The struggle to understand who we are and develop a sense of identity is an important part of growing up. The theme of identity is thoroughly displayed in the novel ‘Never Let Me Go’ by Kazuo Ishiguro. The novel has a British setting in the 90s which portrays a world that believes in the cloning of persons is acceptable. However, the clones are brought to life solely to donate organs for the ‘normal’ or real people. The storyline is majorly based on two characters; Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy, who are close. The author illustrates the development of identity through the use of characters and their progression throughout the novel. He gives perfect examples of identity crises by the use of self-expression and curiosity. The characters undergo an internal conflict that is paramount to finding out who they are. An analysis of the novel will give an understanding of the theme of identity through the characterization of the author.
Identity as a theme
The novel elucidates how the character faces various realizations that they are dissimilar to the other individuals. These incidences show double-consciousness and a change in how the characters view themselves. Kathy’s first incidence of identity happens when she encounters Madame. The children, at Hailsham, become aware of their identity when they run up to her. She is dreaded by their action. As described by Kathy, the Madame treated them in the same way one realizes that they ‘might be afraid of spiders’ (Ishiguro, 2005) . This is a clear indication that the Madame does not like the children because they are clones. At that moment, only eight years old, Kathy realizes that she may not be who she thinks she is. She is conscious of the fact that Madame does not wish harm on her but dreads being in contact with her, ’who dreads the idea of your hand brushing against theirs’ (Ishiguro, 2005) . She describes how she feels after the situation by describing the moment as cold. The author shows how she struggles with her identity by bringing out her dual identity. Kathy was of the opinion that the situation was like walking past a mirror she has walked past every day of her life. This was the first instance whereby the author created a predominant conflict of a character through the initiating the process of self-realization.
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The author brings out the theme of identity by the use of race. Miss Emily out rightly describes a man by using his ethnic background. She creates a connection between Kathy and a Nigerian man. The author uses the similarities between the two characters by bringing out their identity and the conflict between them. Miss Emily confronts Kathy and says, ‘You glanced at George, the big Nigerian man pushing me. Oh yes, you had quite a look at him and he at you’ (Ishiguro, 2005) . In this statement Miss Emily is not embarrassed by the fact that she describes the Nigerian man, George, using his racial background. She suspects some connection between the two characters because of the way they look at each other. The similarities lie in the duties and responsibilities of the two characters. Kathy has a role of donating her organs for the ‘greater good’ of the human race. She cannot live any other life apart from waiting to donate her organs. George, on the other hand, has a responsibility to care for Miss Emily, who is weak. Being African, George is viewed as a slave who has no right to live as a free man. He cannot take any other employment without the knowledge of Miss Emily. He may be described as her an asset. The author makes the comparison of the two by describing the role of the two characters in the society as depicted by their ethnic background.
The struggle for identity is also observed in the characters’ search for possibilities of who they are. The novel shows different instances whereby the characters seek to find a sense of belonging. The students stick to each other as a way of creating relations and giving them a feeling of belonging. In addition, the students search for the individuals that they have been cloned from, which adds to the possibilities of they may be. The search aims to understand as well as find out what type of individuals they are by making a comparison to the people they are cloned from. ‘All of us, to varying degrees, believed that when you saw the person you were cloned from. You would get some insights into who you were deep down…’ (Ishiguro, 2005) . By having a view of where they came from and from who, there was a possibility that they would figure out who they were. Some may have hoped to create relationships with those they were cloned from. The fact that the children were in search of such individuals shows that they were in search of who they are. They had no knowledge of themselves and wanted to start from somewhere. This was the only way that they could connect to the world of ‘real people’. It was their one, direct, relationship to the outside world. The students knew that they existed for a certain purpose but did not know who they were. The term ‘completion’ is used to signify death. It shows that the clones have completed what is expected of them. Their completion is inescapable because they are meant to fulfil their duty of donating their organs.
The characters in the novel continuously struggle to find their identity as displayed in the manner through which they cannot describe who they are. They are given the right to go to school but seem to have been given names only to differentiate themselves from each other. They do not have last names. ‘My name is Kathy H. I am thirty-one years old, and I have been a carer for over eleven years’ (Ishiguro, 2005) . In this statement, Kathy does not fully know who she is. This is because she does not have a second name. She explains her job description, her age and her first name. The fact that she does not mention all her names in the introduction is a clear indication that she is struggling with an identity crisis. Further, she gives us more details of how long she has worked and where she works. Her attachment toward her career is evident with her description. She creates an identity through her work. She is not sure of her personal life but is sure of what she can be associated with, her job.
Identity is also brought out through the use of art. The author creates the personal identity of students through collections of small items in the creation of art. The items that were dear to the students symbolized their identity. Kathy recalls that, as students, they had little secrets, ‘little private nooks created out of thin air where we could go off along with our fears and longings’ (Ishiguro, 2005) . This illustrates the childhood of Kathy and how she valued her notebook. It also shows her desires to separate herself from the group and go to a place she feels at peace. She is in doubt of her life and wants to escape. Similarly, there are times whereby human beings want to run off to a place of comfort. Most times they visualize themselves as being alone in such an area in search for inner peace. The author brings out the theme of identity through the search for inner peace and isolation from the real world.
Conclusion
Kazuo Ishiguro uses the characters in the novel to demonstrate the individual desires to create a personal identity that is unique and conforms to the societal norms. The organ program is based on the concept that clones only created to donate their organs and sacrifice their lives in order to save real human beings. The novel clearly shows that the clones should sacrifice themselves through completion since they are designed as such. The search for who they really are takes the reader on a path of understanding the torment and struggle that exists in respect to the discrimination that one faces in the search for identity. The author brings out the theme of identity through describing the way each character realizes that they are different from the others. He does this by explaining how Kathy noticed that she is different. Ishiguro also uses race as an identity identifier in the novel. However, he does not tie racism to the theme of identity but simply mentions it vaguely. The use of possibilities is used to show identity. The character explores the possibilities of who they could be. Kathy cannot give a description of who they are meaning she does not know who she really is. In addition, the author also uses art to illustrate identity. The novel describes a world that is unfair and discriminatory. The characters should not have gone through an identity crisis because the society saw them as generic modifications that would die.
References
Ishiguro, K. (2005). Never Let Me Go. New York .
