Ask the Expert Tutor: Never Let Me Go
As part of our ‘Ask the Expert Tutor’ series, we will be discussing Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel, Never Let Me Go. This text is commonly found on the IGCSE syllabus.
Never Let Me Go is a novel by the Japanese-born British novelist and Nobel laureate, Kazuo Ishiguro. Published in 2005, Ishiguro’s book is set in the 1990s in an alternate Britain in which the cloning of human beings for the purpose of organ harvesting is commonplace.
The novel is commonly taught for GCSE and IGCSE. The text itself can often be a challenge for GCSE and IGCSE English students, who often fail to notice that the central characters of Ishiguro’s novel are themselves clones whose organs will be harvested so that others may live. Moreover, GCSE and IGCSE English learners may struggle with the notion that simply because the work poses a particular question does not mean it must be answered within the text.
The nature of Never Let Me Go is that of a subtle exploration of humanity. It is Ishiguro’s mature and delicate treatment of this subject and his characters that can often lead GCSE and IGCSE candidates into some confusion.
A unique element of Never Let Me Go is the fact that Ishiguro’s book is very much steeped in the science fiction genre: the book is set in an alternate reality with highly developed technology that allows for successful human cloning. There also exists a certain dystopian element within the work, as the clones exist to be slowly killed through protracted bouts of surgery.
For GCSE and IGCSE students, the treatment of the science fiction and dystopian fiction genres in the text can present themselves as obstacles. Ishiguro’s novel is restrained and framed less like what would be expected from the aforementioned genres and more like a Bildungsroman, or a coming-of-age story. It is important that GCSE and IGCSE English students do not become overly focused on the more fantastical elements of Ishiguro’s novel, as these function to reveal theme and character rather than speculation as to what it would be like to live in a society in which cloning is a somewhat routine practice.
It is important that GCSE and IGCSE English learners are aware of the subtleties of Ishiguro’s writing. The GCSE and IGCSE examinations expect that candidates engage with their studied texts in such a way that considerable depth can be shown when responding to analytical questions. For some, however, this can be challenging. GCSE and IGCSE students often do not receive the necessary assistance to compose mature analytical responses.
Let’s take a look at a sample question and a brief paragraph from an extended response so as to explore the ways in which GCSE and IGCSE English candidates may falter.
Question: ‘Ishiguro’s novel, Never Let Me Go, shocks readers with a relentlessly bleak vision of a morally bankrupt world.’ To what extent has this been your experience of reading Never Let Me Go? Explain your answer with suitable reference to the text.
Response: My experience of reading this book is similar. I thought that it was very bleak and unpleasant at times and that the world the author shows is morally bankrupt. The ways that the world of the book is morally bankrupt can be seen when the author explains how the clones ‘complete,’ or die, after donating so many of their organs. The world of the book does not care that these clones have minds of their own or friendships, etc., which is very bleak and this left me feeling uncomfortable.
There are considerable issues with the above response. GCSE and IGCSE students are expected to produce work to a certain age-appropriate and academic standard. Using the words ‘my’ and ‘I’ are inappropriate in an academic setting and should be wholly avoided, even if the question is asking to discuss the reader’s response to a text. So too should abbreviations like ‘etc.’ Moreover, the lack of a coherent structure within the response, and failure to mention the book’s author and title, all count against this piece of writing. It is important, therefore, that all GCSE and IGCSE candidates become familiar with the conventions of appropriate academic writing and employ them in their own work.
At BartyED, we have coached countless GCSE, IGCSE, A-Level, and IB learners in all aspects of literary analysis. Our expert tutors are trained to recognise and target areas of weakness in students so as to assist these young learners in improving their critical thinking and writing skills. If you believe that you or your child, be they studying GCSE, IGCSE, A-Level, or IB, could benefit from the guidance of an experienced tutor, please reach out to us today by phone (+852 2882 1017) or email (enquiries@bartyed.com).