Conformity

Never Let Me Go
Kazuo Ishiguro

One major theme that I have noticed developing in this novel is conformity. Although it is not unusual for teenagers to want to fit in with their peers, Kathy and her peers seem to be more extreme in this area. As younger students, Kathy and her peers took great pride in their creativity, and popularity was based on how creative each student was. The students even went so far as to bully Tommy because he was not creative. Growing older, the students moved on from creativity to sex. Students who were having sex were considered more popular, so Kathy and her peers claimed that they were having sex in order to fit in. "My guess, anyway, is that there wasn't nearly as much sex going on as people made out" (Ishiguro, 97). As the students moved on to the Cottages, they, especially Ruth, began to mimic the Veteran's behavior and mannerisms.Throughout this whole time, Kathy and her peers' passive nature contributed to their conformity. Even though the students questioned many topics at Hailsham, like why smoking was bad, why art was so important, why the gallery existed, etc., the students did not continue to question the Guardians or each other on pressing issues. Instead, the students held an ignorant understanding with one another not to question one another in search of deeper and truthful answers. "And my role, as her closest friend, was to give her silent support, as if I was in the front row of the audience when she was performing on stage" (Ishiguro, 130). Perhaps the students' passive nature stems from their nature as clones, or perhaps the reason the cloning system works is because the students learn at a young age not to ask pressing questions. Maybe if the students would challenge the cloning and donating system, they could free themselves of the tragic fate in which they find themselves.