One of the main
themes of Never Let Me Go is finding
one’s identity. Ruth, Kathy, and Tommy struggle to understand their place in
the world as clones. This identity crisis becomes most prevalent when the main
characters leave Hailsham and move to The Cottages. For example, at The
Cottages, Ruth’s imitates the Veteran’s sign of sentiment, a touch to the elbow,
as a measure of affection rather than embracing Tommy like she did at Hailsham
(121). Kathy berates her about this gesture noting, “It’s not what people
really do out there, in normal life, if that’s what you were thinking” (124). Ruth
is unsure of herself and her actions, so she assimilates into the Veteran’s
environment without realizing she has changed her behavior. Ruth’s “identity”
is rooted in her ability to act like everyone else. Additionally, Kathy
struggles to understand her desires. For example, she admits to feeling strong
sexual urges, which spurs her to look for her "possible" in porn magazines. Kathy
confesses, “I thought if I find her picture, in one of those magazines, it’ll
at least explain it. I wouldn’t want you to go find her or anything. It would
just, you know, kind of explain why I am the way I am” (181). Kathy views her
feelings as a character flaw and attributes them being a clone, rather than a
regular human. Kathy can’t reconcile her perceptions about sex to her
environment, so she looks for an explanation in her genetics. On the other
hand, Tommy searches for his identity by making art. After leaving Hailsham,
Tommy makes little animals because Miss Emily once said that art “revealed what
you were like on the inside…[it] revealed your soul” (175). By making art,
Tommy hopes to expose his true self—a person he does not yet know. Tommy’s
animals, though, only bring him ridicule from Kathy and Ruth, which leads him
back to the beginning. He has uncovered nothing.
Ultimately, the
main characters’ lack of self-identity fits their purpose in the novel. Miss
Emily reveals that Hailsham students are an experiment to prove clones have
souls (260). Having a soul, though, is not equivalent to possessing an
identity. A soul merely defines an individual as a human, but an identity
defines a person as living with purpose. Identity denotes passion and ambition
rather than passivity and obedience. The reason the characters struggle to understand
themselves relates to the fact they lack true autonomy. They allow their fate
to happen rather than stepping in to change their course.
I would argue that Tommy's attempts at art are less about finding his true identity and more of an attempt at survival. Yes, he ultimately enjoys painting the tiny animals, but this was not his primary purpose in creating them. Tommy is attempting to create art in order to get a deferral for his donations. He only begins his serious artwork after developing his theory based on Miss Emily’s slip. When he explains to Kathy that he believes the Gallery may be a way to judge the souls of the students in order to decide if a couple may receive a deferral, he also tells her, “I have been doing some stuff. Just in case” (178). It is not a coincidence that the beginning of Tommy’s art overlaps with his realization. Before at Hailsham, when Tommy was not aware this was a possibility, he had no desire to be artistic. He has just come to terms with a possible way to defer death. To do this, he attempts to create good art so that the others may think he has a soul. But it doesn’t necessarily appear that he is putting in the effort for his artwork because he is drawing upon his soul. His effort seems instead like it is an attempt to create elaborate artwork that “appears” soulful to the people at the Gallery. Whether or not the drawings actually represent his soul is questionable, but they are no doubt proof of his desire to stay alive, even if it is just for a few more years. This is perhaps the closest any of the students in the novel come to “rebellion.” Tommy is not working to escape the system per se, but simply to extend his life. Furthermore, he is seeking his extension through the system rather than running away or inciting an uprising against society.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that the clone's search for identity is strictly due the them being clones. I think the search for one's identity is a very fundamental part of being a human and being a part of society. The clones may search for their identity in different ways, such as by trying to find their possibles, but the sentiment is universal. Most of us want to know why we are the way we are. Many of us may even blame our genetics, albeit not because we are clones. The reason Kathy thinks her possible may have been a porn model is not just because she has sexual urges, but because she has sexual urges that she believes no one else does. Ruth later admits, "I always lied to you about your urges" (Ishiguro 231). Kathy (incorrectly) thinks something is wrong with her because Ruth lied. It is due to Ruth's lie that Kathy assumes the defect must be in her genes, not due to some special clone feeling. This is similar to taking an ancestry DNA test to see if you may have had a history of illness. I agree that Tommy searches for his identity through art, but again, that is a normal thing to do at any age.
ReplyDeleteWhile I do agree that the clones lack autonomy, don't we all to some degree, at least until we're financially independent? I can say I had some sort of identity (though of course, not fully formed) even back in middle school. Lack of autonomy does not mean lack of identity. It makes finding and exploring your identity more difficult, but it certainly does not make it impossible. Yes, the clones searched and struggled for their identity, but that's a common theme of growing up; and yes, the clones lack autonomy, but that doesn't mean they lack an identity.
I agree with what you are saying, and I believe that this lack of identity is another way of humanizing the clones. Although they are different types of identity crisis, many humans struggle to know who they are and what their purpose in this world is for many years. It is easy for young adults to connect to the clones as the struggle to learn more about themselves, because many young adults are going through the same process. Tommy states “Our models, what they were like, that’s nothing to do with us, Kath” (168). Tommy’s statement reflects his belief that, although a clone, he is his own person with independence. In our reality, we rely on our caregivers to help us become who we are, but we are still independent beings who, in the end, get to decide the type of person we are, just as the clones do. I do believe, though, that the clones have a bigger struggle than we do, for before they can figure out who they are, they have to figure out what they are. After Madame sees Kathy and Tommy outside her house, Kathy says “I don’t know if she recognized us at that point; but without doubt, she saw and decided in a second what we were” (248). The concept of the clones lacking identity, individuality, and an overall human nature in the eyes of the possibles is reflective of historical events in our world when a certain group of individuals were intentionally alienated due to differences, humanizing the clones once again and causing the reader to have an emotional connection/reaction to them.
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