"I said nice things about her too, and for the next half hour or so, I think we were genuinely delighted to be with each other."
-page 214
At the end of Part 2, Kathy leaves the Cottages and goes to start her training as a carer. She comes to find that she is very successful at her job. Since she has left the Cottages, she rarely sees people from Hailsham anymore. She runs into Laura one day and decides that since Ruth is now doing her donations, that she would be her carer. I used this quote, because this is how Ishiguro set up the mood when Kathy and Ruth saw each other for the first time since the Cottages. But this pleasant mood he has created does not last very long. A few lines later, Kathy says, "But once I officially became her carer, and I began to see her regularly, the sense of something not being right grew stronger and stronger." The mood now is that the two friends are happy to see each other, but there is still some unfinished business to attend to. Kathy and Ruth planned a trip to see Tommy. I am very curious to see how the three interact with each other now that they have been a part for so long.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Dialect (Never Let Me Go: 13)
"I think before long he got his Wellingtons on, and we both left the goosehouse."
-page 188
Dialect is a way of speaking that is characteristic of a certain social group of the inhabitants of a certain geographical area. This literary term is definitely used in the quote. "Wellingtons" and "goosehouse" are words that would only be used by people that live in England. I'm assuming Wellingtons are a brand of shoe popular in England during this time, and the goosehouse was some sort of barn. When I came across the sentence with both of these words in them, I knew I had to mention it in my blog. Tommy has been drawing his animals in the goosehouse, so hopefully he can go to Madame later and apply for a more time before donations. Kathy admits that Tommy has made a lot of progress in his artwork, but she still jokes with Ruth of how goofy the animals are. I knew this was a bad idea as soon as I read it. She had told Tommy that she liked his art, and that made him really happy. She had to have known that Ruth would tell Tommy that Kathy did not actually like them. This isn't the first time Ruth has tried to distance Tommy and Kathy, and it probably won't be the last. I think Ruth is jealous of Kathy and Tommy's friendship.
-page 188
Dialect is a way of speaking that is characteristic of a certain social group of the inhabitants of a certain geographical area. This literary term is definitely used in the quote. "Wellingtons" and "goosehouse" are words that would only be used by people that live in England. I'm assuming Wellingtons are a brand of shoe popular in England during this time, and the goosehouse was some sort of barn. When I came across the sentence with both of these words in them, I knew I had to mention it in my blog. Tommy has been drawing his animals in the goosehouse, so hopefully he can go to Madame later and apply for a more time before donations. Kathy admits that Tommy has made a lot of progress in his artwork, but she still jokes with Ruth of how goofy the animals are. I knew this was a bad idea as soon as I read it. She had told Tommy that she liked his art, and that made him really happy. She had to have known that Ruth would tell Tommy that Kathy did not actually like them. This isn't the first time Ruth has tried to distance Tommy and Kathy, and it probably won't be the last. I think Ruth is jealous of Kathy and Tommy's friendship.
Norfolk (Never Let Me Go: 12)
"On that journey home, with the darkness setting in over those long empty roads, it felt like the three of us were close again and I didn't want anything to come along and break that mood."
-page 183
The literary term stream of consciousness is used throughout this entire novel. The inner workings of Kathy's mind are displayed many times. This quote is just one example of what she was thinking. In fact, Kathy's mind is the whole basis and director of the entire story. Tommy and Kath are left alone for awhile in Norfolk, and during this time they search for Kathy's old lost tape. This was Tommy's idea, and when she actually found it, she realized how good of a friend Tommy was. Then, they started to talk about a more serious topic. Tommy believes that Madame's Gallery, from Hailsham, is used to determine if a couple is truly in love, so that they can delay their donations be a couple of years. Kathy admits that this idea is completely plausible. I find this idea to be somewhat ridiculous. I am unaware how someone could determine if two people were in love by the artwork they created in grade school. Maybe that's why I don't get paid the big bucks, or maybe there is something more to it than that.
-page 183
The literary term stream of consciousness is used throughout this entire novel. The inner workings of Kathy's mind are displayed many times. This quote is just one example of what she was thinking. In fact, Kathy's mind is the whole basis and director of the entire story. Tommy and Kath are left alone for awhile in Norfolk, and during this time they search for Kathy's old lost tape. This was Tommy's idea, and when she actually found it, she realized how good of a friend Tommy was. Then, they started to talk about a more serious topic. Tommy believes that Madame's Gallery, from Hailsham, is used to determine if a couple is truly in love, so that they can delay their donations be a couple of years. Kathy admits that this idea is completely plausible. I find this idea to be somewhat ridiculous. I am unaware how someone could determine if two people were in love by the artwork they created in grade school. Maybe that's why I don't get paid the big bucks, or maybe there is something more to it than that.
Possible (Never Let Me Go: 11)
"They were kind in their way and were trying to cheer Ruth up. At the same time, though, I remember feeling... a sort of resentment towards them of Ruth's behalf."
-page 165
I found this quote on page 165 to be a paradox. Kathy contradicts herself, but yet it still makes sense. She says that Chrissie and Rodney were being nice and sympathetic, but she felt it was out of selfishness and did not truly have concerrn for Ruth. The group had gone on this roadtrip to see one of Ruth's potential "possibles." At first I was very confused of what a possible was. The only thing I knew was that it was someone else in the world who was very similar to them. I thought it could've been a sibling, a parent, or something to do with science. I came to find out that all of the students at Hailsham and donation kids were actually clones of real people. The possibles were people that could possibly be the model to create the clone that ended up creating them. In a sense, finding a possible is like an adopted child finding their birth parents. Except, the possible was exactly you, even though they admit that what the person does as a living does not mean that's how their life would be.
