo has published six novels including, Never Let Me Go, The Remains of the Day, An Artist of the Floating World, The Unconsoled, When We Were Orphans, and Nocturnes. Kazuo has also won many awards such as the Booker Prize, the OBE, and the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel Never Let Me Go is set in 1990s England. The majority of the novel takes place at Hailsham which is a private boarding school. All of the students at Hailsham have a “special” quality about them. The students are clones who were created to be organ donors. The students at Hailsham are not like other children, they are raised to believe that their purpose in life is to be organ donors. The students are told that they will live until they are around 25 years old and then they will donate their organs. The students at Hailsham know that they are different from other people, but they do not know the full extent of their difference.
The novel Never Let Me Go is narrated by Kazuo Ishiguro himself. Kazuo uses first person point of view which allows the reader to see everything through his eyes. Kazuo’s use of first person point of view allows the reader to see Kazuo’s development as a character. Kazuo starts off the novel as a child and he ends the novel as an adult. Kazuo’s use of first person point of view also allows the reader to see Kazuo’s views on clones and organ donation. Kazuo is against clones and organ donation, but he does not fully understand why he is against it. Kazuo’s use of first person point of view creates a connection between the reader and Kazuo.
Context is the social, economic, and political environment in which a literary work or piece of art is created, according to Dr. Ezekiel Alembi. He goes on to say that context is essential because it not only aids the reader in comprehending and appreciating the theme but also helps him understand and appreciate the style employed. Setting, on the other hand, is what the author wants us to perceive. Writers strive to provide their readers with a sense of place and time by placing events in his/her head.
Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go is a perfect example of how context and setting are used to create a convincing and captivating story.
The novel is set in England, in an unspecified future time period. In this future, clones are grown in order to provide organs for humans. The clones, known as “donors”, are raised in special schools until they turn eighteen, at which point they begin to “harvest” their organs. The book follows the life of one such clone, Kathy H., from her childhood at Hailsham School through her years as a donor.
The story is narrated by Kathy, who looks back on her life with both fondness and regret. She remembers her years at Hailsham, where she and her friends were sheltered from the outside world and treated with great care by the staff. They were encouraged to be creative and to express themselves, and Kathy recalls these years as some of the happiest of her life. But she also remembers the day when they were first told about their true purpose in life, and the fear and dread that came with that knowledge.
Kathy’s story is one of love, loss, and acceptance. She comes to terms with her own mortality and learns to appreciate the time she has been given. In the end, she finds peace in knowing that her life has had meaning, even if it was not the one she would have chosen for herself.
Joseph Conrad once said, “the power of the written word to make you hear, to make you feel – it is above all to make you see.” In other words, good writing should evoke certain emotions in readers and transport them into another world. This is certainly true of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel, “Never Let Me Go,” which uses carefully chosen details to create a believable setting and fully realized characters.
