Cloning is a medical process whereby organisms that are identical are produced through the process of somatic cell nuclear transfer (Griffin 650). It is a very complicated process, but the bottom line is that an independent human being can be created by cloning. Cloning has brought about a lot of ethical questions on whether it is right or wrong. Some people argue that it should be done as it can help people who cannot have children to have them. People who do not agree argue that the process is an act of playing with God (Griffin 654). Therefore, it should or should not be done. People have argued whether the process is ethical or not, supporting their claims with reasons. Some authors have written books on this subject, and critics of the books give us ideas on who is supporting cloning and who is not. This paper analyzes the message Ishiguro is trying to pass to us through the touching story as it is highlighted in Never Let Me Go.
The novel is classified under science fiction and is written by a British writer of Japanese origin by the name Kazuo Ishiguro (McDonald 75). The writer provides us with a dark future, which is termed as dystopia (McDonald 80). It has three acts, and the voice of the story comes to the audience from the voice of the story’s protagonist. The story is set in England with three main characters, Kathy, who is also the protagonist, Ruth and Tommy. These three people are clones that were created for one purpose, i.e. to save the ordinary people by donating important organs when they need them (Ishiguro 3). The story is somewhat complicated since the author terms the death of the clones as “completion.” The characters are in a boarding school, with other clones, where they lead a better life than humans are in their childhood, but their end is determined. During their childhood, they are not aware of whom they are. They even fall in love and fight, just like normal kids. The story has a sad ending when Kathy and Tom are in love, and they cannot be given that chance. When Tom completes his purpose in life, Kathy feels so sorry, and she quits her job of being a “carer” and starts the course for her use (Ishiguro 23).
The story, according to some critics, is a terror story as it presents a dark future, which nobody would want to meet. As human beings, we are aware of our death, but nobody knows when his or her time of leaving the earth will come. We feel so saddened when a young person dies, feeling like the older people should go first. The clones, not aware of their identities during their childhood, tend to live a better life than the rest of the children in their neighborhood. They discuss what they want to be in the future, unaware of their fate. When their teacher emphasizes on physical fitness and artistic presentation, the innocent kids do not understand. To them, everything seems perfect, and they cannot stop to meet their future (Levy 8). As a reader, one feels so sorry by knowing that a particular character will soon be “complete.” In fact, one might ask himself or herself, what does the author want to communicate? From a simplistic perspective, the clones are living because of helping to save people’s life. Thus, who is more human? When clones were first introduced, people refused to view them as full human beings, but semi-humans. Is the author trying to ridicule humanity? The fact the “creatures” we consider as semi-humans are willing to lose their lives for our sake is so touching.
The idea of free will is also very clear in the novel, not to the clones, but to us because we were created with free will to do whatever we want and at whatever time. The clones dream of doing a lot of things, such as working in an office, traveling to America, and so many other things. Sadly, decisions are not theirs (Levy 10). I believe that the author is communicating to us in a deeper way using the “creatures.” As readers, we should use our free will to do things that will not only improve our lives, but also others’ lives because these decisions are within our reach (Ishiguro 90).
It is hard for persons to sacrifice their lives for other persons, especially the people that one does not know. The characters in the novel do everything like us, attending school and doing a lot of good things. Once they know that they are not real humans, some of them try to find their true humans, i.e., where they were cloned from, but they cannot trace them. Their future is not in their hands as we see some of them asking if they can be deferred from their role. They are in love and wish they could live a little longer, but this cannot happen. The theme of conformity is evident in this book, whereby one has to follow a particular pattern in his or her life. The author does not use this idea for no apparent reason.
She passes a message to us, who we have been given free will do whatever we want without restrictions. What do we do with that free will? Perhaps, we use it selfishly to improve our lives, while others suffer. The clones that have no free will are helping people they do not know at the expense of their lives. Human beings should learn to help others without expecting to be compensated. The other message that the author might have wanted to pass to us is the fact that we have a future, which means a lot to us. When the kids are told by their teacher that they can never be anything else, they display some innocence and naivety (Whitehead 77). They do not seem to be bothered, and they continue to lead their normal lives because they live in a different society that is isolated from the ordinary society, making them find this life normal (Ishiguro 89).
The other message the author is trying to communicate to us is our individual obligation to our community. How much do we give back to our society? Some of us do not appreciate what we have and always complain about some petty things. In the novel, Madame explains to Kathy and Ruth that they should be happy with the life they have had since that was a privilege to them (Ishiguro 102). The message we get from the lives of the clones is that we have so much to give back to society, yet we do not do that due to the selfish human nature. The clones that are considered to be semi-humans are clearly more humane than the real humans. This is quite a weighty message from the author, but not everybody will get it due to the complicated nature of the plot. The clones give their all to the community, and the full humans are too selfish to give anything.
According to Ishiguro, willful ignorance is what causes social injustices in our society today. For example, in the narration, the clones are living on rumors that make them feel better (Ishiguro 56). They believe that their purpose in life can be deferred, making them an ordinary life, and they are so happy when talking about the rumor. Human beings prefer this kind of ignorance because the truth is not always sweet, but the message that the author is communicating is a different one, which is founded on the truth regardless of how painful it is in the short-term. However, the truth can help us to plan our lives in a better way in the future. When the idea of cloning was first introduced in the late 1990s, some people viewed it as “joking” with God. The author has addressed this issue by passing to us a message that we might be “playing” with God without being aware of it (Whitehead 67). The clones want to be deferred and changed from their purpose in life. We were all created with a purpose and trying to change it can be regarded as “playing” with God creations, according to Ishiguro.
In conclusion, the author has brought forth important messages by juxtaposing our world with that of clones, which is a superb stylistic device. To understand the messages, we should put ourselves in the clones’ world and imagine how life we would have led in that world. It is true that we do not appreciate what we have and, as a result, we do not understand life.
Works Cited
Griffin, Gabriele. “Science and the cultural imaginary: the case of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go.” Textual Practice 23.4 (2009): 645-663. Print.
Ishiguro, Kazuo. Never let me go. Stuttgart, Germany: Ernst Klett Sprachen, 2012. Print.
Levy, Titus. “Human Rights Storytelling and Trauma Narrative in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go.” Journal of Human Rights 10.1 (2011): 1-16. Print.
McDonald, Keith. “Days of Past Futures: Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go as” Speculative Memoir”.” Biography 30.1 (2007): 74-83. Print.
Whitehead, Anne. “Writing with Care: Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go.” Contemporary Literature 52.1 (2011): 54-83. Print.