"Baby, baby, never let me go." (Never Let Me Go- 7)

"And what I imagine was a woman who'd been told she couldn't have babies, who'd really, really, wanted them all her life. Then there's a sort of miracle and she has a baby, and she holds this baby very close to her and walk around signing: 'Baby, never let me go...' partly because she's so happy but also because she's so afraid something will happen, that the baby will get ill or be taken away from her." (page 70)

I found this excerpt of the book to be extremely vivid and a great time to mention imagery. This entire book is full of imagery. Ishiguro does a really good job of making sure that there are enough details to paint a big picture of every little thing that has occurred. I can imagine what Hailsham is and what Kathy would look like when she was rocking her pillow and saying "baby, baby, never let me go." Imagery is an important part of this entire book. Without the imagery, it would be extremely hard to follow what Ishiguro is saying. Not only would it be hard to follow, but it would not make any sense. I noticed that throughout the first couple of chapters I was having a really hard time getting into the book. I couldn't imagine what kind of place that these children lived in and it just didn't make sense to me. I had more questions than anything. However, once I was able to imagine what Hailsham would be and what the character would be like, it was a lot easier to read the book. This is why imagery in a book is so important. Without imagery, the story is incomplete and boring. Imagery allows the reader to interpret and imagine, which is extremely important in a book like Never Let Me Go. 

Just say it already!! (Never Let Me Go- 6)

"As it was, an opportunity did come along for her, about a month after the Midge episode, the time I lost my favourite tape." (page 64)

I have noticed a common theme that the author has used when ending each chapter or section in the book. The style in which Ishiguro is using is very suspenseful. Ishiguro makes the reader want to continually read more. He ends one section by starting to tell the beginning of an important story which will be explained in the next section. By writing the book in this style, it is easy to see how every little detail and every anecdote that Kathy relays to the reader is connected in a way. Also, the style makes the relationship between the narrator, Kathy, and the reader a very personal one. It is almost as if Kathy is personally telling the story to the reader and keeping us informed as to why she says a certain story and how it connects to the bigger picture. I really enjoy this style that Ishiguro is using. Not only does it help the reader understand the story line better, but it also draws the reader in. It makes me not want to stop reading the book. Especially when Kathy ends a chapter in a suspenseful way that will be further explained in the preceding chapter.

Why so scared? (Never Let Me Go- 5)

"Ruth had been right: Madame was afraid of us. But she was afraid of us in the same way someone might be afraid of spiders. We hadn't been ready for that. It had never occurred to us to wonder how we would feel, being seen like that, being the spiders." (page 35)

After finishing this chapter and being introduced to Madame, I've figured out that there is something different about these students at Hailsham. I still have no idea what exactly it is, but I do know that there is something different. Ishiguro uses a metaphor here to compare the students to spiders. He notes that just as people are afraid of spiders, Madame is afraid of the Hailsham kids in this same way. However, this metaphor is different because Kathy, the narrator, is expressing how she never thought that she would be in the situation where she was the spider and someone is afraid of her. I wonder if the students at Hailsham are just as oblivious to their differences. From all of the clues that the author has presented  to the reader thus far, I can assume that there are definitely some differences between people like Madame and people like Kathy. Effectively, Ishiguro uses this metaphor to show how Madame is reacting to these kids. By comparing hear reaction to that of seeing a spider, it creates a pretty vivid picture in ones mind. It also allows for the reader to start to speculate about the life at Hailsham and who these kids really are. I know that I'm starting to get really curious.

The nonexistent last names (Never Let Me Go- 4)

"Little things, like Alexander J. and Peter N. walking across the courtyard with him towards the fields, the three of them chatting quite naturally; a subtle but clear difference in people's  voices when his name got mentioned. " (page 21)

Why doesn't anyone have a last name? The book starts off with the introduction of Kathy as "Kathy H." Then, we move on to the introduction of the teachers like "Miss Emily" and "Miss Geraldine". The quote above shows the names Alexander J. and Peter N.. At first, I didn't think anything of the missing last names. However, now I am starting to get curious as to why people only have one letter that represents their last name. I  am guessing that there is more meaning behind the lack of full last names. I am interested to see what exactly this means because at this point in the book I honestly have no idea what this could mean. I am beginning to really question what Hailsham is and if it is a different place. Hailsham definitely seems mysterious at this point, and the missing last names just adds to the intrigue of this interesting place.

