Never Let Me Go

Kathy remembers her decision to approach Tommy as “part of a phase” she was going through (13). A few days later, the children are having their weekly medical check-up. Tommy approaches Kathy to apologize. The 13-year-old Kathy is worried what her friends will think if they see her talking to Tommy. She accepts his apology, and they part. Kathy considers herself lucky that the “mildly embarrassing” encounter does not lead to any teasing. Over the coming weeks, she hears more about Tommy’s temper tantrums and cannot help but be interested. The other boys’ bullying is intensifying. Kathy raises the subject of Tommy in her girls’ dorm after lights out. She mentions that he does not have anything prepared for the upcoming Exchanges. The Exchanges are a seasonal event at Hailsham in which the children create and exchange artworks for tokens from the guardians. The tokens can then be used to buy artwork from other students. The Exchanges are one of the only chances the children have to accumulate personal possessions. Kathy notes how the Exchanges subtly made the children more dependent on one another and made them value one another’s work.

Ruth and Kathy reminisce about the Exchanges as adults. Ruth is recovering from her first donation. Kathy brings her treats and sits with her for a short time. They share “meandering talks” about their past. Back in the dorm after lights out, many share Ruth’s opinion that Tommy “brought all his problems on himself” (16). Tommy traces this belief back to a moment in an art class with everyone’s favorite guardian, Miss Geraldine. She overpraised a picture he had drawn as a half-hearted joke. Everyone began to pay attention to his work, and he became self-conscious and anxious. The harder he tried to produce good work, the more the other children would laugh.

The bullying escalated over the course of years, and Tommy became a social outcast. At 13, the “persecution reached its peak” (17), but then suddenly it stops. Tommy gets ahold of his temper, and the other children become bored of teasing him. Kathy is pleased but mystified. She asks Tommy about the end of the bullying and the tantrums. He explains that he had a conversation with a guardian named Miss Lucy who told him not to worry about his art. Kathy considers this explanation to be silly. She feels betrayed and angry, so Tommy asks her to meet him later for a fuller explanation.  

Kathy meets Tommy beside the pond to hear his explanation of events. The conversation turns to Miss Lucy, who is “the most sporting of the guardians” and has a brisk style that endears her to the older students (20). Tommy recalls how she gave him a long speech about how he should not worry about his artwork. He remembers the feeling that she was trying to explain a different, more complicated matter; he is not sure what it could be but notes that she was “shaking” with anger while she talked. Tommy urges Kathy to keep the meeting a secret. Just before Kathy leaves, Tommy recalls that Miss Lucy insisted that the children were not taught enough about their futures. Kathy and Tommy try to understand what Miss Lucy could have meant. They speculate about donations, their futures, and the place called the Gallery where the best artwork produced by the children is taken by a woman named Madame. Kathy senses that many of the smaller mysteries about Hailsham are connected, but she cannot piece together the whole picture.

Kathy leaves Tommy beside the pond. She thinks more about the Gallery. The children pride themselves on producing art good enough to be taken away by Madame, but the guardians never talk about the Gallery out loud. The children naturally learn not to mention the Gallery to the guardians. The children consider Madame to be “snooty,” but Ruth wonders whether the woman is actually scared of the children. The children test this theory. When Madame next visits, they swarm around her and study her reaction. Kathy sees Madame suppress a shudder as the girls move past her. They know that Ruth is correct. Madame is afraid of the children just like people are “afraid of spiders” (26). The incident changes the girls and makes them wonder why a person would be so terrified of them. 

Kathy’s time as a carer will end soon. She appreciates the experience but welcomes “the chance to rest” and reflect on all of her memories (27).

The experience with Madame suggests to the children that they do not want to ask too many questions about their situation. Kathy remembers the “tokens controversy.” Each student at Hailsham has their collection. The collections are the property that they keep inside a personalized wooden chest or display around their beds. They purchase these items with the tokens earned during the Exchanges, so the children begin to resent Madame taking their most valuable assets. Some students want to be able to sell their artworks, while others disagree. A student decides to take the matter to the head guardian, Miss Emily. Most children are scared of Miss Emily and do not think of her as fondly as they do of the other guardians. They do admit that she is fair and judicious. The tokens controversy is taken to Miss Emily and then rumors suggest that the guardians have begun to argue about the matter themselves. Eventually, the guardians announce that the students will receive a fixed compensation for any pieces chosen by Madame. This compensation reflects the honor of having work selected. Neither side of the debate is happy.

During the tokens controversy, one student asks Miss Lucy why Madame takes their artworks. The children expect Miss Lucy to be angry. Instead she admits that the reason is important but difficult to explain and says that one day the children may understand. The children change the subject quickly, but Miss Lucy’s puzzling words stay with Kathy.

Kathy thinks about the Sales. Each month a white van arrives at Hailsham carrying boxes of random items such as scissors, clothes, cassette tapes, watches, toys, and other goods. The students use their tokens to buy these broken, unwanted items from the outside world. Many of the items come to have sentimental value for the students even if they are seemingly worthless. The Sales can be boisterous, loud, and acrimonious. They are often followed by a disciplinary assembly from Miss Emily at which the students are informed that their behavior did not measure up to the high standards of Hailsham. Miss Emily has a fearsome reputation and can be unpredictably severe in her punishments.

Kathy changes the subject to Ruth. Her first memory of Ruth is from when they were very young, though they were not instant friends. Kathy remembers Ruth’s angry, judgmental gaze even at a young age. They only became friends a few years later when they played together with imaginary horses. Ruth allowed Kathy to become one of the “secret guards” for one of the guardians named Miss Geraldine.