Never Let Me Go Lesson 8

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• Middelbare school
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• Leerjaar 4

Never Let Me Go

Lesson 8

In Class Today

Summary and analysis chapters 17-19

Chapter 17 - Summary

Kathy has a conversation with Ruth and learns that Ruth has apologized to Tommy for making fun of his animal drawings.

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 17 - Summary

Several days after the conversation with Ruth, Kathy decides to leave the Cottages and begin her job as a carer, without discussing the matter with Ruth and Tommy.

Chapter 17 - Analysis

Kathy has decided that she will have no more of what amounts to bullying by Ruth. 

When Kathy asks to leave the Cottages a bit early, she realizes how tenuous the Cottages were, compared to Hailsham (it is easy to leave, and the clones are essentially encouraged to do so after they have prepared themselves for the working world).

Kathy’s desire to become a carer now seems to be the intended purpose of the Cottages.

Describe the cottages and the lives the clones lead.

The Cottages are on an old farm and they're often cold and in disrepair. The clones have unrestricted television time and are allowed to take short trips.

The center of the Cottages is a farmhouse with fireplaces. The clones used logs to occasionally heat the house; at other times, they'd use heaters. Unfortunately, they aren't given enough gas canisters to use them at will. The people there are often cold. The gutters leaked and many things were falling apart. Kathy says that they tracked mud through the house by leaving their boots on to combat the cold. 

The clones live in converted barns, stables, and outhouses. There are other buildings on the property that are falling apart. In the summer, Kathy says it's cozy with the overgrown grass. In the winter, the ground is hard with frozen puddles.

The clones already living at the Cottages have a set schedule for chores and upkeep that Kathy and the others are included in once they arrive. Other than that, they walk the grounds, visit the village, read books, and watch television. 

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. 

In what ways is Kathy well suited to work as a carer? 

Chapter 18 - Analysis

One of the most remarkable aspects of her new life as a carer is the amount of time Kathy must spend alone. One may look at the novel itself as a record of Kathy’s stories and experiences, compiled as a way of combating this loneliness. 

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.

Why does Hailsham's closing concern Kathy so much?

Chapter 18 - Analysis

Hailsham was, as Kathy acknowledges, more than just a school—it was, for her and Tommy and Ruth, a way of life, a refuge, and a place of comfort. 

Kathy’s transition from childhood to adulthood, and from innocence to its loss, parallels the maturation of “normal” adults, but with the twists and difficulties of clone life in addition.

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.

Chapter 18 - Analysis

Ruth’s desire to see the boat is probably twofold. 

On the one hand, life in the center is excruciatingly boring, and she wants any excuse to leave. 

And second, she wants to “get away” with Tommy and Kathy, for reasons that will soon become clear—she wants to have a conversation with them about “bringing them together” and having them ask Madame for a deferral. 

Chapter 19 - Summary

Ruth and Kathy pick up Tommy at his treatment center several days later and Ruth and Tommy have a rather heartfelt, if stilted, hello; Tommy them kisses Kathy politely on the cheek, and the three set off to see the boat.

Tommy wonders aloud if the decrepit boat looks the way Hailsham looks now, although Ruth dismisses this notion abruptly.

What is the symbolic significance of the stranded fishing boat, according to you?

Chapter 19 - Analysis

Seeing the dilapidated boat is an important moment for the three friends. 

The boat seems to symbolize several things: something that is left behind; a large thing that is now hidden, but which can be uncovered with a certain amount of effort. 

Ruth wants to go back to the past, that which she has “left behind,” and to uncover a few things she has done. She wants to try to put the past right - and this means being honest with Tommy and Kathy about their possible future together. 

Chapter 19 - Summary

Tommy mentions that he is a better donor than he was carer, and Ruth characteristically notes that donating is more important than caring—it’s what the clones are “supposed to do.” Kathy takes this barb in stride, however, noting that caring is also important, but Ruth tries to team up with Tommy and make it seem that Kathy does not understand the difficulties of their position.

Chapter 19 - Analysis

Another of the book’s small debates, which seems to crop up throughout, is the idea of donating being the “higher” or more important job, and of caring being the lesser. Of course, Kathy is loath to feel this way, since she has devoted a great deal of her life to caring, and she is a good one—perhaps this explains her little speech at the beginning of the novel, where she mentions how good of a carer she is. Donating, on the other hand, is the ultimate “goal” of a clone’s life—and, of course, Tommy and Ruth want recognition for all the suffering they have endured in that job.

Chapter 19 - Summary

The three get back into the car, and though their conversation at the boat was a difficult one, Kathy feels they are now able “to talk more freely.”

Ruth begs Kathy to forgive her. Ruth admits to Kathy in the car that she “lied” to Kathy about her “urges,” and that Ruth also experienced strong sexual desires, causing her to cheat on Tommy “at least three times” at the Cottages. Tommy hears this news impassively, and Ruth continues, saying that it was awful of her to “have kept Tommy and Kathy apart.”

What do you think of Tommy's reaction?

Chapter 19 - Analysis

Perhaps it is surprising that Tommy does not react more strongly to the news that Ruth cheated on him several times while at the Cottages. There are several explanations for this: maybe Tommy already knew; maybe, as a donor, he is more willing to let the past slide; or maybe he, too, cheated on Ruth. In any event, Tommy accepts this news passively, much as the clones accept a good deal of the news regarding their difficult adult lives.

Ruth  tries to convince Tommy and Kathy that they must work together to find a deferral, while they are still alive.

Chapter 19 - Summary

Kathy begins to “sob” as Ruth goes on, saying that Tommy and Kathy ought to be together, and that the two of them should try to get a deferral, since they are clearly in love, and have been for some time. Kathy continues sobbing, and Tommy simply stares straight ahead—so overcome by the events that he cannot respond. Ruth suddenly gives Tommy a sheet of paper on which she’s written Madame’s address—Ruth admits that finding it took a lot of work, but she knew it was important for Kathy and Tommy to have, if they were to try for a deferral.

Chapter 19 - Analysis

The reader does not find out the kind of work Ruth had to do in order to gain access to this address. Presumably, it required a lot of talking to people, and a good deal of sneaking around at her treatment center. This, like her previous search for Kathy’s lost tape, shows Ruth’s soft side, and her ability to get things done if she truly puts her mind to them.

Chapter 19 - Summary

The three drive back quietly, and when Tommy leaves the car in Kingsfield, he “smiles and waves” to the two of them. Kathy then takes Ruth back, and for several more weeks, Kathy cares for Ruth, and Ruth tries to convince Kathy to become Tommy’s carer, although this idea makes Kathy feel nervous and “tense.” Soon after Ruth’s second donation, however, her health takes a turn, and Kathy watches her condition deteriorate. As Ruth is dying, Kathy sits beside her, and though Ruth is barely conscious, Kathy promises “to be Tommy’s carer.” 

Chapter 19 - Analysis

Ruth dies relatively quickly. She was, by her own admission, not a good carer, and she was not much as a donor either. Perhaps Ruth never really came to terms with the horrors of her life after the Cottages—with the strictness of her profession, or the difficult things asked of her as a carer and as a donor. Or perhaps her body was simply not up for the abuse it had to take, after several organ donations. Tommy, for his part, seems stronger physically, better able to donate—but he too was a poor carer, although he is a good and patient friend to Kathy.

Homework

Read Chapters 20 and 21