Token Controversy, Special Kids, and Big White Vans

"We'd been in the middle of what we later came to call the 'tokens controversy.'" p.38

At this point I am more curious than confused. I really want to know what the Gallery is and why it is so secretive and prestigious! I've gathered that these kids at Hailsham are "special", but I don't know if that's good or bad yet. They cherish things from the outside world, which leads me to believe they live a sheltered life, kind of like the citizens in Brave New World. The Sales seem very suspicious to me. It doesn't help that Kathy describes it by saying "once every month, a big white van would come down that long road".

That's exactly what I was picturing when she told about the Sales van. It seems that the people who bring all of the items are uncommonly chipper, which makes me think they don't see kids like the students at Hailsham every day. I'm very anxious to see what makes them so different. I'm only 4 chapters in, but so far I'm enjoying this book more than Brave New World.

Point of View

"My name is Kathy H. I'm thirty-one years old, and I've been a carer now for over eleven years." p.3

I immediately noticed this as a major difference between Never Let Me Go and Brave New World . This first person point of view is a breath of fresh air after reading and analyzing a story that relies completely on an outsider narrator. Kathy H. starts out the story by introducing herself, but then she begins to ramble about things that don't make sense to me. I don't quite understand the concept of their donor-carer careers yet. Eventually, I started gathering information that helped explain things. I'm still a little confused (it seems to be a trend on all of my AP blogs), but it's not nearly as confusing at Brave New World. I think since this story took place in the 1990's I can relate with it more. I'm sure there are still plenty of surprises lurking in these pages that will trip me up and continue to confuse me.

Never Let Me Go #1

"A lot of the time, how you were regarded at Hailsham, how much you were liked and respected, had to do with how good you were at 'creating.'" p.16

This whole post is going to be lots and lots questions, so I hope that's allowed. I'm really only doing this so I can go back to this post when I'm finished with the book and feel really accomplished when I know all of the answers. I've only read the first 2 chapters, which means they may just be answered very soon. Who knows?!


1. What is a carer, recovery center, and donor (in relation to the book).
2. What is so important about creativity in this society?
3. Is Hailsham simply a school, or is it more than that?
4. Does Tommy have something wrong with him other than the fact that he doesn't have to be creative if he doesn't want to?
5. Did Kathy realize there was something strange about their school, kind of how Bernard realized there was something strange about the World State in Brave New World?
6. What do they have against last names?

Finally, this book reminds me of A Separate Peace. Boarding schools where everything seems to be in its own little world, drama between friends, and English people ( mainly just the boarding school part though).

Overall reaction

"Anywhere. I don't care. So long as I can be alone." (pg. 243)

The ending of this book made me both happy and sad. I was happy that John finally escaped the torment of everything in the World State and all of the terrible citizens, but knowing that he had to commit suicide to do that is very depressing. Never once during this book did I guess this was going to be how it ended. I didn't think John would've played such a large role in the plot. I thought it would a happy ending where everything works out, but I was very wrong. I'm not going to say that I loved this book or that it was my favorite, because I can think of multiple books that I absolutely can't stand (Jacob Have I Loved, for example). I enjoyed parts of this book, but it was mainly very new and odd to me. I had to reread lots of things and some still didn't make much sense. Overall, I think the book was good, but very very different than anything I have ever read. 

I have no idea what to title this blog entry...

" I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin." (pg. 240)

Once again, this chapter helped me understand the previous 16 chapters much better. I had no idea their belief in God started out so normal then grew more restricted over the years. I knew from the beginning that there were a group of people who knew all about the real world, but they were forcing others not to learn anything about it. I don't know how those people got that power, but hopefully I'll find out. John claimed his right to be unhappy, which was a first in that community. I am really proud of him for doing that; his knowledge is far more impressive than any other citizens. I think he understands much more in depth concepts than the brainwashed citizens. I really hoped he would break free of their ways at some point. I'm anxious to see how the rest of his life turns out. 

Science and Stability

"The world's stable now." (pg. 220)

Things finally started making sense and connecting for me in this chapter. Mustapha Mond explained a lot through his trial with John. I realized they do all of the intricate social upbringings because if anything changed or disappeared, chaos would ensue. The story of an Alpha-only society illustrated that idea perfectly. My huge AHA! moment, in the words of Mrs. Sander, was the explanation of why the controlling began. I learned that after the devestation of the 9 years war, the people asked for it. They wanted complete, controlled happiness no matter what he cost. It only too about 16 chapters for the light bulb to finally go off in my head.

John

"'O brave new world!' It was a challenge, a command." (pg. 210)

I love finding the title of books or movies hidden somewhere throughout! It makes me feel like I really did accomplish something while reading a book or watching a movie. John frequently says this phrase in the later part of this book. I'm almost positive it's from Shakespeare's The Tempest.  

 I think John may have finally cracked and gone a little mad. He finally couldn't take anymore. I think it's good that he wanted to help make the boys into men, but he went about it all wrong in my opinion. Helmholtz should have helped John stay calm under pressure. Then, maybe John could've kept his sanity.

John and Lenina

"I love you more than anything in the world." (page 192)

I wrote about Lenina and John's relationship in a previous blog and my thoughts are still similar. I knew something would get in the way of their relationship. I wasn't sure if it would be Lenina's conditioned ways of John's uncivilized upbringing; it turned out to be a little bit of both. John wanted to marry Lenina - the love of his life. Lenina had no idea what the point of love and marriage was; she just knew she liked John. As of right now, I think the 2 are far too different to be together. John may have overreacted with all of the name calling, but it was basically true. However, I can understand that Lenina saw nothing wrong because of her culture.