Beginning to end, Kazuo Ishiguro’s speculative novel Never Let Me Go leaves readers wanting more—more closure, more answers, more facts. Throughout the entire novel, readers are left in the dark with few explicit details of the society or its origins. The shadowy, obscure Madame Marie-Claude is a paradigm for the motif of mystery and uncertainty throughout Never Let Me Go. Two to four times a year, preparations begin for Madame’s arrival at Hailsham without warning to the students. She visits, takes pieces for her gallery, and vanishes without a trace (Ishiguro 30-1). While little is known regarding Madame in the exposition of the novel, the more readers learn about her, the more enigmatic she becomes. Like several other aspects of Never Let Me Go, the paradox of Madame’s initial displays of disgust towards the clones and yet her sacrifice for the betterment of the clone’s lives does not have an obvious explanation. Despite the vast possibilities for rationalizing Madame’s perplexing behaviors, her actions and words, coupled with Hailsham’s background story told by Miss Emily, point towards an internal conflict in Madame that presents itself in her actions. Madame is sympathetic towards the clones, as one might be towards animals, but ultimately, she is not willing to sacrifice her own life so that the clones have the right to theirs. Inquiries about the true essence of Madame’s character are not only asked by readers of Never Let Me Go, but by the clones at Hailsham, as
The book Black Hearts is written by Jim Frederick and tells the story of all the controversial accounts one infantry unit ran into while on deployment in Baghdad, Iraq. The book is a documentation, captured accounts and events written down to tell the crazy story these soldiers went through. The specific unit Frederick writes about and what Black Hearts is about is 2nd brigade of the 101st airborne infantry division. “Black Hearts” was the unofficial insignia of 2nd brigade. Frederick covers one platoon in particularly and their ethical dilemmas they encounter while on deployment. 1st platoon, Bravo Company, 1-502nd Regiment is the unit the book covers. Many things on deployment unfold poorly for this platoon such as having little
The book Last Man Out by Mike Lupica the boy in the book (Tommy) has many memory moments/flashbacks about his dad, the memory shows us about the conflict he has with his father and having to deal with him being gone.
Broken shards in Nemecia’s soul glued together with hope that she may be the light in the world her family dreams for her to be. Throughout Nemecia life her family desperately tries to heal her by helping her forget her broken past. In the story, Nemecia by Kirstin Valdez Quade the theme broken piece may never be truly fixed but hope always glimmers through is revealed by using metaphors throughout the story.
The play “No Child”, written by Nilaja Sun showcases a teacher, Ms. Sun as a teaching artist who is under a grant to facilitate the production of a play, teaching and encouraging live theoretical performances in a dysfunctional environment.No Child is a reflection of Nilaja Sun’s experiences as a teaching artist in the public school system in New York. In the play Ms. Sun brings a senses of hope and inspiration not only to the students but to the teachers as well in one of the toughest classrooms of Malcolm X High School, in Bronx, New York. The narrator of the play is a observant Janitor of the Malcolm X High School. Since he has been performing his job related duties as a janitor he witnessed the struggles and obstacle faced by the school and students. No Child accurately illustrates students, teachers and communities imprisoned by a corrupted public school system.
Let the Water Hold Me Down by Michel Spurgeon is written in a very unique and skillful way of the realities of being of human, and dealing with loss and grief, guilt and longing, loyalty and love. These psychopathologies affect the readers and present a different way of seeing the text. By applying critical theory to this novel, not only the reader but the main character, Hank Singer, gets a different perspective, a new lens after making several changes in his life. Critical theory helps individuals observe from an unusual angle and learn things in new ways, different from his or her typical way of viewing things. It opens up new lenses, and through this new lens, it can lead to new understanding or unfortunately, make things harder to understand. "Knowledge is what constitutes our relationship to our world, for it is the lens through which we view our world"Tyson states if the lens is changed, the view and the viewer may be changed as well.
