Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro Detailed summary

 PART ONE

 

CHAPTER ONE

Never Let Me Go is set in England in the late 1990s. It is narrated by a thirty one-year-old woman named Kathy H. At the outset of the novel, Kathy announces that she has been a ‘‘carer’’ for eleven years, working with ‘‘donors.’’ She does not explain what she means by these terms, but she says that through being a carer she has been able to reconnect with two of her friends, Ruth and Tommy, with whom she went to school. The school was a private school in the English countryside called Hailsham. Kathy’s reminiscences of the time she spent at Hailsham form a substantial part of the novel. In this chapter she recalls some incidents when she was about twelve or thirteen. Tommy was mercilessly teased by the other children. When he was not selected by the other boys to play soccer with them, he would lose his temper. The other students would make fun of him as he expressed his rage.

 

CHAPTER TWO

Kathy looks back at how she took an interest in Tommy over the few weeks following that incident. There were more such kinds of emotional outbursts and incidents involving pranks played upon him. The children think Tommy is lazy and he he fails to contribute anything to the quarterly exhibition and sale in which students trade little items they have made themselves. Kathy relates that she has spoken to Tommy recently about his troubles at the school, and he says it started when Miss Geraldine, one of the ‘‘guardians’’ (the term they use instead of teacher), praised some poor painting he had done, and this aroused the resentment of the other students.

 

Kathy resumes her reminiscence, saying that after a while the teasing of Tommy stopped. He told her it was due to something that Miss Lucy, another guardian, had said to him.

 

CHAPTER THREE

Tommy explains to Kathy what Miss Lucy had said to him. She said it did not matter if he was not creative, and he was not to worry about it or about what others were saying. Miss Lucy told him he was a good student. As she said this, she was shaking with rage and frustrated, but Tommy did not know why she was angry. Tommy is helped by her comments, and his attitude changes, because he knows that what happens with the other students is not his fault. He also tells Kathy that Miss Lucy told him she believed the students should be told more about ‘‘donations,’’ and Kathy seems to understand what is meant by this, but she does not explain it for the reader.

 

Kathy reminisces about a woman known as Madame, who comes to the school several times a year and takes the students’ best artwork. The students think she puts the artwork in what they call the Gallery, but no one knows for sure what happens to it or why Madame takes it. Madame does not talk to the students, and Ruth thinks she is afraid of them.

 One day, a group of students surprises Madame after she has gotten out of her car, and Madame reacts with a suppressed shudder, and the students take this as confirmation that she is afraid of them. Looking back, Kathy says that even at a young age the children must have been aware at some level that they were not like other people, and that others might be afraid of them because of how they were created and what their purpose was.

 

CHAPTER FOUR

Kathy looks back to a time she calls the ‘‘tokens controversy,’’ when the children were about ten. The students thought they should be compensated with tokens when Madame took something of theirs. A boy called Roy J. suggests it to Miss Emily, the head guardian, and eventually the idea is adopted. A girl called Polly T. asks Miss Lucy why Madame takes their work in the first place, but Miss Lucy does not explain.

 

Kathy then reminisces about the Sales, where the children bought with their tokens items such as toys and clothes. The items for sale were delivered in boxes by van every month. Kathy then thinks back to the early days of her friendship with Ruth, which started when they were seven or eight and they ride imaginary horses together.

 

CHAPTER FIVE

Kathy reports that as adults, when she was ‘‘caring’’ for Ruth in Dover, they discussed how Ruth had been the leader of the ‘‘secret guards’’ who protected their favorite guardian, Miss Geraldine. Kathy became one of them. She recalls how they protected Miss Geraldine from what they were convinced was a plot to kidnap her planned by some of the other guardians. Kathy and Ruth have a quarrel, and Kathy is excluded from the secret guard, but she still remains loyal to Ruth.

 

About three years later, Ruth implies that a pencil case she has acquired was given to her by Miss Geraldine. Guardians are not allowed to show favouritism or give gifts.

