Rebels With A Cause
Have you ever based your decision on what to eat, what to wear, or what to do based on what other people around you are doing? On the other hand, have you ever experienced or witnessed injustice, or had a belief system imposed on you by a parent, friend, or mentor that you felt the need to push back on? Making these decisions to conform or rebel seem to be something that is unique to the human experience, but what happens when nonhumans gain this ability as well? Should they be seen as human?
Kazuo Ishiguro, Karen Fowler, and Alex Garland argue that yes, having the ability to make the decision to conform or rebel does make nonhumans more human in their respective works Never Let Me Go, We Are All Completely Besides Ourselves, and Ex Machina. All three stories involve nonhuman clones, animals, or robots that possess this ability to not only sense that they are being oppressed by the humans around them but also decide whether they should fight against it or just accept it.
Fowler argues in her book We Are All Completely Besides Ourselves, that even though the desire to rebel or conform is considered to be a trait unique to humans, some non humans (chimpanzees more specifically) already possess this trait. Ishiguro and Garland, on the other hand, insist that in the future, clones or versions of artificial intelligence could as well. All three authors believe that when a nonhuman has the ability to make conscious decisions such as whether to rebel or not, they deserve to have human-like rights.
I completely agree with their argument as it reflects how indistinct the line between humans and nonhumans is because we can only apply the definition of human rebellion to nonhumans. As a result, we cannot know for sure whether nonhumans such as animals behave based on instincts or conscious decisions. When something that is labelled as nonhuman consciously decides to go against their instincts or what they were programmed to, that is when they start to have more in common with humans. However, I do feel that Ishiguro does not fully address the extent to which nonhumans should be considered human, just that those who possess the ability to make conscious decisions should have human-like rights.
In Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, the protagonists Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth are clones in a society that produces clones for organ harvesting. The clones spend their entire childhoods in captivity at Hailsham, where they are prepared for their futures as organ donors. What is unique about these clones is that they have the ability and freedom to think, reflect, and make decisions, even though that is not necessary for them to fulfill their purpose. To me, it seems Ishiguro created the clones that way to emphasize how important that aspect is to the human experience.
The most prevalent display of the clones’ consciousness was Kathy and Tommy’s desire to change their fate as shown by their attempt to defer Tommy’s fourth donation. However, when their request is denied they decide to accept their fates, especially Tommy who asks Kathy after the fact, “don’t you get tired of being a carer? All the rest of us, we became donors ages ago… Don’t you sometimes wish, Kath, they’d hurry up and send you your notice?” (Ishiguro 282).
Their seeming passiveness toward their oppression might lead some to believe that they cannot be truly human, as no person would willingly accept suffering without doing everything in their power to prevent it. However, the fact that both Kathy and Tommy spent their entire lives making decisions on whether to conform or not confirms that this final act of accepting their fates was in fact, a conscious decision.
Alex Garland’s film Ex Machina, revolves around an android named Ava who has the same desire to change the fate determined for her by her human creator, Nathan. Once Nathan brings Caleb, who was chosen to test how convincing Ava’s human characteristics are, we are able to see Ava’s ability to use Caleb to escape and fool Nathan, as shown in the clip below.
Ava possesses the ability to have complex thinking patterns that replicate that of a human, one of which was wanting to change her fate. She knew of impending death and decided to go against Nathan and escape which attests to her ability to think beyond what she is programmed to think.
Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth also display how to desire to conform is an important part of the human experience as well. When they arrive to their new residential area called the Cottages after leaving behind their childhood home, Hailsham, Tommy and Ruth choose to conform to the veterans that live in the cottages by adopting their habits such as slapping each other’s elbows with their knuckles as a way of saying goodbye. Blending in with the veterans is especially important to Ruth who also gets rid of her old Hailsham collection box when she sees that none of the veterans had them (Ishiguro 130).
Kathy, on the other hand, does not feel the need to conform to the veterans at all. Her annoyance for Ruth’s need to conform is clear when she describes Ruth’s attempts to act like the veterans. She even mocks Ruth when she first started to use the knuckle tapping gesture on Tommy without telling him why by saying she looked as if “they were in a play and he’d forgotten his lines” (Ishiguro 121) emphasizing Kathy’s view of Ruth’s attempt to conform as an act.
Karen Fowler discusses animals' abilities to make decisions whether to conform or not in her novel We Are All Completely Besides Ourselves. She tells the story of Rosemary, a girl who grew up living with a chimpanzee named Fern. As Fern grows older, she becomes more dangerous and is ultimately sent away when she attacks Rosemary and the graduate students that were studying her. Once she is sent away she immediately resists the scientists' attempts to contain Fern in a cage (Fowler 124). However Fern eventually begins to conform to the expectations of the humans that are in control of her. While it cannot be said for sure whether her decision to eventually conform was a conscious one, Fowler argues that is is one that makes her seem more human.
Thus, Ishiguro suggests that because Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth had the ability to make conscious decisions to either rebel or conform and even disagree with each other’s decisions, they should be treated as humans even though they did not ultimately fight for their lives. This decision was likely influenced by their limited perspectives of the world that carried over from their childhood in captivity. It is the ability to make a decision to rebel or conform that makes us human, not the decision itself.
