1.Miss Lucy says that if Tommy does not want to be creative, if he doesn’t feel like it, that was perfectly all right (23). But, later she denies this right before leaving the Hailsham. What does art education and creativity mean to the characters (clones)?
2.One night the narrator mimics a young mother holding a baby to her breast with a pillow, listening to and singing Judy Bridgewater’s “Never Let Me Go” (71). At that moment, Kathy notices Madame watching her with teary eyes. What does Madame’s reaction indicate? What does it imply the fact that none of the Hailsham students can have babies? How is Kathy’s interpretation of this event different from Madame’s? How else might it be interpreted? Is the song’s title again recalled by the book’s final pages (286–88)?
3.What are some of Ruth’s most striking character traits? How might her social behavior, at Hailsham and later at the Cottages, be explained? Why does she seek her “possible” so earnestly (159–67)?
4.How do Madame and Miss Emily react to Kathy and Tommy when they come to request a deferral? Defending her work at Hailsham, Miss Emily says, “Look at you both now! You’ve had good lives, you’re educated and cultured” (261). What is revealed in this extended conversation, and how do these revelations affect your experience of the story?
5.Kathy’s narration is the key to the novel’s disquieting effect. First person narration establishes a kind of intimacy between narrator and reader. What is it like having direct access to Kathy’s mind and feelings? How would the novel be different if narrated from Tommy’s point of view, or Ruth’s, or Miss Emily’s?
6.Any question you want to ask regarding the novel’s characterization?