 

CHAPTER SIX

Troubled by what she has done to damage her friendship with Ruth, Kathy finds a way of making it up to her. Ruth appreciates it and looks for some way of being nice to Kathy in return. The opportunity arises over a cassette tape of songs by a popular singer, Judy Bridgewater. Before Kathy explains what happens, she digresses, commenting on how smoking was forbidden at the school.

Miss Lucy tells them that she once smoked herself, but it was far worse if the children were to smoke than it ever had been for her, although she does not explain why. Going back to the tape, Kathy says that her favorite song had a line, ‘‘Baby, never let me go.’’ She imagines that it refers to a woman who has been told she could not have babies but really wants one and has one anyway.

 

One day, she is dancing to the music in her dorm, holding a pillow to her chest as an imaginary baby. Madame comes by the half-open door and sees her. Madame says nothing but leaves sobbing. A couple of years later, Kathy discusses the incident with Tommy; they both know by then none of the students at Hailsham are able to have children. The tape was lost a short while after the incident with Madame. Ruth takes the trouble to replace it for her with a tape of ballroom dancing music.

 

CHAPTER SEVEN

When Kathy is thirteen, Miss Lucy decides to tell them all the truth. They will not be able to do what they want to do in life. Their futures are all determined. They have been created in order that, when they become adults, they will be required to donate their vital organs for others. The children do not react much; it seems that they already know this in a vague kind of way. They have sex education classes, in which they are told they must avoid disease, but sex will be different for them than for normal people because they are unable to have babies. The children discuss the future ‘‘donations’’ in a light-hearted way; in fact, it becomes a sort of running joke about what awaits them. This changes when they are fifteen; they talk more seriously about it.

 

CHAPTER EIGHT

At age sixteen, the topic of sex often comes up among the students. They receive contradictory messages from the guardians. The guardians tell them that sex is not something to be ashamed of, but at the same time they set rules that make it difficult for the students to engage in it. Kathy thinks there is less sexual activity among the students than many of the students like to think, although she knows Ruth and Tommy have done it. She herself has held back, but she decides she wants to experiment and chooses a boy named Harry C. She starts dropping hints to him that she is interested in him, but then Ruth and Tommy split up, and this puts her in a different position.

 

CHAPTER NINE

After Tommy and Ruth split up, a couple of girls mention to Kathy that they expect her to become a couple with Tommy. This surprises her, but she stops trying to start something with Harry. Then Ruth asks Kathy to help her get back together with Tommy. Kathy agrees. When Kathy talks to Tommy, he tells her about something Miss Lucy has told him. She said she had been wrong to tell him earlier that it did not matter that he was not creative. The art the students produced was important, she says, partly because it is ‘‘evidence.’’ She does not explain what she means but encourages him to work again at his art. Kathy then mentions that Ruth wants them to get back together, but Tommy seems reluctant. The next day the students learn that Miss Lucy has left Hailsham, and Tommy and Ruth get back together.

Aristotle as a critic

 Contributions of Aristotle in literary criticism

 

Aristotle spent 20 years studying under Plato at Athens. His reputation lies on the much celebrated critical work The poetics. He was the tutor of Alexander the great.

Poetics is a treatise of about fifty pages containing 26 small chapters. It is the compiled version of his lectures. The first four chapters and the twenty fifth are devoted to poetry, fifth chapter in general explains comedy, epic and tragedy, the following 14 chapters are exclusively dedicated to tragedy, the next three to poetic diction, the next two to epic poetry and the last one is the comparison of epic poetry and tragedy. Aristotle’s main concern thus lies on tragedy. 

 

“Tragedy,” says Aristotle, “ Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not of narrative; through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions..”

 

Aristotle asserts that tragedy is a form of imitation, but not a mere copy of reality. It imitates human actions, emotions, and events that are serious and meaningful. For Aristotle, art imitates life, but it does so in a way that selects, organizes, and intensifies reality to reveal universal truths. In Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the action imitates the downfall of Prince Hamlet due to fate and his own tragic flaws. Though fictional, it reflects universal human concerns fate, procrastination, guilt, and moral responsibility.

