Individualism In Kurt Vonnegut's Never Let Me Go

To be an individual one must have some characteristics to separate them from the rest of society, they must have something that makes them unique. The novel Never Let Me Go written by Kazuo Ishiguro, follows the students Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy and their lives while living and beyond the “boarding school” Hailsham. In Kurt Vonnegut’s short stories the characters live in ways that limit their own individualism. Living at Hailsham students had a box of personal possessions which they called collections. These collections contained random items such as Kathy’s Judy Bridgewater tape that they bought from the sales. The collections were something private to the students and their belongings brought a distinctiveness to their circumstances. On page 38, Kathy describes the collections, “At the time, of course, we took it all for granted. You each had a wooden chest with your name on it which you kept under your bed and filled with your possessions-the stuff you acquired from the Sales or Exchanges.” Furthermore, through the Sales (although described as “a big disappointment”) most students at one point found something that became special to them (an example being Kathy’s tape). Art was largely focused on at Hailsham. In society the students at Hailsham …show more content…
In many ways they are the same question. In the novel Never Let Me Go the question of whether a clone is even human is brought up and what makes them human. Additionally, in Kurt Vonnegut’s short story Harrison Bergeron individualism, (intelligence, strength, beauty and creativity) are sacrificed for the sake of equality. Furthermore, in Who am I This Time Harry needs to have who he should be written down for him in a script, his thoughts and actions are not his own. What determines being human is to have individual thoughts, feelings and actions that are distinctive to oneself, this is also what makes a person an