Topic > Never Let Me Go as a Marxist Novel

Ishiguro's "Never Let Me Go" is an intrinsically Marxist novel, from its subject matter to its characters, and delivers its message through allusions to reification and the possible threat posed by science and its discoveries . While some elements may not be as hidden as others throughout the narrative, it remains a thoroughly Marxist attack on the inventions of the intelligentsia and the effect this then has on the proletariat. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayThe most obvious way in which "Never Leave Me" has an underlying Marxist meaning is through the idea that the reason the Hailsham students are clones is to provide organs to the rich when they need them. The fact that this luxury is available only to the highest in society is reminiscent of the way the intelligentsia exploits the proletariat by imposing manual labor while the rich take credit for the work of the poor. When the rich need transplants, they can count on the children of Hailsham, and other clones like them, to provide this service voluntarily and without question. If the discovery of cloning for transplantation had never occurred, the rich would not have this monopoly on the “proletariat” and the inequalities of opportunity we see here would not have occurred. The rich would stay rich and there would be no clones living short lives because their sole purpose is to provide a new set of organs to anyone who needs them. What makes it even more similar to Marxist ideologies is that children, despite being technically aware of their future, have been conditioned to believe that it is a normal fate to be resigned to, just as the proletariat believes that their lives of manual labor, low wages and never being appreciated for the work they do is a normal thing to experience. Madame says to Kathy and Tommy later in the novel, when they visit her to ask for an exception: “Poor creatures. What have we done to you? With all our plans and plans?” which emphasizes the social differences between her and them. Calling spouses “creatures” reduces them to animals, just as the bourgeoisie would do if the proletariat did not deserve humane treatment. The term draws attention to the fact that they are not even real human beings: they are copies of a human being, created for a specific purpose. More importantly, Madame says "what have we done to you?" reminds the reader that there is a difference between them: although they may all seem like normal people, Kathy and Tommy are destined to die before they turn 35 simply because their organs will be donated, while Madame will live out her life in peace. This is entirely representative of how the rich would look down on the working class, with the awareness of being exploited for the gain of the bourgeoisie; The lady and the teachers at Hailsham always knew of the children's fate, but could do nothing to prevent them from fulfilling that fate. Without science and its discoveries, the rich would not be placed in this position of power over clones because there would be no clones to exploit and in this way "Never Let Me Go" attacks the very basis of science by criticizing the possibility it offers us. The idea of ​​cloning that we see throughout the novel echoes the scientific discoveries made in the period in which it was written, such as the supposed "success" of Dolly the sheep, a cloned animal that died in 2003: what Ishiguro does in his book is take the idea the idea of ​​cloning to an extreme level that draws attention to the exploitation of humans, and how the pain that Dolly has suffered is only the beginning of the potential pain that humans could suffer at the hands of science and godsrich. In Georg Lukacs' book, "Reification and Consciousness of the Proletariat," he deconstructs the ways in which the bourgeoisie makes the proletariat so available to be exploited, particularly through reification, which is where the exploited person is so accustomed to the idea that it becomes a norm rather than something immoral. The children of Hailsham, therefore, have been reified to believe that the society they live in is natural while the reader can see the horror of how they live. They become objects rather than people, used to complete a purpose and service used only by the rich, and Miss Lucy attempts to draw their attention to this by telling them "You have been told and you have not been told", meaning that they are all aware of their future and the tasks that will arise from it, but do not fully understand what this will mean. Miss Lucy feels guilty for their exploitation and tries to explain that, while they may be "ok" with the way they will be treated, they will not be okay with never living a normal life. This also highlights a gap in their reification: they are not entirely comfortable with the situation they face and this becomes clearer over the course of the novel when Ruth expresses interest in wanting to become an employee and live a completely normal life where she goes to work every day; if the reification were successful, she would be happy to live her simple life as a student, caregiver, giver. Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth vaguely retain knowledge of their future; it's there and they know it's inevitable, but they never feel entirely at ease, as demonstrated by Ruth's reaction to not finding her parent clone. He tells Kathy "We're shaped out of garbage... We all know it, so why don't we say it?" and lashes out at her, which is the first time she has openly discussed cloning and possible donation. The fact that she is so angry about this implies that her reification is incomplete because she still wishes to find her original clone in hopes that she can live a normal life instead of dying at middle age. The life they led in Hailsham is described as “a cozy state of suspension where we could reflect on our lives without the usual boundaries”, which tells the reader that while they are there there is a sense of slight worry about the future, from since their childhood home is a safe space where they can imagine an unrealistic future. Apart from this, they do not care at all about their future and it is thanks to the scientific discovery of clones and human cloning for this purpose that they live this life. The title itself, "Never Let Me Go", is an example of subtle dramatic irony; the pronoun “me” almost mocks all the characters we meet, as there is no such thing as “me” for Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth; their identities are irrelevant because they are bred for a purpose and their physical appearance is that of another human being rather than something independent of themselves. Therefore, reducing characters to something that isn't even an identity attacks the fact that science has brought them to this place where they live and then die without ever experiencing a unique life as everything they are is copied or for the gain of the rich Finally, it is the concept of the Exchanges and the Gallery, which is fundamentally Marxist. The children at Hailsham are encouraged to create art and their lessons focus on creation rather than anything actual education because there is no need for them to be educated as they will never find any use for maths or English, and special pieces are then selected for Madame's 'gallery'. Children also give and receive artwork from their friends and other students. The idea of ​​giving away something of value as a form of currency is inherently capitalist;.