“I caught a glimpse of his face in the moonlight, caked with mud and distorted with fury, then I reached for his flailing arms and held on tight.”
Tommy D., who is one of the main characters, is first met in Hailsham as a child, along with Kathy and Ruth. He is first portrayed as an angry and isolated child. After not being picked for a football game, between the other boys at Hailsham, Tommy starts to have, what Ishiguro describes as a Tantrum. Tommy’s actions are copied by Laura, who is revealed to be the joker in the group. After ranting and raving, for some time, Kathy comes over to comfort him, leading to Tommy somewhat unknowingly hitting Kathy.
In this we find out that Tommy has a large anger problem. The fact that his anger can be unleashed because of such an unimportant thing, such as not being picked for a football match, shows that he is a volatile character.
We also find out about Kathy in this section. Kathy is shown to have sympathetic feelings towards Tommy, when she goes over to comfort him and tell him about his beloved polo shirt becoming dirty.
Ruth also appears in this section, though not as much as Kathy or Tommy. In this section she is shown to be sympathetic towards Tommy, but not as much as Kathy is.
“He’s completely convinced he’s going to be first pick.”
This quote shows Tommy’s overconfidence, and it is this that first causes the rage.
“It’s coming. Hold it. Seven seconds. Seven, six, five…”
This quote shows that Tommy’s rages seem to be commonplace as the people of Hailsham appear to be able to predict when Tommy will go into a rage.
“Tantrums”
The repetition of this word, gives the impression of Tommy being a stroppy child, showing that he is immature.
“He knocked my hand aside and hit the side of my face”
This shows that when Tommy is one of his tantrums he has little control over his emotions.
“Mad animal”
This shows that Tommy’s rages can be so bad that he is sometimes likened to an animal, showing that he is out of control.
Tommy and Kathy meet at the pond at Hailsham, to discuss Tommy’s talk
with Miss Lucy.
We learn that Kathy cares about Tommy. This is shown by the fact that she bothered to meet him at the pond to talk about what was troubling him. Also, another thing that shows she cares about him is when she pretends to “stroll” off and immediately feels “sorry” for Tommy when she sees the “panic” on his face. Linking to this, the fact that Tommy is “panic [ked]” by the thought of Kathy leaving suggests he is sensitive and that he needs her. Finally, we learn that Kathy is quite sensible. This is shown when Kathy makes Tommy “think” about his talk with Miss Lucy, so she can try and find a logical explanation as to why Miss Lucy brought up “donations” whilst talking to him.
This section is of great significance to the novel because we see Tommy
and Kathy’s friendship begin to flourish. Also, we see Tommy’s sensitive side
become more prominent in this section. Finally, this is the first time we see
Tommy and Kathy question whether their life at Hailsham is as simple as it
appears.
“Kath”
Tommy says this and this shows their closeness as Tommy has a nickname for her- informal.
“Don’t breathe a word to anyway about this, right?”
Shows Tommy trusts Kathy a lot and that he’s worried what other people will think- the others won’t understand as well as he thinks Kathy will.
Tommy seems very young during this point of the novel. This is shown by the way Kathy speaks to him. She said he had a ‘grateful eagerness’ and that he reminded her of the way he was in the ‘juniors’. Also, Kathy seems to tell him what to do and he duly obliges. He acknowledges the fact he may be immature because he tells Kathy he seriously needs to be more mature when he leaves Hailsham.
In this section of the novel, Kathy observes that the veteran couples in the cottages mimic behavior that they have seen on television programs. Kathy then notices a change in the behavior of Ruth, she too begins to display behavioral traits picked up from TV and the veterans. These traits confuse Tommy at first, when Ruth hits his arm he “[turns] abruptly to Ruth and [goes] ‘what?’” to which Ruth glares furiously, showing how they differ in personality (Ruth tries desperately to fit in, Tommy does not). Kathy, who is particularly irritable on that day as Ruth has blurted out the entire plot of the book Kathy was trying to read, confronts Ruth about how she hits Tommy’s arm when they say goodbye.
Tommy is briefly shown to be distant from Ruth
despite the fact that they are supposed to be “a long established couple”. This
is clearly an unhealthy relationship as Ruth treats him as her inferior and
seems to not care about him at all other than to make herself seem adult and in
a successful relationship, this is shown in this section of the novel when she
says that “we’ve agreed, he shouldn’t hold me back” which contradicts the idea
of compromise within a relationship. The fact that Tommy does not raise any questions
about the way Ruth treats him shows that Tommy is very passive and suggests
that he does not know how people act in a relationship.
