Similarities Between Frankenstein And Never Let Me Go

There are some questions that recur in society throughout time. One of these timeless questions is what defines a human as a human. A simple answer for this is a highly intelligent being with the body of a person. Yet, in the past decades, this question has been asked time and time again as society attempts to decide what constitutes a human in today’s modern age. The question is so highly debated that at times society has ostracized individuals simply to avoid finding an accepted answer. But this question has also been asked countless time in literature. Two examples of this are Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein published in 1818, and in the 2005 novel Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Both novels examine what it means to be human and how easily …show more content…
From the very first page of the novel, the reader is introduced to Hailsham, which is later revealed to be the school for clones before they go out in the world to be carers and donors. Not only does Hailsham keep the clones out of the way of everyday society, its remote countryside location insures that the clones will not be corrupted by the ideals of the outside world. Hailsham may be a physical barrier between the two parties for only the first part of the clones short lives, but the idea that the clones are to remain separate follows them forever. After leaving Hailsham Kathy says, “Of course, in practice, especially during the first months, we rarely stepped beyond the confines of the Cottages. We didn't even walk about the surrounding countryside or wander into the nearby village.” (Ishiguro 118) Even as adults, the clones stay predominantly in the countryside and live in their own communities because they had been trained to feel most comfortable among their own …show more content…
In both of the novels, the creators separate themselves with both distance and knowledge. Dr. Frankenstein wanted to be as far from his monster as possible, and the society that created the clones forced them to live separate lives without connections to the outside world. The society was successful at maintaining their power because the clones had so little knowledge that they did not know why or how to question the system the created them. But the monster, on the other hand, was exposed to the world and had knowledge on how those around him lived their lives. Because of this he saw that he was different and longed for normalcy in his life. In this respect, Dr. Frankenstein failed because this creation was just as intelligent as he was— so much so that he feared making a companion for his creation, “I was now about to form another being...she might become ten thousand times more malignant than her mate.” (Shelly 91) Not only was intelligence a concern, but the mere thought of another being capable of causing harm was enough for Dr. Frankenstein to cease working on a second, female, creation.
Frankenstein and Never Let Me Go both demonstrate the problems that are that are created when society decides to ostracize a group or person. From the time Shelley wrote Frankenstein in the early 1800’s all the way to the modern Never Let Me Go society has had many missteps in its quest for