Never Let Me Go ch. 19 + 20

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 4

Never Let Me Go

Lesson 8

In Class Today

Summary and analysis chapters 19-20

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.

Chapter 20 - Summary

One year after the trip to see the boat, Kathy becomes Tommy’s carer. 

Tommy has now had three donations, and his condition is stable, though he is weaker. 

Kathy begins visiting him regularly in Kingsfield, and the two talk, read together, and even begin having sex—in part because, Kathy thinks, if they are to get a deferral, they’ll need to demonstrate that level of “physical intimacy.” 

What feeling haunts Kathy and Tommy’s relationship, and how is it manifested? Why do you think they have this feeling? How do they deal with it?

A nagging feeling of sadness, "Yes, we're doing this now and I'm glad we're doing it now. But what a pity we left it so late." (Ch.20, p.235)

Both of them always feel a bit sad after they've done it.

They did everything to keep it away. Kathy tried to make the sex better, more passionate, but the feeling "never quite went away". (Ch. 20, p.235)

Chapter 20 - Summary

They generally avoid the subject of speaking to Madame, and one day, Tommy asks Kathy to look again at some of the new animals he’s been drawing. Kathy sees them and experiences a “flood of emotions” - she is grateful that Tommy has decided to share them with her again - but wonders, too, if the new drawings aren’t more “labored” than the previous ones, as though Tommy were trying to impress his audience (namely, Madame) with the idea of his artistic achievement.

Chapter 20 - Analysis

 Kathy notices that Tommy has been doing everything he can to make animals that Madame might like. Of course, Tommy has no idea what Madame desires - nor does he even know if Madame is still accepting art for the Gallery. Nor does he know if the Gallery still exists, or even existed . . .  

Whether Tommy's goal is at all achievable is extremely questionable, but the work he put in regardless gives meaning to his life.

Chapter 20 - Summary

But Kathy insists to the reader that, despite all the emotional complexities of this time, Kathy enjoyed her romance with Tommy. 

One day, Kathy tells Tommy that she went to Madame's house and that she saw her going inside. They decide to go to her house as soon as they can, taking some of the animal pictures with them, to attempt to ask for a romantic deferral.

Chapter 20 - Analysis

It turns out that Ruth’s information is correct - meaning that she has truly done Tommy and Kathy a service, allowing them to find a way to talk to Madame in person. 

Again, it is not clear how Ruth managed to get this information, and Kathy later realizes that, perhaps, it was better Ruth did not survive to go along—since the news Madame and Miss Emily share is so devastating to Tommy and Kathy.