Kazuo Ishiguro, Karen Fowler, and Alex Garland argue that yes, having the ability to make the decision to conform or rebel does make nonhumans more human in their respective works Never Let Me Go, We Are All Completely Besides Ourselves, and Ex Machina. All three stories involve nonhuman clones, animals, or robots that possess this ability to not only sense that they are being oppressed by the humans around them but also decide whether they should fight against it or just accept it.
Fowler argues in her book We Are All Completely Besides Ourselves, that even though the desire to rebel or conform is considered to be a trait unique to humans, some non humans (chimpanzees more specifically) already possess this trait. Ishiguro and Garland, on the other hand, insist that in the future, clones or versions of artificial intelligence could as well. All three authors believe that when a nonhuman has the ability to make conscious decisions such as whether to rebel or not, they deserve to have human-like rights.
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| Photo Credit: NBC News |
In Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, the protagonists Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth are clones in a society that produces clones for organ harvesting. The clones spend their entire childhoods in captivity at Hailsham, where they are prepared for their futures as organ donors. What is unique about these clones is that they have the ability and freedom to think, reflect, and make decisions, even though that is not necessary for them to fulfill their purpose. To me, it seems Ishiguro created the clones that way to emphasize how important that aspect is to the human experience.
The most prevalent display of the clones’ consciousness was Kathy and Tommy’s desire to change their fate as shown by their attempt to defer Tommy’s fourth donation. However, when their request is denied they decide to accept their fates, especially Tommy who asks Kathy after the fact, “don’t you get tired of being a carer? All the rest of us, we became donors ages ago… Don’t you sometimes wish, Kath, they’d hurry up and send you your notice?” (Ishiguro 282).
Their seeming passiveness toward their oppression might lead some to believe that they cannot be truly human, as no person would willingly accept suffering without doing everything in their power to prevent it. However, the fact that both Kathy and Tommy spent their entire lives making decisions on whether to conform or not confirms that this final act of accepting their fates was in fact, a conscious decision.
Alex Garland’s film Ex Machina, revolves around an android named Ava who has the same desire to change the fate determined for her by her human creator, Nathan. Once Nathan brings Caleb, who was chosen to test how convincing Ava’s human characteristics are, we are able to see Ava’s ability to use Caleb to escape and fool Nathan, as shown in the clip below.
Ava possesses the ability to have complex thinking patterns that replicate that of a human, one of which was wanting to change her fate. She knew of impending death and decided to go against Nathan and escape which attests to her ability to think beyond what she is programmed to think.
Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth also display how to desire to conform is an important part of the human experience as well. When they arrive to their new residential area called the Cottages after leaving behind their childhood home, Hailsham, Tommy and Ruth choose to conform to the veterans that live in the cottages by adopting their habits such as slapping each other’s elbows with their knuckles as a way of saying goodbye. Blending in with the veterans is especially important to Ruth who also gets rid of her old Hailsham collection box when she sees that none of the veterans had them (Ishiguro 130).
Kathy, on the other hand, does not feel the need to conform to the veterans at all. Her annoyance for Ruth’s need to conform is clear when she describes Ruth’s attempts to act like the veterans. She even mocks Ruth when she first started to use the knuckle tapping gesture on Tommy without telling him why by saying she looked as if “they were in a play and he’d forgotten his lines” (Ishiguro 121) emphasizing Kathy’s view of Ruth’s attempt to conform as an act.
Karen Fowler discusses animals' abilities to make decisions whether to conform or not in her novel We Are All Completely Besides Ourselves. She tells the story of Rosemary, a girl who grew up living with a chimpanzee named Fern. As Fern grows older, she becomes more dangerous and is ultimately sent away when she attacks Rosemary and the graduate students that were studying her. Once she is sent away she immediately resists the scientists' attempts to contain Fern in a cage (Fowler 124). However Fern eventually begins to conform to the expectations of the humans that are in control of her. While it cannot be said for sure whether her decision to eventually conform was a conscious one, Fowler argues that is is one that makes her seem more human.
Thus, Ishiguro suggests that because Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth had the ability to make conscious decisions to either rebel or conform and even disagree with each other’s decisions, they should be treated as humans even though they did not ultimately fight for their lives. This decision was likely influenced by their limited perspectives of the world that carried over from their childhood in captivity. It is the ability to make a decision to rebel or conform that makes us human, not the decision itself.
I completely agree with your idea and think that it is well developed. Your evidence also goes to prove it very well. I too believe that there are many human qualities displayed within the characters that make them more like humans than the clones that they are portrayed to be. I like the part when you say we only look at the definition of human rebellion for nonhumans. I also agree Ishiguro does not address the topic of humans vs. clones very well. What do you think his opinion on the kids are? Are they human or not?
ReplyDeleteI really liked your argument and evidence. I agree with you and the fact that the students took conscious decisions throughout their life. I also wrote about rebellion and that the students challenged the world they are in, which is a very human characteristic.
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