We see Tommy not following Ruth’s story and seeming quite slow and oblivious to the fact that Ruth is trying to impress the veterans. The fact he insists that he does not know about the story implies that he either does not know about how Ruth wants to build her friendship with the veterans, or that he does not agree with her attempts to get closer to them and is purposefully sabotaging her by making her seem like a liar. When Ruth tells Tommy he was not a proper Hailsham student, he seems disheartened and is quickly quiet. This shows Hailsham is still important to him.
“Ruth turned away from him ‘what you’ve got to realise’ she said to Chrissie ‘is that even though Tommy was at Hailsham, he isn’t like a real Hailsham student. He was left out of everything and people were always laughing at him”
This shows Ruth’s desperation to boost her relationship with Chrissie and Rodney and how annoyed she was by Tommy’s interruptions and his questioning to her story. This also proves how she anxious she was to silence Tommy as she easily demoralized the person she was meant to love. These quotes also prove how she still remembers Tommy’s treatment from the other children at Hailsham, showing her thoughts are still in the past.
“A look then appeared in Tommy’s eyes that made me catch my breath. It was one I hadn’t seen in a long time that belonged to the Tommy who’d had to be barricaded in classrooms while he kicked over desks”.
This shows what a powerful effect Ruth’s comment had on Tommy, and the fact she brought up the young Tommy who was teased and couldn’t control his emotions, reminded him of his old self. This also reminds the reader of how much Tommy has changed over the years and how well he can hold his temper now, and the fact his temper came back, even for a second, shows how angry and upset with the comment he was, and the memories it brought back of Hailsham.
At this part of the novel, Tommy is currently seen as quite a
considerate person, just possibly doesn’t know how to express this without
offending Ruth. Kathy, however, remains quite quiet throughout this discussion
between Tommy and Ruth. She comments only once, agreeing with Tommy.
‘I agree with Tommy. It’s just a bit of fun’
This insinuates that Kathy and tommy have a strong connection as they both feel the same way about finding their models. They’re also working together to make Ruth feel better.
In this part of the novel, Kathy and Tommy find themselves looking in second hand shops, searching for Kathy’s lost tape. At this point, Tommy admits that at Hailsham when her tape went missing “[he] tried to find it… [he tried] really hard”. Kathy then finds her lost tape, however Tommy is annoyed because he wanted to be the one to find it for her. This shows how he cares for her and wanted to please her. They then go on to talk more about deferrals and how no one ever said anything about them at Hailsham, although Chrissie and Rodney are “convinced [they] know all about [them]“. They soon stop walking and this is when we learn about Tommy’s theory about the gallery and how it links to deferrals. His theory is – if two people from Hailsham are in love, the deferral application committee would need to see proof that their love is real.
The splitting of the love triangle becomes more prominent firstly in the graveyard scene when we see a conflict occurring between Tommy, Ruth and Kathy. Here Ruth critisizes Tommy’s idea, regarding the gallery and his drawings. She then uses Kathy to undermine Tommy even more by saying ‘Kathy finds your animals a complete hoot’ which creates a two on one situation, because of Kathy’s inability to intervene whilst in a state of shock over Ruth’s sudden outburst.
‘Tommy sweety, don’t make a fool of yourself in front of our dear friend’
This shows Ruth mothering and patronizing Tommy which belittles him adding to the splitting.
This chapter is also vital to the story as it again shows the effect of
the donations on the bodies of Ruth and Tommy. One scene that was of particular
importance was when Ruth admitted to Kath how she had ‘kept you and Tommy
apart’, giving them the address to Madame’s house and insisting that they go to
Madame and ask about deferrals.
“Kathy, listen, Ruth said. You and Tommy, you have got to try and get a deferral. If it’s you two, there’s got to be a chance, a real chance.”
In this section of the novel, Tommy and Kathy engage in intercourse for the first time. This happens in Tommy’s room in Kingsfield where he had recently undergone his second donation therefore they had to be very cautious because there were still stitches. She describes her thoughts and emotions thoroughly throughout the section. As the reader, we know that they are both meant for each other although they both feel that they have left intercourse and their relationship too late.
Although, Tommy may feel the same as Kathy, he may have been affected
emotionally and physically by his recent donation.
Tommy rarely showed his emotions, instead “just looking peaceful” and “not even making any noises”. This could show that Tommy is at peace and very calm around Kathy. However it could also show that he also, like Kathy feels like it is too late and that they are acting erratically, like teenagers again.
