Never Let Me Go, Section 4: The Tragedy of the Truth

Section four of Never Let Me Go, a novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, revealed an unexpected answer to a longstanding question I had. After much discussion between the characters in the novel, it is finally announced that the idea of deferrals, a few years away from carers and donations for a student couple truly in love, was non-existent and a rumor. The reason I had not expected this to be true was because, without the deferrals, there is nothing left for Kathy and Tommy to hope for. Madame states, “…I saw a little girl…holding to her breast the old kind world, one she knew in her heart could not remain, and she was holding it and pleading, never to let her go,” (Ishiguro, 272). For such a long time they still had the hope that and the attachment to the idea that they would be able to take off together for a few years, yet now there is no mystery left, nothing to wish for. Without a deferral, the only thing left for Kathy and Tommy to really do is accept their fate and just let go. They will become carers, perform donations, and then complete, just like every other student before and after them. A deferral was the only way to temporarily avoid this sequence, yet that barrier is no longer in place. I found this to be the true tragedy of the novel – the loss of hope. Up until this point in the novel, there was something to live for, but any anticipation of change or of a life together vanishes with the idea of deferrals. One conversation removes the reason to live, yet Tommy and Kathy remain behind, trapped into their fate.