Never Let Me Go Section 2

On various occasions in section two, Kathy claims that they had been "told but not told".  I perceived this as they were told but not necessarily taught about what they were told meant.  Therefore, it was evident that they would not be able to fully understand or grasp the gravity of the situation.  Even at this point, they still do not really understand their clones/possibles.  They only ever whispered about the subject.  They knew their moving into the Cottages was imminent, yet they still are unknowledgeable of what life there will be like.  "When I think about it, there's a sense in which that picture of us on that first day, huddled together in front of the farmhouse, isn't so incongruous after all....Because somewhere underneath, a part of us stayed like that: fearful of the world around us, and--no matter how much we despised ourselves for it--unable quite to let each other go" (Ishiguro, 120).  This is what makes the point of view from which this story is told so interesting.  As well as the narrator and the point of view from which the story is told, Kathy is also one of the children.  However, her understanding of the world around her characterizes her as different.  Nothing ever comes as much of a surprise to her; therefore, it seems she has a sense that the other children lack.  She almost has this omniscient quality about her that sets her apart especially from Tommy and Ruth.  She never seems to be actively trying to please others like they do; she just exists in the world in which she has been placed.

Never Let Me Go Section 2

Kathy unveils two major mysteries in section two of the novel.  The first, revealed my Miss Lucy, was that these children are basically hosts for organ donation.  There are being raised secluded from real society in their own personal world that is especially preventative of physical harm which is displayed when a big deal is made out of a small gash on Tommy's arm.  Each section of their lives has a name with the conclusive one being "donor".  The second major revelation is that they are essentially clones. However, this is only a unveiling for the reader; it appears Kathy has always known this.  "Since each of us was coped at some point from a normal person, there must be, for each of us, somewhere out there, a model getting on with his or her life" (Ishiguro, 139).  Though the children claim they have "known" this all along, they fail to grasp the gravity of the entire situation.  For example, they neglect to acknowledge an important detail in the speech Miss Lucy is giving when she tells them that they are donors.  Miss Lucy says, "None of you will go to America, none of you will be film stars.  And none of you will be working in supermarkets as I heard some of you planning the other day.  Your lives are set out for you"  (Ishiguro, 81).  Apparently, they did not heed to the details in her speech.  While they are in the Cottages, they discuss the topic of "dream futures".  Therefore, there exists a great contrast between what they have been told will happen and what they believe/want to happen.  

Never Let Me Go Section 2

Section 2 of Never Let Me Go delves further into the development of the relationship between Kathy and Ruth.  Kathy acknowledges the multiple personalities of Ruth and characterizes the two different versions of her.  There exists one Ruth with whom Kathy trusts and enjoys spending time with.  The other, however, is self-centered.  This Ruth tires to stand out by trying her hardest to fit in with the older group.  In doing this, she often neglects her relationship with both Kathy and Tommy.  "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" (Ishiguro, 129).  Ruth also displayed this type of attitude earlier causing Hannah to claim she knew Rut hand Tommy's relationship wouldn't last.  She, then, proceeds to refer to Kathy as Ruth's "natural successor", further characterizing Ruth as the leader. however, there appears to be a sense of foreshadowing here in regards to an imminent relationship between Kathy and Tommy.  Kathy has never respected the way Ruth treats Tommy.  Once they move into the Cottages, the reader even sees Ruth use Tommy as a means of fitting in with her strange way of nudging his elbow strengthening the argument that she is person who desperately wants to fit in with a crowd more mature than she.