-page 165
I found this quote on page 165 to be a paradox. Kathy contradicts herself, but yet it still makes sense. She says that Chrissie and Rodney were being nice and sympathetic, but she felt it was out of selfishness and did not truly have concerrn for Ruth. The group had gone on this roadtrip to see one of Ruth's potential "possibles." At first I was very confused of what a possible was. The only thing I knew was that it was someone else in the world who was very similar to them. I thought it could've been a sibling, a parent, or something to do with science. I came to find out that all of the students at Hailsham and donation kids were actually clones of real people. The possibles were people that could possibly be the model to create the clone that ended up creating them. In a sense, finding a possible is like an adopted child finding their birth parents. Except, the possible was exactly you, even though they admit that what the person does as a living does not mean that's how their life would be.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
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.
-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.
Sex Lives (Never Let Me Go: 9)
"'There might be something not quite right with me, down there. Because sometimes I just really, really need to do it.'"
-page 128
This quote is an example of an internal conflict that Kathy is having with herself. She admits to Ruth that sometimes she really wants to/has to have sex, almost like it is uncontrollable. I have a feeling that this conflict will come up again, but it is not what I want to focus on with this blog.
The more I read of Never Let Me Go, the more I find similarities between it and Brave New World. Especially after chapter eleven, I have realized how much sex in these two stories is different from sex in our world. I don't mean the action is different, but the way people percieve the act is much different. In BNW, the characters were actually suggested to have sex with many different people and often. And in NLMG, the characters have sex quite often, before marriage, and with pretty much anyone they please. However, in NLMG, relationships do exist, unlike in BNW. I realize that there are people in our world who disrespect the gift of sex and see it differently from say a Catholic teenager, but in the novels, sex is almost a game. I'm assuming that the authors both are giving their suggestions of how sex would change if people could not have children or if our lives were set out for us. I'm not sure if I agree with the author's ideas, because I think even if children weren't tied to sex, our emotions and relationships would still be. An interesting topic to think about, never the less.
-page 128
This quote is an example of an internal conflict that Kathy is having with herself. She admits to Ruth that sometimes she really wants to/has to have sex, almost like it is uncontrollable. I have a feeling that this conflict will come up again, but it is not what I want to focus on with this blog.
The more I read of Never Let Me Go, the more I find similarities between it and Brave New World. Especially after chapter eleven, I have realized how much sex in these two stories is different from sex in our world. I don't mean the action is different, but the way people percieve the act is much different. In BNW, the characters were actually suggested to have sex with many different people and often. And in NLMG, the characters have sex quite often, before marriage, and with pretty much anyone they please. However, in NLMG, relationships do exist, unlike in BNW. I realize that there are people in our world who disrespect the gift of sex and see it differently from say a Catholic teenager, but in the novels, sex is almost a game. I'm assuming that the authors both are giving their suggestions of how sex would change if people could not have children or if our lives were set out for us. I'm not sure if I agree with the author's ideas, because I think even if children weren't tied to sex, our emotions and relationships would still be. An interesting topic to think about, never the less.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Part 2 (Never Let Me Go: 8)
"He was this grumpy old guy who turned up two or three times a week in his muddy van to look the place over. He didn't like to talk to us much, and the way he went round sighing and shaking his head disgustedly implied we weren't doing nearly enough to keep the place up."
-page 116
I am now on Part 2 of the novel, and Kathy and the rest of her class are no longer students at Hailsham. This quote is describing Keffers, who is sort of a grounds keeper or landlord for the Cottages. The Cottages are where most of the students went to live after leaving Hailsham, although some went to live at other places, and not everyone at the Cottages were from Hailsham. I used this quote because Keffers is a flat character. There is a chance that he will show up again in other parts of the story, but I find it very unlikely that he shows any change. He is very one dimensional in that he is a very grumpy and rude old man. I think that Ishiguro put Keffers into the story just to emphasize the dramatic change from Hailsham to the real world. All of the guardians and workers, besides Madame, at Hailsham were extremely friendly and caring, but in the real world, not everyone was like that. Also in this chapter, Kath tells Ruth that she is annoyed with how Ruth trys to act exactly like some of the veterans at the Cottages, especially in her relationship with Tommy.
-page 116
I am now on Part 2 of the novel, and Kathy and the rest of her class are no longer students at Hailsham. This quote is describing Keffers, who is sort of a grounds keeper or landlord for the Cottages. The Cottages are where most of the students went to live after leaving Hailsham, although some went to live at other places, and not everyone at the Cottages were from Hailsham. I used this quote because Keffers is a flat character. There is a chance that he will show up again in other parts of the story, but I find it very unlikely that he shows any change. He is very one dimensional in that he is a very grumpy and rude old man. I think that Ishiguro put Keffers into the story just to emphasize the dramatic change from Hailsham to the real world. All of the guardians and workers, besides Madame, at Hailsham were extremely friendly and caring, but in the real world, not everyone was like that. Also in this chapter, Kath tells Ruth that she is annoyed with how Ruth trys to act exactly like some of the veterans at the Cottages, especially in her relationship with Tommy.
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