Tragedy deals with significant ethical, social, or political issues. The action must have a beginning, middle, and end, a coherent and self-contained plot. The story should be of sufficient scale or importance to arouse emotional engagement. It should not be trivial. Shakespeare’s Macbeth is about a man driven by ambition who murders a king and suffers the psychological and moral consequences. The plot is complete and serious, with royal politics, prophecy, murder, and guilt forming the magnitude of the drama.

Aristotle emphasizes the use of poetic language, ornamented with rhetorical devices, meter, and occasionally song (as in the chorus of Greek tragedy). The language should be elevated and suited to the characters and the situation. The chorus in Antigone uses lyrical poetry to comment on the action, elevate the tone, and express communal emotions and moral reflection.

Unlike epic poetry, which tells a story through narration (as in Homer), tragedy shows the story through action and dialogue. The audience witnesses events unfolding in real time rather than hearing them described.

Two central emotional effects of tragedy are:

Pity for the tragic hero, who suffers undeservedly. Fear that such suffering might happen to us or anyone. These emotions are crucial because they engage the audience emotionally and prepare them for the final outcome. In Othello, we pity Othello, who is noble and loving but tragically misled. We fear the destructive power of jealousy and manipulation, recognizing how fragile trust can be.

Catharsis is a key term and one of the most debated aspects of Aristotle’s theory. Though Aristotle does not define it explicitly in Poetics, it is generally understood to mean:

 

Purgation: the release of pent-up emotions.

Purification: a cleansing or refining of emotional responses

Catharsis is the emotional and moral resolution that tragedy brings. The audience, having felt intense emotions, is left with a sense of emotional balance or philosophical insight.

 

The six constituent parts of a tragedy

1.Plot - mythos 

2.Character - ethos

3.Thought - dianoia

4.Diction -  lexis

5. Sectacle -  opsis
6. Song -  melos

Aristotle finds six constituent parts in tragedy. They are: Plot, character, thought, diction, song/music and spectacle. Plot means the sequential arrangement of incidents in a logical and coherent way. It can be considered as the most important element thus, known as the soul of tragedy. Aristotle says: “without action there cannot be a tragedy; there may be without character (humans)’. Character, he says, determines men’s qualities. The performer of the actions. Thought refers to what the character thinks or feels. It reveals itself in speech. As plot imitates action, character imitates men, so thought imitates men’s mental and emotional reactions according to the circumstances. He also employs the medium diction. By diction he meant the appropriate selection and use of artistically enhanced language. Or it is the objectification of thought, the vehicle through which thought finds expression. Spectacle and music are the parts of stage equipments. But both constitute the manner in which the tragedy is presented to the audience.

 

 

Tragic Hero.

According to Aristotle, the ideal tragic hero should be good but neither too bad not too perfect. He should be a man whose misfortune is brought about not by vice or depriving (denial of truth and values) but by some error or frailty. This error is hamartia or the tragic flaw. For example, in ‘Hamlet’, it is his procrastination or inability to take action that leads to his down-fall. It is not a deliberate vice but flaw of characters and it makes the play tragic one. One common form of hamartia in Greek tragedy was ‘Hubris’ that is the pride or overweening self confidence which leads a protagonist to disregard or violate an important moral law.

Aristotle's concept of the tragic hero is a fundamental aspect of his theory of tragedy outlined in his work Poetics. According to Aristotle, a tragic hero is a character of noble stature and outstanding qualities who possesses a fatal flaw (hamartia) that leads to their downfall. The tragic hero undergoes a reversal of fortune (peripeteia) and experiences a moment of recognition or realization (anagnorisis) about their own role in their downfall. Despite their flaws and mistakes, the audience experiences catharsis, a purging of emotions, through witnessing the hero's suffering.

