Transcript NLMG Chapters 9-11

Never Let Me Go
Chapters 9, 10 & 11
• At what age do you feel people can
be truly ‘in love’?
• Why do people of a certain age feel
that sex and relationships are an
important part of daily life? Are
they?
• To what extent do you feel the students at
Hailsham engage in sex and relationships for
(a) love or (b) because they can?
• Kathy says that the guardians were ‘normals’
(p 94). What does this mean?
• Why would ‘normals’ be uncomfortable with
the idea of the students having sex with each
other?
Chapter 8 Questions
• Kathy says she wants to ‘practice’
with Harry. What does this suggest
about
her character?
• She seems concerned
that her thoughts
about sex are not
‘normal’. To what
extent do you agree
or disagree with her?
What does this word mean? What does it
suggest? How does the language used help to
dehumanize those involved in donating?
• Consider the relationships between Ruth, Kathy and
Tommy.
– What tensions exist between the three of them, and
why?
– How does Kathy feel about being asked to help Ruth
with Tommy? What does this tell us about how Ruth
views the relationship between Tommy and Kathy?
– How does Tommy feel about Ruth, and vice versa?
– How does Kathy feel about Tommy, and vice versa?
Love Triangle
Chapter 9 Questions
• Miss Lucy says that the artwork is ‘important’ as
‘evidence’. What does this suggest? Evidence of
what?
• She goes on to say that there are things the
students will never understand about Hailsham,
and ‘about your place in the wider world’ (p106).
What does she mean?
• Kathy casually makes references to going to
‘Culture Briefings’. What were these, and what
purpose did they serve?
• Why does Miss Lucy leave
Hailsham? What implications
does this have for the reader?
• Why is Tommy so affected by
her leaving?
Chapter 9 Questions
Why does Ishiguro choose to end Part
One here?
What key plot events have occurred thus far?
What have we learnt about the three main
characters thus far?
• Create a series of ‘ Hailsham
yearbook snapshots’ for Ruth, Tommy
and Kathy. You should include:
– Their names
– A picture
– A suitable nickname that they may
have had
– A list of activities, clubs, sports etc.
that they participated in
– Quotes that character would have
chosen to include in their bio, which
shows something important about
them
– A list of their likes and dislikes (
hobbies, music, books, artists, food,
etc.)
– Voted most likely to….by their
classmates.
Name:
Nickname:
Clubs/Activities:
Favourite quote(s):
Likes:
Dislikes:
Voted Most Likely to…..
• Part Two of the novel marks a new ‘in-between’ stage in the
students’ lives.
• Imagine you are Ruth or Tommy. Write a letter to Kathy, in which
you reflect on your time and experiences growing up at
Hailsham, and your thoughts/desires for the future.
• Consider the way Keffers interacts and responds to
the students at the Cottages. Is it discomfort or
disgust that he feels towards them? How do you
know?
• What does being put into various halfway homes
suggest about the students abilities to look after
themselves? What does it suggest about their
ability to ‘integrate’ into the world of the
‘normals’?
Chapter 10 Questions
• ‘…no one would stop us if we
wandered off, provided we were back
by the day and the time we entered
into Keffer’s ledgerbook.’ (p116)
Are the students truly free? Are they
comfortable exploring the outside
world?
• Kathy describes how people
tend to mimic ‘appropriate’
and ‘normal’ behaviour
that they see on the
television. Why might they
do this?
• It isn’t until the students
are away from Hailsham
and ‘settled’ into the
Cottages that Kathy starts
to stand up to Ruth. What
does this change signify?
• What are your
impressions of Ruth? Why
does she lie and
manipulate people?
• What sort of relationship exists
between Ruth and Kathy,
throughout the novel?
Find quotes that sum up their relationship
• To what extent can Ruth be said to
be ‘two-faced’/ have two distinct
personalities/sides?
• Despite being ‘hot and cold’ with
Kathy, she is always quick to defend
Ruth’s behaviour to others, and to us
(the reader). Why? What does this
suggest about her character?
• In what ways are the ‘collections’
something to be pitied by us, the
reader?
• Ruth shows embarrassment towards
her collection, but Kathy does not.
What does this tell us about the two
characters?
Chapter 11 Questions
• Consider the presence of pornography at the
Cottages.
– Can all of the porn be remnants of ‘Steve’?
What does this suggest about the students at
the Cottages?
– Tommy seems to think Kathy is ‘looking for
something’ in the porn magazines . How does
she react to his suggestion? What could she
possibly hope to find there?