The Multiple Elements in “Never Let me Go”

The unique novel, Never Let Me Go, by Ishiguro, includes various aspects which contribute to the development of a post-human science fiction environment. The first aspect that is presented is the lack of choice in their lives. Miss Lucy states, “None of you will be working in supermarkets as I heard some of you planning a few days ago. Your lives are laid out for you. You’ll grow up, and then before you’re old, before you’re even middle-aged, you’ll start to donate your vital organs” (Ishiguro 81).

She informs the students before her that they are raised to donate their organs and have no say in determining their own future. This clearly represents science fiction as such a scenario does not occur in our current society.

The next element is the isolation of the students at Hailsham from the rest of the world, and their inability to have children. Miss Emily once informed the students, “We had to be extremely careful about having sex in the outside world, especially with people who weren’t students, because out there sex meant all sorts of things” (Ishiguro 84). This implies not only that the students were separate from the “outside world,” but also that it was impossible for any of them to have children. Both of these conditions are elements of science fiction. Another facet of science fiction in Never Let Me Go is the idea that they all have “possibles”, or the original versions of themselves. It is stated, “Since each of us was cloned at some point from a normal person, there must be, for each of us, somewhere out there, a model going about his or her life” (Ishiguro 139).

This suggests that the students at Hailsham are clones, created from an actual person. The students somewhat believed that if they found their “Possible”, it would offer some insight into their own futures. Another element is the collection of students’ artwork in the galleries at Hailsham. Miss Emily states, “We took away your art because we thought it would reveal your souls. Or to put it more simply, we did it to prove you had souls at all” (Ishiguro 260). She explains that at school, the students were compelled to create artwork to provide proof that they had souls. Ishiguro’s novel, Never Let Me Go, employs numerous elements to craft a post-human science fiction narrative.

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