Possible Topics for Never Let Me Go
1.The novel’s first person narration is vital to its emotional power because it provides the reader with Kathy’s deeply intimate descriptions of objects and places, conflicts, and insight to the other characters. Discuss.
2. The characters in this novel have no family beyond each other, yet each copes with this absence in various ways. Discuss.
3. Many critics have described Never Let Me Go as a subtle tragedy. Discuss the various ways this novel is a tragedy.
4. Many times in the novel, various “normals” react to the students with revulsion. Would this reaction be true of the general population of “normals’ too? Why? Discuss.
5. Some readers have expressed surprise that Kathy and her friends never try to escape their ultimate fate. They sometimes dream of lives beyond their reality and cling to the possibility of a deferral, but none of them ever rebel. Why?
6. In his poetry, William Blake writes of “mind forg’d manacles” and the destructive power of indoctrination. Discuss how these ideas pertain to the novel.
7. What is the significance of “Never Let Me Go” as Kathy’s song, the title of the book, and in the events of the last pages of the book? Discuss.
8. From childhood through adulthood, Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy each process the idea of their eventual fates in different ways. Discuss.
9. Throughout the novel, the Gallery is an important symbol. Discuss what the Gallery symbolizes about Hailsham’s “mission,” the children themselves, and the concept of what a soul is and the meaning of being human.
10. At the end of her meeting with Kathy and Tommy, Madame? says, “’You poor creatures,’ she repeated, almost in a whisper. Then she turned and went back into her house” (272). What does this statement reveal about Miss Emily and Madame’s true feelings toward Kathy and Tommy and their kind? Do their convictions fall short in the end? Why?
11. Vivid details and descriptions are very important in this novel. How does the novel’s imagery show its tragedy? Discuss.
12. In the novel, Norfolk becomes a very important symbol of ‘all things lost’. Discuss all the things (loved ones, possessions, opportunities, dreams, etc.) that become lost to the characters.
13. The film Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and our novel Never Let Me Go have some similarities. Both link human creativity and emotion with the expression of a soul. How does possessing such creativity and insight dually cause the characters in both works to express the beauty of a soul and also to suffer? Why?
14. During Dr. Frankenstein’s funeral, there is a quote from Ecclesiastes 1:18: “He who increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.” Is this statement true, and if so, how can it be applied to Never Let Me Go as well as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein?
15.This novel raises many ethical questions that society will be forced to deal with in the future. Discuss the various ethical debates this book provokes.
16. The guardian Miss Lucy believed that the children should be made fully aware of their future while Miss Emily believed in hiding the truth as to “shelter them and give them a childhood.” Who was most correct and why?
17. What clues does the novel provide regarding the psychological and emotion costs of the Donor Program? Discuss the subtle ways the various characters appear to suffer and cope with their reality.
18. Tommy is the only character who expresses any true rage in the novel. As Kathy puts it, “at some level you always knew” (275). How do Tommy’s anger issues from childhood through his “completion” reveal the high personal cost and corruption of the system?
19. In its attempt to be the best it can be, Humanity often becomes the worst it can be. Considering the novel, discuss this statement in terms of how society’s noble attempts can have terrible consequences.