Never Let Me Go Essay

513 Words3 Pages
Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel, Never Let Me Go, depicts a dystopian society that focuses on the search for identity and meaning through curiosity and self-expression. Both Hailsham and art play major roles in this novel. Kazuo Ishiguro tries to explain that our bodies are only designed to last for so long, so we must cherish every moment we have with the people we love. He also tries to explain that life is a struggle, and that we must accept our fate whatever it may be. The significance of Hailsham is that it was the boarding school where Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth spent their childhood. As the student’s curiosity about their identities increased, the guardians who worked at Hailsham did their best to let them know and to prepare them for what they were destined to be, which were organ donors. Guardians at Hailsham also prepared the students for their lives after they would leave Hailsham and go to another boarding school with others their age. The Hailsham students were conditioned to believe that who they were and what they were served a greater purpose and was an honorable thing to do and be. Art is another significant subject in this novel. The students at Hailsham gain a sense of identity through art. It is said in the novel that the art created by the children could reveal their souls. There is a sense that Hailsham students create art in order to make their identities discernible. Students try to hold on to a sense of individuality through small collections and their ability to create beautiful and meaningful pieces of artwork.
Growing up, Kathy believes that how one was “viewed at Hailsham had to do with how good you were at creating.” Students were raised to seek certainty in the things they created. Art also gives couples who claim they are in love hope that their artwork is good enough to get them a deferral. A deferral was a myth going around claiming that if
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