This section is very important as we discover the other side of Kathy
and Tommy’s relationship; rather than talking, drawing and generally being good
company with each other, we are shown the physical side. We are also introduced
to the feeling that Kathy and Tommy feel they have left their relationship too
late; this is significant because the reader starts to worry whether they would
have enough time together.
After the appeal for a deferral Kathy and Tommy are returning from their trip to see Madame and Miss Emily, and the fact that deferrals are not real is finally sinking in. Tommy has taken the news worse than Kathy, one of the only pupils of Hailsham who questioned his fate as a donor and was not content to die for the greed of others. Kathy stops the car, Tommy leaves and beaks out into one of the rages that he used to have as a child, releasing all the frustration that had been building up and finally accepting that it’s his fate to die.
During the rage scene we know that Tommy was unwilling to complete and still believed that he could avoid his early death until the trip to see Madame and Miss Emily, whereas in contrast Kathy had already accepted she was going to complete. Also, although Tommy had kept his rages under check he hadn’t gotten rid of them, only masked them.
The whole idea of Kathy and Tommy failing to acquire a deferral set a gloomy mood for the end of the novel, the plot has become somewhat predictable with the reader now assuming that both Kathy and Tommy are now essentially the ‘living dead’, as they are just waiting to die now. The reader and both Kathy and Tommy have realised that it was their last chance for survival and therefore a somewhat tense and sad atmosphere as there are no options left open to Kathy and Tommy.
This section is important as the fate of Kathy and Tommy has been set, the novel is beginning to wrap up and the plot has become predictable. The fact that only Tommy ‘rages’ is also significant as it shows that Kathy never really had much hope of a deferral, either that or she just conceals her emotions from everyone. Kathy believed that there was little to live for anyway whereas Tommy has only just realised he has little time left to live.
The theme of ‘acceptance of fate’, which is one of the themes that I have explored, is briefly raised. Tommy’s rages, if they can be considered a theme, are quite obviously one of the more prominent themes. Under acceptance of fate we learn that all the main characters in the novel (Ruth, Tommy and Kathy) have now accepted their fate, though obviously Ruth has already met hers.
This section of the novel is set on the edge of a relatively unused road, by one of the many fences encountered in the novel and also in the field on the other side of the fence. The setting is also said to be near a small village. The fact that the ‘rage’ is set near a fence is of relevance, it shows that despite their efforts to claim a deferral they are still confined to being a clone and dying. It is unclear as to whether the fence is for protection from society, to protect society from clones or just to keep their clones confined and the two groups apart.
When Tommy does exit the car and begins to break down his emotion is channeled through “Screams”. This word choice suggests that his outbreak of deep emotion is still animal and primitive, possible because he is a clone as somewhat regarded as an animal, however more likely it is because he is releasing such a deep amount of emotion due to him breaking down and his hopes of love and survival crushed. The whole sequence of Tommy’s rage is shown through Kathy’s perspective, this is probably because earlier in the book the rages were already experience from Tommy’s perspective and also word might not be able to describe what Tommy is feeling, by not writing what he is feeling it is left to the reader to try and feel what it would be like in Tommy’s position.
“By then I knew it was Tommy, though that hardly lessened the urgency”
Even though Kathy and Tommy’s deferral was immaterial the whole time they are still in love and Kathy runs to Tommy with the same urgency as if he was being murdered. Kathy has always cared for Tommy and helped him with his rages right from the beginning.
“I caught a glimpse of his face in the moonlight, caked with mud and distorted with fury, and then I reached for his flailing arms and held on tight.”
This quote proves further that Kathy cares for Tommy as she is putting herself with
Tommy, in a way so that it seems that they are both ‘in it’ together, which of
course they are. The darkness of the night adds to the atmosphere, with only
the occasionally shaft of moonlight piercing the dead night.
In the end of the novel, Tommy and Kathy depart for the last time. Prior to their
departure, Tommy confides in Kathy regarding a secret celebration that he
performed after scoring a goal in football. Tommy explains how he ‘[raised] his
arms in triumph,’ and ran back to his mates, whilst pretending and imagining
himself splashing through water.
We discover that despite the fact that Kathy and Tommy shared a unique
relationship, the fact that Kathy says she ‘wasn’t sobbing out of control’
after his completion and that she drove off to wherever it was she was supposed
to be, almost puts across the idea that Kathy has learnt to accept the fact
that she will eventually complete and so does not react in the way in which
say, we may in the depressing and morbid situation.
Never Let Me Go 