What is Hailsham?!? (Never Let Me Go- 3)

"Thinking back now, I can see we were just at that age when we knew a few thigns about ourselves--about who we were, how were were different from our guardians, from the people outside--but hadn't yet understood what any of it meant. I'm sure somewhere in your childhood, you too had an experience like ours that day; similar if not in the actual details, then insdie, in the feelings. Because it doesn't really matter how well your guardians try to prepare you: all the talks, videos, discussions, warnings, none of that can really bring it home. Not when you're eight years old, and you're all together in a place like Hailsham; when you've got guardians like the ones we had; when the garderners and the delivery men joke and laugh with you and call you 'sweetheart.'" (page 36)

Instinctively, I have a weird and almost creepy feeling about this Hailsham place. I feel like it relates to Brave New World in the sense that it seems like a completely separate place with different ideas and practices. However, I am still confused as to what exactly goes on at Hailsham. For example, the concept of "donors" and "carers" and "donations" are all euphemisms that Ishiguro has constantly used throughout the past three chapters. These words are obviously common words that the people who live in this society use. However, to the reader, these words are still unknown and a bit confusing. I think that Ishiguro is using these words and also continually using flashbacks to make the reader reflect and contemplate what is going on in the story. The author keeps leaving a lot of things unanswered. It is possible that the author is wanting the reader to form their own opinion on what may happen next and infer what exactly "donors" and "carers" may be. I am hoping that more of an explanation of these terms and Hailsham will unveil in the upcoming chapters.

Flashback (Never Let Me Go- 2)

"This was all a long time ago so I might have some of it wrong; but my memory of it is that my approaching Tommy that afternoon was part of a phase I was going through around that time-- something to do with compulsively setting myself challenges--and I'd more or less forgotten all about it when Tommy stopped me a few days later." (page 13)

In chapter 2, I found a literary device that was also used in chapter 1. The author uses a flashback continually throughout the chapter to retell a story that is somehow significant to the overall book. The flashbacks are sometimes short and sometimes really long. However, Kathy, the main character, always chimes in at some point and expresses how she felt at that time or what she was thinking. Also, it seems as if Kathy feels differently about a lot of things now than she did when she was younger and growing up at Hailsham. In Brave New World, Aldous Huxley used this literary device to introduce the character John and show how different his world was from everyone else. By using the flashback to John's early life, the reader was able to see the differences in John's society and see how it may have an impact on the rest of the book. This summer, I read  a book called Just Listen, by Sarah Dessen, and the book starts off with a crucial flashback that helps the reader to understand the entire plot of the book. I feel like this may be what Ishiguro is doing as well. Flashbacks help the reader to further understand something that would otherwise be completely unknown. Most often, it relates to the developmemt of the plot or to help explain important characters. The flashbacks that have occured in Never Let Me Go so far have been in effort to explain the life at Hailsham and other characters (mainly Tommy). However, there is also a secret of some sort that keeps having to be discussed in private areas. I'm hoping that this will make more sense in the chapters to come.

It's nice to meet you Kathy H. (Never Let Me Go-1)

"My name is Kathy H. I'm thirty-one years old, and I've been a carer now for over eleven years. That sounds long enough, I know, but actually they want me to go on for another eight months, until the end of this year. That will make is almost exactly twelve years." (pg. 3)

Well, I've started the second book, and I can say I'm just as confused as I was when I began Brave New World. Immediately, we are introduced to Kathy and shown that this book is going to take place in the first person point of view. I have always liked books that take place in the first person point of view because they make it easier to relate to and connect with the main character of the novel. I feel like this may have been the purpose of the author when writing this book in the first person. Kathy must have a big role in the book for the author to want the reader to connect to her in a different way than the other characters.  Also, right from the start we are introduced to Kathy's job as a carer. I'm still confused after finishing the first chapter as to what a carer is. Also the concept of a donor is brought up and it relates to the carers. I am interested to see what exactly this means and if it has a vital role in the story line of the novel. In addition to this, I am curious to see if the type of world they live in is different from the world we know. I wonder if their world in Never Let Me Go will be similar to the world in Brave New World. The place called Hailsham seems very different and almost mysterious at this point. I am guessing that this place is important to Kathy and the rest of the characters in the book.