Mortality: The Common Factor of All Beings

What differentiates humans from other beings? Yes, we are more complex individuals and experience emotions on a deeper level, but why does that matter when we all contain the same fate: death.

In Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel Never Let Me Go, he attempts to answer this question of what makes us human and if there is a coherent distinction between humans and non-humans . Ishiguro does this through the lives of Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy, the main characters of the novel who exists in a dystopian version of the late 1990’s England among other citizens in a state-sanctioned program of human cloning. The clones, who are recognized as students, live all of their lives in special institutions that exist separate from the outside world and solely contain the purpose of being “carers” or “donors”. Once the clones have donated a sufficient amount of vital organs to those in the outside world, their lives are then “complete” and they soon die. 

Death and the eventual completion of life is a common theme within the novel as the clones are essentially awaiting their death after their purpose of donating organs are accomplished. While the clones do have a different life path than a majority of human beings, the inevitability of their death allows us to recognize that their own fates are not that different from those of human beings. Mortality and the consequences that come with it can be shared between humans and the clones within the novel. Even though human beings contain more freedom within their lives compared to non-humans, we all share the inevitable occurrence of death. Like the clones, we have as much of a limited choice when we move closer to death: Whether or not we accept our inescapable deaths, we all will ultimately die in the end.

Additionally, Ishiguro focuses on the meaning of humans in general throughout the book. To be human means to have an intellectual ability to experience all aspects of life, meaning being able to love, hurt, imagine, create, etc. While many of these aspects do qualify individuals as being human, it is not specifically exclusive to human beings themselves. Ishiguro demonstrates how these qualities can be displayed or mimicked within those who are non-human which blurs the distinct line of the differences between humans and non-humans. It causes people to question whether there is a clear contrast between them or if humans and non-humans are more similar than we think. 

Toward the beginning of the novel, the main characters along with the readers learn about the donation process. During their time at Hailsham, Kathy, Ruth, Tommy and other clones are educated on their future jobs as carers and donors. For most of their lives, they realized that the donations would lead to their eventual death, but instead of worrying about it, they pushed the thought of it away. For instance, when they were fifteen years old and were taking shelter from a rainstorm in their sports pavilion, Kathy recalls Miss Lucy telling the students: “The problem, as I see it, is that you’ve been told and not told. You’ve been told, but none of you really understand, and I dare say, some people are quite happy to leave it that way. But I’m not. If you;re going to have decent lives, then you’ve got to know and know properly...Your lives are set out for you. You’ll become adults…and before you’re even middle-aged, you’ll start to donate your vital organs. That’s what each of you was created to go” (Ishiguro 81). 

Miss Lucy telling the students of Hailsham about what life has in store for them in the movie version of Never Let Me Go. 

These clones were aware of the donations; however, in their early stages of life, they were not told the full actuality of the process and how it would lead to their eventual death until they were old enough. At a young age, they were constantly taught the importance of being healthy, so they would be able to donate their organs later in their lives. These events occurring in the beginning portions of their life differentiate them from human beings. It shows how a huge factor in separating humans from non-humans is that fact that clones have predestined lives. The majority of their “growing up” stage is to be prepped for their future purpose of donating their vital organs. Essentially, the clones are being prepared to fulfill a job that will ultimately lead to their death. 

Their death causes us to think if human beings also have predetermined ends to our lives. Unlike clones, humans have more freedom with the occurrences in our lives, but we all come to the same conclusion of death. This fate may only seem apparent in the lives of the clones, but it could also be encompassed in the inevitable death of human beings. 

Miss Emily and Madame telling Kathy and Tommy that the deferral is a rumor.

Throughout the novel, the clones also deal with constantly wanting to extend their lives. Toward the end of the novel, Tommy and Kathy decide to visit Madame’s house in hopes of wondering if the deferral rumor is true. Miss Emily responds to their question, “It was never true...A wishful rumour. That’s all it ever was” (258-59). The rumor of the deferral demonstrates the strong desire of the clones to extend the time they have on earth. By wishing for their final donations to be postponed until later in their lives, the students represent the profound human hope for more time in the face of death. The concept of the deferral strengthens the inescapability of death as it would only extend their life, but not stop them from eventually dying. This want for more time in their lives makes them seem more human-like as human beings always have a constant need to live longer.

Lastly, a common aspect shared between humans and clones is the fact that both fear the unknown. Throughout the novel, the students learn that the donation process will eventually lead to their death; however, they are uncertain when it’ll occur. As Tommy prepares for his fourth donation, he explains to Kathy that the reason why many people worry about the last donation is because “they’re not sure they’ll really complete. If you knew for certain you’d complete, it would be easier. But they never tell us for sure” (279). By not completely knowing the entirety of what happens after their fourth donation, it causes many of the clones to wonder and even fear the aspect of not knowing. This fear connects these clones to human beings as a majority of humans do fear when their eventual death will occur. While the clones have a better understanding of how they will die compared to humans, they both are unaware of when it’ll occur in their lives. This fear of the unknown regarding mortality causes the clones to appear and act more human-like. 

The inevitability of death shown through the novel creates a blur in the clear separation between humans and nonhumans. Ishiguro’s slow reveal of the clones’ fate of dying in the beginning of the novel effectively prepares for the ultimate shock of their willingness to go along and accept their ultimate death. This aspect of the novel causes us to assess our own destiny of dying and recognize that all the freedoms and choices we make in our lives will not prevent us from our ultimate demise.