Noble Stature: The tragic hero is typically a person of high rank, such as a king, prince, or nobleman. Their position in society commands respect and admiration from others.

Hamartia (Tragic Flaw): This is the character flaw or error in judgment that leads to the hero's downfall. It could be hubris (excessive pride), ambition, jealousy, or some other character flaw. The tragic flaw is integral to the hero's personality and contributes to the development of the plot.

Reversal of Fortune (Peripeteia): The tragic hero experiences a sudden change of circumstances, often from a position of prosperity to one of adversity. This reversal is a crucial turning point in the plot and marks the beginning of the hero's downfall.

Recognition (Anagnorisis): This is the moment when the tragic hero realizes their own role in their downfall. It involves a moment of self-awareness or insight into their own flaws and mistakes. This recognition often comes too late to change the hero's fate but serves to deepen the audience's understanding of the character's tragic predicament.

Catharsis: Aristotle believed that tragedy served the purpose of purging or cleansing the audience's emotions through pity and fear. By witnessing the suffering of the tragic hero, the audience experiences a cathartic release of these emotions, which leads to a sense of emotional relief and renewal.

Examples of tragic heroes from literature

Oedipus Rex (Sophocles): Oedipus is a noble king of Thebes who unwittingly fulfills a prophecy by killing his father and marrying his mother, thus bringing about his own downfall due to his excessive pride and determination to uncover the truth.

Macbeth (William Shakespeare): Macbeth is a brave Scottish general who is driven by ambition to commit regicide and seize the throne. His unchecked ambition leads to a series of murders and his eventual downfall.

 

 

Simple and Complex Plot.

The plot may be simple or complex. In a simple plot there are no puzzling situations such as Peripeteia and Anagnorisis. Peripeteia is generally explained as ‘reversal of the situation’ or shift of the protagonist’s fortune from good to bad and anagnorisis as ‘recognition’ or ‘discovery’. By reversal of situation is meant reversal of intention (e.g. killing an enemy and later discovering him to be a friend.) The discovery of these false moves is anagnoris. In other words it means a change from ignorance to knowledge. Both peripeteia and anagnorisis please because there is an element of surprise in them. A plot that makes use of them is complex. A perfect tragedy should be arranged not on the simple but on the complex plot

 

 

The Structure of the Plot.

The plot being the soul of a tragedy, the artistic arrangements of incidents are highly significant. Aristotle's three unities are principles of classical dramatic structure that he outlined in his work "Poetics." These unities were considered essential for creating a well-structured and effective tragedy in ancient Greek theater. The three unities are:

1. Unity of Action:

This principle suggests that a play should have a single, focused storyline with a clear and central plot. The events and actions in the play should revolve around a central theme or conflict without unnecessary subplots or digressions.

Example: In Shakespeare's play "Macbeth," the unity of action is evident as the entire play centers around Macbeth's ambition, the prophecy of the witches, and the consequences of his actions. The plot is focused on Macbeth's rise to power, his descent into madness, and ultimate downfall.

2. Unity of Time:
• According to this principle, the events of the play should take place within a compressed timeframe. In classical drama, it was recommended that the action of the play should ideally occur within a 24-hour period. This was believed to create a sense of urgency and intensity in the narrative.

Example: In the ancient Greek tragedy "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles, the unity of time is observed as the events unfold in a single day. The play follows Oedipus as he tries to unravel the mystery of his identity and the curse on Thebes.

3. Unity of Place:
• This unity suggests that a play should unfold in a single location or, at the very least, not span multiple distant locations. The idea is to maintain a sense of coherence and avoid unnecessary complexity in the setting.

Example: In Molier's (French Playwright) comedy "Tartuffe," the unity of place is observed as the majority of the play takes place in the living room of Orgon's house. The focus remains on the interactions and conflicts between the characters within this single setting.

While these unities were highly regarded in classical Greek and Roman drama, later playwrights and theatrical traditions, particularly during the Renaissance and beyond, often deviated from these strict principles in the pursuit of more complex and varied storytelling.