When we discussed the significance of the boat in "Never let me go", we had some ideas like: "boat was the only way to get them off the island","broken hopes". In my opinion, the boat had a different meaning. Before appearance of the boat, there were passages about clothing of Hailsham. "It was that exchange, when we finally mentioned clothing of Hailsham, that suddenly brought us close again, and we hugged, quiet spontaneously,..." In my understanding Hailsham is the place that brought them all together, and suddenly, after all this talks about clothing of Hailsham - appearance of the boat. Even condition of the boat might be similar to how Hailsham would look like when its closed, or what may became with it, since they(Kathy, Ruth, Tommy, and others) left. "I could now see how its paint was cracking, and how the timber frames of the little cabin were crumbling away". The Boat as a Hailsham brought them together again, for the last time.
Also, I do not remember if we talked about significance of the book title. What exactly the author was referring to when he came up with this title. There are several passages reminding us about the title. "Every so often, I could see the man's fist, where all the balloon strings were converged, and I could see he had them securely twisted together and in a tight grip."
Finally, we did not talk about political significance of this apolitical book. I'm sure, there are many subjects in the real world. Why did Ben introduced us with Strauss before making us read this book? Could we use the content of this book for our second written assignment?
Saturday, December 12, 2009
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Your parallel between the dilapidated boat and the closing of Hailsham is quite intriguing. I hadn't thought of that at all, but it makes sense.
ReplyDeleteAs for a discussion of the title... I'd really like to talk about the last paragraph in the book. "I was thinking about the rubbish, the flapping plastic in the branches, the shore-line of odd stuff caught along the fencing, and I half-closed my eyes and imagined this was the spot where everything I'd ever lost since my childhood had washed up, and I was now standing here in front of it, and if I waited long enough, a tiny figure would appear on the horizon across the field, and gradually get larger until I'd see it was Tommy, and he'd wave, maybe even call" (Ishiguro, 287-288).
When I read this, it resonated not as Kathy mourning Tommy's death, but as Kathy wanting to be lost in the rubbish (thinking about the connection between porn magazines and Possibles here). Kathy did, at least at one point, feel that she was cloned from garbage, and this fence in the middle of nowhere was where all the lost garbage accumulated. In my opinion, this is Kathy's way of saying "Let me go."