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Essay / Art and identity construction in Never Let Me Go
In Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, art is considered the extension of each person's soul. Through painting, writing, or any other form of art, Hailsham students are able to move beyond their clone identities and express their true selves. The art that students make or find attractive is a reflection not only of their souls, but also of their feelings. Most of the world views these students as soulless creatures, incapable of human emotions; however, Hailsham's tutors believe that when students are "raised in humane and cultured environments, [it is] possible for them to grow as sensitively […] as any ordinary human being" (261). Thus, tutors encourage their students to create their own art and to be moved by that of others, in order to demonstrate their capacity to experience a wide range of human feelings. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay However, what is most important about the novel is not that the world recognizes the souls of these students, but that the reader does. For the reader to truly understand the novel's motives for what it means to exist, they must view Kathy, the novel's protagonist, and all the other clones as "real" people. Rather than simply telling the reader that the students are ordinary people, Ishiguro vividly demonstrates the feelings that art arouses in the students. Kathy, the protagonist of the novel, is extremely moved by the song Never Let Me Go on her Judy Bridgewater tape. His fondness for the tape extends beyond the song itself, but also into the emotions the tape provokes and the life experiences it relates to in unexpected ways. The tape prompts Kathy to feel a desire for intimacy and a desire for ownership; these human feelings lead the reader to view Kathy and the other students as "real" people, ultimately allowing the reader to understand the role of existence in the novel. When she listens to or thinks about her Judy Bridgewater tape, Kathy longs for intimacy. Being emotionally moved by music is an archetypal human quality, as humans are perhaps the only creatures on the planet who connect their aspirations to music. Kathy arbitrarily bought her cassette at a sale when she was a young child in Hailsham. At the time, she didn't know how much the tape, and particularly track number three, "Never Let Me Go," would impact her emotionally. The first time Kathy tells the reader about her tape, although she is unable to clearly explain why, she says, "It really touched me" (70). What she didn't realize at the time was that the song evoked emotions she didn't know existed. At Hailsham, tutors “timed [everything they said to students] very carefully and deliberately so that [they] were always too young to understand the latest information correctly [but…they took it] on board at a certain level” (82). As a result, at age eleven, Kathy, although not fully aware of her identity as a donor, had a vague idea of what her life would be like. When Kathy listens to track number three, a song supposedly about romance, she holds a pillow tightly and dances with it. In performing this action, she imagines that she is "a woman who was told she couldn't have babies, who really, really wanted them all her life [and then] a miracle [happens] and she a baby.” (70). Although at that age Kathy was never clearly informed that she would not be able to have a baby, the,.