Never Let Me Go 7-8

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• Middelbare school
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• Leerjaar 4

Never Let Me Go

Lesson 7-8

In Class Today

Summary and analysis chapters 14-18

Theme & Altered Book Project

Chapter 14 - Summary

In Norfolk the group goes into a Woolworth’s so that Chrissie and Rodney can stock up on cheap birthday cards and there, Kathy overhears Ruth telling the couple that, at Hailsham, people knew about the “deferral” rumor but didn’t say much about it. 

Kathy knows that Ruth is lying

What is this scene's importance?

Chapter 14 - analysis

It is unclear what a “birthday” might mean for a clone—based on how clones are actually created.

This is again a tiny moment of sad realization—that clones want normal lives but cannot have them.

Eventhoughthe clones still do have lives that are meaningful and human—the clones may not have birthdays, but the love and friendship behind the cards are real.

Chapter 14 - Summary

The group follow a woman who they believe to be Ruth's "possible" but after a while they realize that she is not.

Ruth becomes angry and yells out that they all know who their real “clone parents” are—prostitutes, criminals, and others drawn from the dregs of society into the cloning program.

Chapter 14 - analysis

This is the first time this information is mentioned, although the other characters seem to know implicitly that it’s true.

Chapter 15 - Summary

Kathy and Tommy decide not to go along with Ruth and the other's.  Tommy tells Kathy that he never cared much about the “possible” idea, since he figures it doesn’t really matter who they’re modeled on—it’s not as though they’re actually like their “clone parent.”

Chapter 15 - Summary

Tommy tells Kathy that, in Woolworth’s, he was looking for a present for her; The Judy Bridgewater Tape that she had lost.

The two decide to “rummage around” for the tape in Norfolk, since, after all, they joke together that it’s the “lost corner” of England.

They come upon a second-hand shop and, sure enough, Kathy discovers the tape among a box of other used, old cassettes

What can we learn from this sequence of events?

Chapter 15 - Analysis

Kathy sees how delightful this coincidence is. The only way this could be more perfect would be if the metaphor were actually true—if Norfolk were in fact a “lost corner” where actual lost things reappeared. 

Instead, the Bridgewater tape here is a clone, a double, a copy of the original—just as good for Kathy’s purposes, but not quite the same, and not holding the entire sentimental value with which Kathy had viewed the original.

Chapter 15 - summary

Tommy says he has another theory about Hailsham. Tommy fears that the Gallery was used as a way of selecting art samples from each of the students, as a means of determining what those students were “really like in their souls."

Chapter 15 - analysis

A very important section in the novel. As it will later turn out, Tommy’s theory is not so wildly off—though he misunderstands the ultimate reason for the Gallery, and presumes it must have something to do with the rumor of deferral.

Why is this scene especially worrisome for Tommy?

Chapter 15 - Summary

Tommy has been working on new art—a series of “small animals,” with almost robotic or mechanical features, which he hopes will show that he is in fact creative, and that he and Ruth might have souls that “match up.”

Chapter 15 - analysis

The nature of Tommy’s artwork is very interesting, and the reader only hears of it in small snatches, from Kathy’s perspective. Kathy never appears completely taken with the animals—she finds them strange and disconcerting, very much “unlike” the other art that was common in Hailsham at the time.

Chapter 16 - summary

 Kathy runs into Ruth and Tommy around the Cottages—the two of them are having a heated discussion and Ruth calls Kathy over, telling her that Tommy has introduced his “Gallery theory” to her.

Ruth mercilessly mocks Tommy's theory and art in front of Kathy. Kathy is stunned and silent, and soon Ruth lets out that Kathy, too, finds the animals “a complete hoot.”

Why would Ruth do this?

Chapter 16 - analysis

We could view this moment as the definitive end of their childhood and youth—of the life represented by Hailsham and the Cottages. After this, Kathy will have to work hard, years later, to repair her relationship with Tommy, and Ruth and Tommy will never really recover—they will split soon after leaving the Cottages.

Chapter 17 - Summary

Kathy also has a conversation with Ruth and learns that Ruth has apologized to Tommy.

 Ruth goes on to say, however, that though she and Tommy are probably splitting up, Tommy “doesn’t see Kathy” as a potential girlfriend, primarily because Kathy has been indiscriminate in the boys she’s slept with. 

Kathy, though shocked by this bald-faced and hurtful statement, remains quiet, and even “thanks” Ruth for her honesty.

Chapter 17 - Analysis

This is perhaps Ruth’s lowest and cruelest moment. Ruth seems intent on making Kathy believe that she has no chance with Tommy. 

Perhaps Ruth senses, even at this point, that Tommy and Kathy are growing closer together, and that, inevitably, they will begin a relationship. 

Or perhaps Ruth wishes to upset Kathy even more, after their other difficult conversation outside, about Tommy’s “animals.”

Chapter 18 - summary

Kathy recounts the start of her life as a carer. She says that the long hours, the “solitude,” and the difficulty of dealing with people’s donations makes the job a tough one—but Kathy has shown an aptitude for it

Chapter 18 - Summary

Kathy learns that Hailsham is closing but does not know what to think of this news but she finds a metaphor for her feeling when she watches a clown holding a fistful of bright balloons. 

Kathy worries that one balloon might be “let go and fly away,” and she wonders whether that isn’t similar to the feeling of the Hailsham students now in the world, with Hailsham gone. 

The thing that once bound them together will soon no longer exist.

Chapter 18 - summary 

 Kathy decides that, though it might be difficult, she ought to try to be Ruth’s carer

 Ruth mentions one session that there is an abandoned boat that has run aground, and that one can visit the boat. 

Ruth is in the mood for a break from the monotony of the hospital and after a conversation about Tommy, who is also working as a donor now, they decide to pick him up and take him along as well.

Theme

A theme is a concept or idea that a story explores.

Altered Book Project

Groups of 4-5

Each member picks a topic

2-3 paragraph written response

creative representation

Theme in Never Let Me Go

For one topic, write down 5-6 details from Never Let Me Go (such as specific plot points, symbols, or quotes) that the author uses to explore that theme and enter them in the Evidence section of the table

Topics in "Never Let Me Go"

• Maturation and “Growing Up”
• Individual Goals vs. Social Expectations
• Life, Death, and Humanity
• Cloning, Donation, and Humanity
• Creativity and Humanity

Next, use the evidence you’ve collected to write a Theme Description that explains the role of the theme in Fight Club. Your Theme Description should be 2-3 paragraphs. Here are some questions to consider as you write each Theme 

Description

• How do the ideas or actions of the main characters reflect different aspects of the theme?
• Does the theme develop or change over the course of Fight Club? If so, how?
• If your evidence includes symbols, explain how the author uses those symbols to explore the theme.
• If your evidence includes specific quotes from the text, explain how those quotes provide examples of how the theme applies to Fight Club?

Topics in "Never Let Me Go"

• Maturation and “Growing Up”
• Individual Goals vs. Social Expectations
• Life, Death, and Humanity
• Cloning, Donation, and Humanity
• Creativity and Humanity