The description is uniform and, in a sense, institutional: one line up the stairs, the other going down on the other side. Kathy begins by mentioning the medical the students had every week. But it’s his own fault.’ Chapter 1 Chapter 2 ‘I suppose it is a bit cruel,’ Ruth said, ‘the way they always work him up like that. Tommy burst into thunderous bellowing, and the boys, now laughing openly, started to run off towards the South Playing Field.

What he wanted was not just to hear about Hailsham, but to remember Hailsham, just like it had been his own childhood. There have been times over the years when I’ve tried to leave Hailsham behind, when I’ve told myself I shouldn’t look back so much. Chapter 1Īnd I’m a Hailsham student-which is enough by itself sometimes to get people’s backs up. But it means a lot to me, being able to do my work well, especially that bit about my donors staying ‘calm’. Tommy accidently hits Kathy while in his temper state but seems instantly apologetic. Tommy’s reaction shows he is behind the others in maturity. Ruth believes it is wrong yet thinks Tommy deserves it, showing her somewhat callous nature. Kathy has empathy for Tommy, and even knows that he is wearing his favourite shirt, revealing her caring and compassionate nature. This scene reveals much about the three characters who will dominate the narrative. Tommy was picked on by the other boys who did not select him for a team and left him in a temper tantrum. Kathy recalls her friends Ruth and Tommy in particular. Even the donor who Kathy is attending wishes to hear about Hailsham, to take on the memories himself and replace his upbringing, further suggesting the privilege afforded to those at Hailsham. She stops at times to consider sports grounds that remind her of those at the school.

She is happy to be able to choose to care for those from Hailsham as she constantly wishes to reconnect to those days herself. She reminisces about life at Hailsham, the school she attends, and suggests that those who come from Hailsham are special and even resented in part by others. It also shows she has limited knowledge of a lifestyle outside the one in which lives. The tone is immediately conversational and helps develop the theme of memory, while the content suggests the reader understands the world in which Kathy lives, creating intimacy with the narrator. Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go opens with the narrator Kathy H revealing she is a carer.

Never let me go summary