In his book “Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine, and the Miracle That Set Them Free,” Hector Tobar recounts the story of 33 miners who spent 69 days trapped more than 2000 feet underground in the Chile’s San Jose mines following the collapse of the mine in 2010. According to Tobar (2015), the disaster began on a day shift around noon when miners working deep inside the mountain excavating minerals started feeling vibrations. A sudden massive explosion then followed and the passageways of the mines filled with dust clouds. Upon settling of the dust, the men discovered that the source of the explosion was a single stone that had broken off from the rest of the mountain and caused a chain reaction leading to
'Keeper N Me ' by Richard Wagamese, is a novel based on the necessary balance between life and the culture in which one belongs to. This is a necessary aspect in order to maintain a steady relationship with one 's self. In this novel passing on traditions or a certain way of life from generation to generation is one of the most important aspects of guiding someone of the Ojibway culture, as the Ojibway people have very strong beliefs and take their culture very seriously. The people of the Ojibway culture believe that through storytelling and dreams one can realize the importance of tradition and its influence on their identity. Wagamese throughout his novel tries to teach the readers the power of one 's community and traditions as he
In Robert Cormier’s novel, We All Fall Down, is a young-adult thriller that explores the evil side of humanity through a number of corrupt characters. Cormier, to a large extent, accurately depicts manipulative and dishonest behaviour whilst also showing the evil lurking within the prominent characters of Harry Flowers, Buddy Walker and Mickey Stallings who showcase the dark side of humanity. Cormier explores this through Harry Flower’s manipulative actions that result in the suffering of others. Additionally, the constant dishonest behaviour is shown predominantly through the main protagonist of Buddy Walker, who deceives the one he loves. Cormier continues to depict the evil lurking in society through the theme of appearance
Holding Onto the Air an autobiography by Suzanne Farrell takes the reader backstage in the dramatic life of the world-renowned Balanchine ballerina. From her childhood in Cincinnati to her retirement from ballet in 1989, Farrell's story is truly a remarkable one. The book describes at length her time with the New York City Ballet as well as her complex relationship with the legendary Balanchine. Although Mrs. Farrell goes a bit too far into the ballet descriptions, her beautiful imagery allows reader to experience the joy of performing on stage.
Ishiguro’s critique of empathetic engagement in relation to a humanising education modulates into questioning the concept of empathy itself. In Never Let Me Go, the aporia presented in the clones’ understanding of their role in the world in comparison to the authorities ultimately frustrates opportunities for empathy. Madame’s witnessing of the young Kathy dancing with a pillow to the Judy Bridgewater song, Never Let Me Go, has been interpreted by Marvin Mirsky as providing a ‘replica’ of a baby, which is both a compensation for her own motherless state and her future infertility (2006, pp. 628-30). Madame’s empathy for Kathy is seen in Kathy’s realisation that Madame is watching the scene “...and the odd thing was she was crying. It might have even been one of her sobs that had come through the
The novel Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro highlights the confinement of the clones from the outside world, which restricts them from greater knowledge about the world past Hailsham. Ishiguro focuses on the theme freedom, confinement, and fate several times in his novel. For the duration of the novel, the clones of Hailsham make no effort to escape as they have learned to accept their fate. They are restricted from this thought because they have subjected to fulfill their purpose, their lack of knowledge about the society past Hailsham world and they are overwhelmed by the idea of the outside world.
How do you classify rather someone is human or not? A tricky question has many different possible answers, but only a few that could be justified as being human. Kazuo Ishiguro has addressed this topic in his book Never Let Me Go. A reoccurring question throughout the novel is rather or not these clones are considered a human being or just another science project. Suspicious individuals of the surrounding communities in the novel, believed that the students were not human, because they could not reproduce, they did not have any parents, and for the slight fact that what the students were going through was morally unacceptable. In my opinion, Ishiguro shows that the clones are indeed human, because of their artwork, which proves that
One common theme between good and bad priests is that the vocation they were called to never seems to completely leave them. This is a common theme in Silence, by Shusaku Endo. In the beginning of the novel, the reader discovers that Ferreiera apostatized, giving up not only his roles as a priest but his faith in God as well. Although Ferreira abandoned the priesthood and gave up shepherding the few Catholics of Japan, he still continues “to be useful to others, [which] was the one wish and the only dream of one who had dedicated himself to the priesthood” . However, once he is reunited with Sebastian, “there flashed into his eyes a servile smile and momentary shame”. Here Ferreiera feels as though he has failed Sebastian because if he had not apostatized, Sebastian, acting as a good priest, would never have gone to Japan to save him.
Literature has a crucial role in configuring the nature and limits of the human (Bennett and Royle. 2009 p. 252) and what it means to be human. Both texts, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, challenge the traditional definition of the human. According to Oxford Dictionaries Online (p. 1), ‘Human’ relates to or characteristics of human kind for example, the human body and the complex nature of the human mind. It also states being susceptible to weakness. The characters, Frankenstein’s monster in Frankenstein and the students in Never Let Me Go, both texts fit into some categories of the human however differ slightly from the actual human by challenging the traditional definition.
The novel, Girl, Interrupted is a memoir of author Susana Kaysen’s life and her journey through early adulthood as she suffered with Borderline Personality Disorder. The novel captures her time at McLean Hospital, a psychiatric hospital located in Belmont, Massachusetts. Kaysen divides the novel into separate anecdotes of events and fellow patients she encountered during the two years she was admitted at Mclean.