NEVER LET ME GO NEVER LET ME GO

NEVER LET ME GO

NEVER LET ME GO dystopia: (n) an imaginary place or condition in which everything is bad

DYSTOPIAN LITERATURE • When we think about the dystopian novel, what first comes to mind is often George Orwell's Nineteen-Eighty-Four. • Published in 1949; he prophesied the advent of a flawless totalitarian society, in which the individual is of literally no significance.

WHY READ IT? • The critic Bernard Richards once said 'dystopias are useful; they warn us about what might happen'.

• This seems fair enough; you can finish a copy of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and breathe a sigh of relief, safe in the knowledge that you don't live in the repressive state of Gilead in which the sole functions of women are as sexobjects and baby-machines. Even if you happen to be a man.

• The dystopian novel is a comforter to the human psyche; we like to read about death and corruption, as long as we know that it can't happen to us. Or do we?

• Could we all awaken one morning to find our bank accounts mysteriously cancelled? The world a changed, oppressive place? Maybe, and perhaps it is that compels us to read dystopias; they provide a spark of danger in our otherwise mundane lives.

TWO MAIN TYPES OF DYSTOPIAN DREGS… • 1) Nasty Things Happen but Everything Turns out Right. • This plot is followed in LP Hartley's 1960 novel Facial Justice, in which the heroine, Jael 97, beats the Establishment at its own game and everyone lives happily ever after.

TWO MAIN TYPES OF DYSTOPIAN DREGS… • 2) Nasty Things Happen but Despite Everyone's Best Efforts the Establishment Wins. • An example of this scenario can be seen in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World of 1932, in which babies are created in bottles, meaningful relationships are obsolete and in the end John. . . no, best not give that away. Suffice it to say, that the novel's conclusion is suitably depressing. • Most authors of dystopian novels choose this option.

COMMON CONCEPTS • As with plot, almost all dystopias deal with the same fundamental concepts. Of these, the most common include: • The Status of the Individual • The Nature of Power • Communication

THE STATUS OF THE INDIVIDUAL • In a word - low. • The individual is of little, if any consequence, the desire being for uniformity within society.

THE NATURE OF POWER • There is some variation here. The seat of power in a dystopian society can rest with an individual corrupt dictator or a corrupt governmental entity, but the effect is much the same; the individual is crushed and freedom curtailed.

COMMUNICATION • Poor, artificial, stilted; these are all words that could apply to communication in a dystopian novel. • Communication is just another method of control in the dystopian society.

NEVER LET ME GO • A Dystopian Novel • Set in a slightly skewed version of contemporary England • Follows Kathy H and her childhood at Hailsham school…

WHAT DOES IT MEAN….

WHAT DOES IT MEAN….

WHAT DOES IT MEAN….

• What do we learn about being a ‘carer’? • What do we learn about being a ‘donor’? • Consider the words used to describe various states of the donors – ‘agitated’ and ‘calm’. What do these suggest about the donor process? CHAPTER 1 QUESTIONS

• Consider the language used to describe the donor process: • Carer • Donor • Completing/completed • Recovery centre • How do these words affect meaning? CHAPTER 1 QUESTIONS

• Kathy H says that Hailsham often gets people’s ‘backs up’, and that students from Hailsham are seen as ‘privileged’. What does this suggest about the place? CHAPTER 1 QUESTIONS

• Consider the language used to describe life at Hailsham: • Guardians • Chests • Main house • What sort of environment existed at Hailsham? CHAPTER 1 QUESTIONS

• Kathy admits she doesn’t know how to get back to Hailsham. Considering how much time she must have spent there, what does this suggest? CHAPTER 1 QUESTIONS

• What impressions do you get about the following characters: • Kathy H • Ruth • Tommy CHAPTER 1 QUESTIONS

• What sort of narration does Ishiguro use in the novel? Do you find this effective? CHAPTER 1 QUESTIONS

• How does Kathy feel towards Tommy at the age of 13? • What impressions do you get of Tommy? • Ruth is a very strong figure at Hailsham. Why do you think this is? What impressions do you get of her? CHAPTER 2 QUESTIONS

• What are the Exchanges? What do they suggest about ownership/the things that the students possess/value? CHAPTER 2 QUESTIONS

• Tommy confides in Kathy, saying that Miss Lucy gave him permission to stop being ‘creative’. • Consider Kathy’s response to this. Why might she feel this way? CHAPTER 2 QUESTIONS

Privacy ARE STUDENTS AT HAILSHAM AFFORDED MUCH, IF ANY, PRIVACY? WHY OR WHY NOT?

THE ‘OTHER’ IN LITERATURE • The Other is an individual who is perceived by the ‘group’ as not belonging, as being different in some fundamental way. • Any stranger becomes the Other. • The ‘group’ sees itself as the norm and judges those who do not meet that norm (that is, who are different in any way) as the Other. • Perceived as lacking essential characteristics possessed by the group, the Other is almost always seen as a lesser or inferior being and is treated accordingly. • The Other in a society may have few or no legal rights, may be characterized as less intelligent or

• Otherness takes many forms. The Other may be someone who is of. . . • a different race (White vs. non-White), • a different nationality (Anglo Saxon vs. Italian), • a different religion (Protestant vs. Catholic or Christian vs. Jew), • a different social class (aristocrat vs. serf), • a different political ideology (capitalism vs. communism), • a different sexual orientation (heterosexual vs. homosexual), • a different origin (native born vs. immigrant).

BY ‘OTHERING’ A GROUP OF PEOPLE, YOU DECREASE EMPATHY AND ALLOW PEOPLE TO PROJECT THEIR OWN FEARS ONTO THE 'OTHERED' PEOPLE

RELATE THE IDEA OF “OTHERING” TO THE CONCEPT OF THE SINGLE STORY AND PREDICT WHO YOU BELIEVE WILL BE “OTHERED” AS WE READ ON.