Never Let Me Go

Abstract

Never Let Me Go begins by introducing a number of children that initially live in a boarding school (Hailsham) and are revealed to be organ donors, being raised exclusively for that purpose. Though initially unaware of it, the children – including the characters Kathy H, Ruth C and Tommy D – are given this information by one of their guardians, Miss Lucy, who is subsequently removed from the school after the incident. At sixteen years old, Kathy, Ruth and Tommy move to Cottages, and discover that they are actually clones, and must donate their organs to the people from whom they were cloned. Eventually, the group learns that there might be a possibility for a deferral, if proven that a couple is in love, which was presumably why guardians encouraged them to make art, since artistic creations would function as a gateway to their souls, thus revealing if a couple was truly in love or not. However, deferrals are revealed to be only a rumour, and the artistic creations were no more than attempts by Hailsham at proving that clones were capable of human emotions so as to influence the public opinion, which ultimately remains adamant and refuses to acknowledge that clones can indeed be compared to human beings. The novel explores the ethical implications of the advancement of scientific research, especially in regards to cloning, as well as the detachment (from the part of scientists and the public alike) that is required to do so.