Never Let Me Go

• Kathy H.


  The novel's protagonist and narrator
• Kathy


  • 31 years old at the beginning of the novel
  • Preparing to soon become a donor
  • Worked as a carer for nearly 12 years, much longer than most of the students she grew up with at Hailsham
  • Has outlived most of her childhood friends
  • Spends her days looking backwards, recalling her memories of the people she has lost
• Kathy's memories


  Trace her complex relationships with her Hailsham friends Tommy and Ruth
• Kathy's reflections preserve the memory of Tommy and Ruth, both of whom have already "completed"
• Unreliable narrator


  • Kathy's account is subjective, presenting events from only her point of view
  • She does not recall events in strict chronological order, frequently interrupting one memory to share a related memory from another period in her life
  • She often states that she may be misremembering certain details
  • She admits that Tommy or Ruth recalled a particular event or conversation differently than she does
• These idiosyncrasies reflect the unreliability of memory itself, which is necessarily incomplete and episodic
• Kathy is also an unreliable narrator because she carefully guards her own feelings
• Kathy never explicitly states the depths of her feelings for Tommy, although her love becomes increasingly clear as the narrative unfolds
• Kathy


  • Reliance on silence and indirection, especially when it comes to expressing her emotions
  • Often expresses her anger with Ruth by walking away rather than explicitly confronting her
  • As a student at Hailsham, exhibits restraint and self-consciousness, often worrying about being seen or overheard, especially in conversation with Tommy
• Kathy frames herself as a careful observer, often standing outside the action in her memories, carefully watching those around her and noticing subtle details about their behavior
• At the Cottages, Kathy realizes that many of the veteran couples have copied their gestures of affection from television
• Ruth


  Kathy's close childhood friend
• Ruth's relationship with Kathy

  1. Lives with Kathy at Hailsham and the Cottages

  2. Becomes Kathy's carer when Ruth is a donor
• Ruth at Hailsham


  • Outspoken and hot-tempered
  • Natural leader among her friends
  • Often highly controlling
• Ruth and Kathy


  • Foils to each other's personalities
  • Argue frequently
  • Use subtle hints and indirection rather than direct confrontation
• Ruth's romantic relationship


  Longstanding with Tommy
• Ruth's romantic relationship with Tommy

  Underlying and unspoken source of tension in her friendship with Kathy, who has romantic feelings for Tommy as well
• Ruth's make-believe games at Hailsham

  1. Leads friends in games

  2. Elaborate invention of "secret guard" to protect Miss Geraldine
• Ruth's pretending at Hailsham


  • Implies special knowledge and privileges unavailable to other students
  • Reflects her longing for affection from a caring adult
• Ruth's "dream future" and "possible" at the Cottages


  Pins her hopes on the vague story of a person who resembles her and from whose DNA she may have been cloned, in Norfolk
• Ruth's treatment of Tommy and Kathy

  • Can be capricious and unkind, often ignores and mocks them
  • But also has capacity for deep generosity and thoughtfulness
• Ruth's generosity towards Kathy

  • Marshals classmates to search for Kathy's lost Judy Bridgewater tape at Hailsham
  • Gifts Kathy a different tape as a substitute
• Ruth's gift to Kathy and Tommy


  • Offers them Madame's address, believing they still have a chance to ask for a deferral on their donations
• Ruth's gift of Madame's address


  Demonstrates her sincere desire to make amends for keeping Kathy and Tommy apart
• Tommy


  Kathy's close childhood friend, for whom she also harbors romantic feelings
• Tommy at Hailsham


  • Becomes an outcast among his peers because he lacks artistic ability
  • Develops a violent temper, often throwing tantrums in response to teasing from his peers
• Tommy as a young adult

  • Remains anxious and self-conscious about his artistic abilities
  • Initially keeps his artwork a secret at the Cottages
  • Begins to derive pride and personal satisfaction from drawing
  • His compelling imaginary animals resist interpretation, reflecting the deep humanity and complex individuality of the clones themselves
• Tommy


  More straightforward than Kathy and Ruth, often missing the subtle digs and sarcasm that they shoot back and forth
• Kathy


  Often knowingly defends Ruth's pretenses in front of others
• Tommy


  • Usually expresses his confusion or doubt aloud
  • Lacks the kind of emotional restraint that Kathy and Ruth exhibit
  • Prone to violent temper tantrums
• Tommy's relationships with Ruth and Kathy

  • Maintains a longstanding but difficult romantic relationship with Ruth, who at times belittles and ignores him
  • Bonds with Kathy over their mutual desire to discover the truth about Hailsham
  • Tends to trust Kathy with his biggest secrets, including his odd conversations with Miss Lucy
  • In his theorizing with Kathy, shows an observant and reflective side to his personality that mirrors her own
• Miss Lucy


  A guardian at Hailsham during Kathy's childhood
• Miss Lucy


  • Comes across as gruff, but cares deeply about the children
  • Gives Kathy her first clues that life outside of Hailsham is much harsher than the students know
• As a child, Kathy does not readily understand Miss Lucy's hints about the outside world

  But Kathy connects the dots as she reminisces about her life
• Miss Lucy's belief


  Hailsham should teach the students a comprehensive understanding of why they exist and what their lives will look like when they go out to become donors
• Miss Lucy believes the students deserve to know the truth


  Because it is their lives at stake
• Although Miss Lucy and the students can do nothing to change their futures, Miss Lucy feels it is wrong they should have only a polite and polished impression of their own lives
• Miss Lucy strategically chooses her moments to talk to the students about their futures so that Miss Emily and the other guardians are not present to interfere
• Miss Lucy's speech in the pavilion

  • Reflects her ongoing struggle with her role as a guardian
  • Provides the students with an unusually straightforward account of the donation program
• Miss Emily explains Miss Lucy's ideology was not welcome at Hailsham


  Miss Lucy's method was too idealistic for the real world