So I want to talk about the essays that the students at the Cottages have to do in Never Let Me Go. It seems to me as if the essays are somewhat of a senior thesis or capstone project for them. It is mentioned that they're at the Cottages for two years, in which the only tasks are (I presume) to stay healthy, get ready for training, and to write an essay. I have to say that nothing much of the essay is explained. How long is the final draft, seeing as they're given two years to do it? What is it about? A book? A memoir (what if all of Never Let Me Go is just Kathy's essay written way, way past deadline)? Apparently, you're allowed to write about whatever strikes your fancy. Kathy comes up with the topic of Victorian novels right on the spot. The guardians are also understandably pretty lax about assigning and choosing topics for the essay, after all, they won't be present with the students at the Cottages.
I wish this was brought up more in depth, because like the creative pieces made by the students during their time at Hailsham, I feel that these essays are very, very telling about the souls of the students. Is it their last creative hurrah? Do any of the pieces get into the Gallery? Who even is this being submitted to; who grades/judges it? Again, the essay is only brought up in passing, mostly in chapter 10 of the book. The use of second person, what with the "you" and assumptions that the reader already knows some information, is frustrating to say the least because we don't get full answers (as with so many other things). Here is a rudimentary theory I've cobbled together, though:
No one looks at these essays, for there simply is no real authority figure there for the students past Hailsham. It is said that "the more distant Hailsham grew, the less important the essays seemed". Instead the essays are just something to occupy the students, fill all the dead time between the days that just slip past. Essays are intended to give life at the Cottages a meaning for the students though they really are nothing more than a distraction to keep them from thinking too much about their inevitably dark futures.
I think that your ideas about the essays are really good and I agree that Ishiguro should have included more information about them. You're totally right that the essays are kind of last creative hurrah and show that the students have souls so I was also frustrated that this wasn't more important in the book because I thought that it seemed almost more important than the artwork they did as children. I was just thinking that Kathy probably just didn't explain them because she made it clear through just quickly picking Victorian Novels that the essay wasn't extremely significant for her and instead was just her final link to Hailsham. Not sure though just an idea because Kathy really focuses on things that were significant in her life.
ReplyDeleteI think that the essays are a very interesting topic because like so many other things, they are not really explained at all. However, the logical thought after finishing the book (in my opinion at least) is that they are just more sophisticated versions of the paintings from Hailsham. I think that the only point of the essays is so that the "board of trustees" for the donor/ carer system can see that the clones actually have souls so that they can continue donating money.
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