NRJ#1: Childhood
When you become an adult or even if there is a change of surroundings, many times you think back about childhood memories. Those memories consume us of who we are today as adults such as our attitudes, what makes up happy or fearful, friendships, personalities and etc. In the novel Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro creates many childhood memories with the children from Hailsham, especially Kathy who narrates her child life with flashbacks throughout the novel. Ishiguro sense of childhood seems important to his novel. The first part of the book is him giving us insight on the beginning of childhood on Hailsham. For example, Kathy explains possessions that she had received as a childhood at Hailsham and still remains with her.
In chapter 6, Kathy begins to mention about a tape she loves to listen to and “still has a copy of that tape” (Ishiguro 64). The tape was by Judy Bridgwater and from that tape was Kathy’s favorite song, “Never let Me Go”. The author’s use of flashback is allowing the reader to understand the importance of the tape and what it meant to Kathy as a child. We also learn that this song is mentioned towards the end of the story encountered with Madame. That’s it is necessary for her to explain the past with the meaning of this tape. This tape also brought back a familiar connection between Ruth and Kathy after months of awkwardness. Ishiguro is reconstructing childhood friendships by allowing Ruth to realize Kathy has lost her favorite tape and gives her a new one, “Kathy, it’s not your one. The one you lost. I tried to find it for you, but it’s really gone” (75). That tape given by Ruth still remains with Kathy amongst with her childhood memories of their friendship.
Throughout the beginning part of Never Let Me Go, Ishiguro has used many flashbacks for the reader to recount the past of the children at Hailsham and for the reader to know at one point we thought the kids were normal just like how today’s society we analyze how important it is for children to go to school, have friends, and be involved with activities. That’s all the children remember from Hailsham and some of their guardians. The sense of a regular life, aka perfect life, doesn’t exist even if you’re cloned. As adults we will always have distraught, un-normal, sensitive, positive, happy and sad childhood memories.
I really like your interpretation of the meaning behind the theme of Childhood in the book. There is such a positive association with childhood that it is difficult to remember that childhood, like all other stages of life is not perfect and is made up of both positive and negative events. The use of these events ultimately creates this sort of surreal balance with the clones, they have such normal lives, their childhood is filled with ups and downs. They are not perfect but they are not miserable either. And yet, even though their live appear to be normal, the reader gets this sneaking suspicion that something is wrong.
ReplyDeleteI also found that the tape that is the source of the book's title played an important role in Kathy's life in multiple ways, especially her childhood. I feel like this is one of her main sources of reliving her past, and time when she thought that she was normal and just like everyone else. I think that by listening to it and talking about it Kathy can momentarily return to those days during her childhood. I think that she and all of the other clones in the book live life in the past because it was a time before they knew they were lower class citizens. Now they are aware of who they are and have lost the hope of living normal lives, a hope they had as children.
ReplyDeleteI like how you refer to the flashbacks and how we analyze today the meaning of a perfect childhood. I agree that there is no perfect childhood, but because of their predetermined future, they were given somewhat of a perfect idea of childhood according to the guardians. I agree also on childhood being a strong theme in Never Let Me Go, because like the artwork it showed who they were in adulthood, or throughout their donations.
ReplyDelete