Never Let Me Go
Chapters 18, 19 & 20
• Do a close reading of the first
two paragraphs of Chapter 18.
What do we learn
about carer’s?
• Kathy describes how some carers ‘end up
feeling frustrated and blaming themselves
when things go wrong’ (p 204). What
does this tell us about the role of caring?
• We also learn that Ruth has trouble with
keeping carers. How does this fit in with
our understanding of Ruth?
Chapter 18 Questions
•
What impressions do you get
about the conditions faced by
students at schools outside of
Hailsham?
Chapter 18 Questions
• Explore the following metaphor, used by Kathy:
Even so, I kept worrying that one of the strings would
come unravelled and a single balloon would sail off up into
that cloudy sky.
Lying awake that night after what Roger had told me, I
kept seeing those balloons again. I thought about Hailsham
closing, and how it was like someone coming along with a pair
of shears and snipping the balloon strings just where they
entwined above the man’s fist. Once that happened, there’d
be no real sense in which those balloons belonged with each
other any more…it was unnerving to think things weren’t still
going on back there, just as always. (p209)
How effective is this metaphor?
• Why does Kathy become Ruth’s carer? Do you think
this was a wise decision?
• Why do things become tense between Ruth and
Kathy? What does this tell us about their
relationship?
• The thing that changes their relationship is ‘the
boat’, which is nothing more than an abandoned
boat, ‘just sitting there, stranded in the marshes’.
Ruth says that ‘things like that matter more than
they once did’ (p212). Why?
Chapter 18 Questions
• Write a detailed description of the following
image, using lots of adjective and adverbs.
• Consider how Kathy describes
Kingsfield at the start of Chapter 19,
as well as her previous descriptions of
the other recovery centres. How does
this help build on your understanding
of the technicalities behind the
carer/donor process?
Chapter 19 Questions
Chapter 19 Questions
• Kathy appears willing to give Tommy and Ruth time
‘to themselves’ (p216). Why?
• Examine the relationship between Tommy, Ruth
and Kathy on the trip to the boat. Kathy says that
‘it felt as thought Tommy and I had come close
together again, after all the years’, whereas Ruth
seems much more tense and detached. What does
this tell us about the relationship(s) between the
three?
• What differences exist between the three, in terms
of physical and mental health? What does this
suggest?
• In what ways can nature, and
their surroundings (the boat),
be said to represent the health
of both Tommy and Ruth, and
their general plight as
donors/carers?
Chapter 19 Questions
‘I’ll tell you what I heard about Chrissie. I head she completed during
her second donation.’
‘I head that as well,’ said Tommy. ‘It must be right. I heard exactly the
same. A shame. Only her second as well. Glad that didn’t happen to me.’
‘I think it happens much more than they ever tell us,’ Ruth said. ‘My
carer over there. She probably knows that’s right. But she won’t say.’
‘There’s no big conspiracy about it,’ I said, turning back to the boat.
‘Sometimes it happens. It was really sad about Chrissie. But that’s not
common. They’re really careful these days.
‘I bet it happens much more than they tell us,’ Ruth said again. ‘That’s
one reason why they keep moving us around between donations.’ (p 221)
Consider what we learn here about
donations.
‘I’m a pretty good donor, but I
was a lousy carer’ - Tommy
*What makes a good donor?
*What makes a good carer?
*To what extent does this comment,
and what it implies, make you feel
uncomfortable?
‘…five years felt about enough for me. I
was like you, Tommy. I was pretty much
ready when I became a donor. It felt
right. After all, it’s what we’re supposed
to be doing, isn’t it?’ - Ruth
*To what extent does this comment,
and what it implies, make you feel
uncomfortable?
How have Tommy, Ruth and
Kathy all changed since their
days at Hailsham/the
Cottages?
• Ruth admits that she ‘kept [Kathy] and Tommy
apart…It should have been you two.’ Look closely at
the way Kathy and Tommy react to her confession
(pages 228 to 230).
• Re-read the following passage,
starting on page 231 with ‘There
was, even so…’ and stopping at the
end of the chapter. Answer the
following question:
How does Ishiguro build mood and
atmosphere in these lines?
Plenary
• Do you think donors who have completed get a
proper burial? Do they get a
funeral? An obituary? A eulogy?
• Imagine you are Kathy. Write an
obituary for Ruth.
An obituary is a news story that
reports the recent death of a
person, typically along with an
account of the person's life and
information about the upcoming
funeral.
• In groups, discuss
your thoughts and
opinions on the plan
to get a deferral.
What problems do
you foresee with the
plan?
Yes, we’re doing this
now and I’m glad
we’re doing it now.
But what a pity we
left it so late.
• Kathy describes how her
and Tommy start a ‘new
phase together’ when she
becomes his carer.
• What sort of relationship
do they have during this
phase? In what ways
is/isn’t it a traditional
carer/donor relationship?
• Find and locate 5 quotes that you could use,
from chapter 20, which would help answer the
following question:
• How does Ishiguro
make it clear from the
very beginning that the
plan to get a deferral
will end in failure?
• Re-read the following passage, starting on
page 242 with ‘Until this, Tommy…’ and
ending on page 243 with ‘…wish to talk
about’, then answer the following question:
How does Ishiguro build mood
and atmosphere in these lines?
• Re-read the following passage, starting on
page 246 with ‘She reached out…’ and
ending on page 247 with ‘Why did you
come to me?’, then answer the following
question:
How does Ishiguro build mood
and atmosphere in these lines?
• Discuss the Madame’s reaction to Tommy
and Kathy turning up, focusing on the
following quote:
‘Poor creatures. What did we do to you?
With all our schemes and plans?’
Who is ‘we’? What were the ‘schemes
and plans’?