Log 5
Never let me go
Kazuo Ishiguro
2006/01/05
The theme of the story is clones. Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy were grown up in a boarding school, named Hailsham. All of the students in this school didn’t have parents, and most of them live isolated from the rest of the world. Students in this school were special They were looked after well, and were required to perform well academically and physically. Needless to say, there were many excellent students in this school. However, when they grew up, they would not be part of society. They were given unique tasks at the moment they were born. They were designated to be the donator of organs, in order to continue human lives.
Besides the identity of the donator, they were allowed to be the caregiver. They were responsible for takig care of those donators who were weak after donations. When taking care of their peers, they were waiting for their first donations. Most of the donators were alive until the third donation. They would pass away in their midlife. Although there was no clear statement, they were not defined as human. They are clones. They are nothing but tools to donate organs.
The description of the story was from the insight of clones, about how they face themselves and how they treat the world. Their lives are meant to be short. What’s more, the time of death and the way to dead were literally clear. They were having no misgivings about their destiny. However, they were still eager to hope. They accepted their identities, but they anticipated to real one. Frankly speaking, although clones are born by gene copies, they owned their emotions and feelings, like the donee did. In the end, using true love to exchange for the last of life was nothing but an illusion. They were confronted with a more brutal fact because they were doubted to have the root meaning of life, the existence of the soul.
As a whole, there was no happy scene or dramatic plot in the story. However, the story gave me a comfortable feeling and made me wonder about the genuine meaning of how we live.
Hello Lisa. This is Chiho. The story looks very tragic. I could feel sympathy for the clones in the movie. The lives where they had been chosen since they were born without their feelings and thoughts must be very hopeless. This book was adapted into Japanese drama in 2014. I got to know about this movie almost two years ago because TV reported that the actor who acted in Tommy committed suicide, and this movie was one of his masterpieces. Although I knew the name of this book, I never had a chance to read this book. Additionally, I didn't realize that this book was written by Kazuo Ishiguro, one of my favorite novel writers. I want to read this book in both the Japanese and English versions one day!
ReplyDeleteI also know this book because of the drama in 2014. It's a good topic, and it reflects humanity. I've watched the drama before and it's very serious. When it comes to the clones, we connect them with the issue of ethics. In my opinion, the clones are the same people as us. We should have the same right. We can't discriminate them or give them particular tasks when they are born. It's against morality.
ReplyDeleteHey, Lisa! This novel sounds so heavy and tragic. The idea that some people are destined to be one way or another is incredibly disturbing and wrong. They are human and should have basic human right as soon as they were born or made into this world. However, some people might disregard others' rights just to save themselves. I suppose it is just like cartels that kill people and preserve their organs to sell on the black market. Truly tragic to see.
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