Never Let Me Go Symbolism

Children of Men and Never Let Me Go
Compare the ways in which the authors of Children of Men and Never Let Me Go positions their audience to condemn a social system
Director Alfonso Cuarón and author Kazuo Ishiguro utilise stylistic features to create a social system that goes against morality and position their audience to condemn such systems. Cuarón’s film is set in the dystopian world of Britain where infertility threatens humanity with extinction, former civil servant Theo becomes the unlikely hero for the survival of Earth’s population. Ishiguro’s novel is set in a dystopian England in which human clones are created for organ harvesting. Despite different settings, the ideas of hope, fear and the value of life becomes clear that human …show more content…
Utilising symbolism, Cuarón conveys though the world’s desolation, characters in the film never lose hope for humanity. The miraculous pregnancy of Kee fuels Theo’s hope of the world not facing extinction and helps her on the journey to the ‘Tomorrow’. As Kee, Theo and Marichka climb the stairs in a building of Bexhill, dark lighting is utilised; the bleak-greyish colours alluding to despair in the dystopian world. Cuarón contrasts this with high-key lighting of the lantern, acting as a beacon of hope suggesting Kee whom is about to give birth highlights that even in the darkest of times hope still resides. Comparably, Ishiguro takes a different approach of hope with Ruth, one of the main protagonists. Although the ‘clones’ of ‘Hailsham’ have a set lifespan, it doesn’t stop the characters hoping for their ‘dream future’. As Ruth goes into ‘details’ of the office she would ‘ideally work in’, Kathy can’t help but hope it comes true because if Ruth’s dream becomes a reality, so will hers. The characters are constructed this way so the author can convey that although their unavoidable deaths, people can still hope for a better future even if the corrupt society won’t change. Contrastingly, Cuarón’s use of symbolism highlights that hope is necessary to survive. ‘The Tomorrow’ is a ship owned by ‘The Human Project’, a group of people who are working constantly to try and solve humanity's curse of infertility; it will serve as a safe haven for Kee and her baby if they manage to reach it. The characters aren’t certain the Tomorrow exists, but hope keeps them moving forward and trying to locate it; this symbol manipulates the viewer into believing humanity can still exist in corrupt societies, the symbolism reminding