Never Let Me Go

Flowing Towards the Future In the book Never Let Me Go, as he discusses his impending donation with Kathy, Tommy muses about his visualization of a flowing river. He describes the fervent rush of the water, and how the current pulls apart two people who are trying to hold onto each other. Tommy’s river symbolizes how he views his future: an inevitable march towards donations, and then death. Kazuo Ishiguro’s inclusion of this symbol emphasizes how helpless the clones feel towards their futures; though they have the ability to change the path of their lives, Tommy and the other clones believe they are powerless. Though all the clones have free will, they do not take advantage of their ability to question and rebel against the donation system, which dictates their futures. Rather, the clones sit idly in their care centres, whiling away their time before their next donation. This inaction is a conscious choice that the clones make, as they willingly remain in their centres, even when opportunities to leave or escape arise. This can be attributed to the helplessness that the clones feel about their futures. They don’t believe that they can change their futures. This is exemplified by Tommy’s description of his river. Tommy explains …show more content…
For example, Tommy’s river physically pulls the two people in his imagination apart. The river is so relentless that it has the strength to tear apart two people trying to stay together. Of his river, Tommy says, “And these two people in the water, trying to hold onto each other, holding on as hard as they can, but in the end it’s just too much” (Ishiguro 282). Using Tommy’s river as a symbol for the future, Kazuo Ishiguro is able to translate the vulnerability the clones feel into a tangible object. This physical interpretation of the clones’ future allows the reader to more deeply understand how the clones view their futures as