Wizard of Oz (Never Let Me Go: 10)

"That's why she often looked more like the Wicked Witch than a movie star."
-page 141

This quote uses an allusion, which is a reference to something faily well-known. Kathy alludes to the Wicked Witch, who was the evil witch in the classic movie, The Wizard of Oz. She references the Wicked Witch to describe Chrissie. Chrissie is one of the veteran girls living at the Cottages, who Ruth happens to look up to a lot. Kathy says that Chrissie is tall and good looking, but she is always bending over trying to be the height of the rest of the girls, so she found her to look like the Wicked Witch. I think Kath might just have described her like that because she did not trust her very much. Sometimes when people are sceptical about someone, or flat out do not like them, they usually think they are less attractive than they actually are. Kathy thinks that Chrissie is up to something and is a bad influence. She does not think it is a good idea for Ruth to be as trusting and ifluenced by Chrissie as she is. I wonder if Kathy is just overreacting or if Chrissie will lead Ruth to something she'll regret.