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Similes
Style
Explanation and Analysis:
Ishiguro exhibits a characteristic narrative style in Never Let Me Go, akin to that of his other novels (namely The Remains of the Day). One might liken his style of writing to the act of submerging the reader underwater, then allowing them to rise slowly to the surface, all the while gaining awareness of the true problems Kathy and her peers face.
Ishiguro intentionally utilizes vague language in the novel, implying rather than stating directly that all of the Hailsham students are clones, created for the sole purpose of donating their organs. One gets the sense that Ishiguro, paralleling the emotions and impulses of his narrator, is avoiding a painful and traumatic subject. This vague language serves as a shield from the truth, protecting Kathy H.—Ishiguro's narrator—from the discomfiting reality of her existence and purpose as a human clone. She does not speak directly because she cannot, lest she succumb to despair and futility.
Ishiguro's narrative style compliments themes of trauma and memory, imitating the way in which a person with PTSD might discuss or choose not to remember aspects of the past. Indirect speech serves as a stylistic barrier between the narrator's internal life and her harsher, external reality.
Related Themes:
