The Construction of the Clone as a Human Subject in Never Let Me Go and Oryx and Crake

65 Pages·2015·0.81 MB·English

by  Lisette Ahern

The Construction of the Clone as a Human Subject in Never Let Me Go and Oryx and Crake

by Lisette Piet
M.A. Thesis Literary Studies: Specialization English
University of Amsterdam

Studentnr. 10178333
Date: 21 July 2015
Supervisor: Dr. Tara MacDonald
PIET 2

Table of Contents

Introduction.............................................................................................................................................3
Chapter One: Care in Never Let Me Go...................................................................................................7
Chapter Two: Care in Oryx and Crake....................................................................................................14
Chapter Three: Art in Never Let Me Go.................................................................................................24
Chapter Four: Art in Oryx and Crake.....................................................................................................32
Chapter Five: Self-Will in Never Let Me Go............................................................................................43
Chapter Six: Self-Will in Oryx and Crake................................................................................................50
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................57
Bibliography...........................................................................................................................................62
PIET 3

Introduction
The concept of cloning and genetic manipulation has proven to be problematic; humanity is
constantly aiming for progress and the scientific use of bioengineering and cloning is able to provide
a substantial amount of progress in the field of healthcare. However, the ways in which these
scientific processes can be applied to human life are ethically questionable; to what extent can
cloning and genetic manipulation be seen as a useful tool to benefit humanity and how can these
notions in turn enable humanity to view its clones as inferior beings?
In Kazuo Ishiguro's novel Never Let Me Go, the characters Kathy, Ruth and Tommy grow up in
the safe halls of the fictional Hailsham boarding school in England. The students at Hailsham have
been cloned from human originals for the sole purpose of donating their organs to humans in a
process of organ donations, yet their childhood at Hailsham focuses on the level of humanity they
possess. Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake tells the story of Crake and Jimmy, who grow up in a
society that revolves around consumption, expansion and invention. For fear of the dangers and
viruses from the Pleeblands, the elite live in Compounds that are heavily corrupted and controlled by
the CorpSeCorps police. Crake, who becomes a highly regarded scientist, causes a virus to eradicate
human civilization and introduces his cloned, superhuman entities referred to as The Children of Oryx
and Crake. These superhuman entities have been created in order to replace mankind's flawed
civilization, and unwanted and problematic characteristics were edited out to do so.
In this thesis, I will use both Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go and Margaret Atwood's Oryx
and Crake to analyze the ways in which the clone’s level of humanity is evaluated in the novels. I will
examine how the level of assigned humanity to their kind affects the creation of their sense of self
and their ability to create their own destiny. Firstly, the connection between care and humanity in
both novels will be discussed. Due to the fact that care is a practice closely connected to the concept
of humanity, it is an excellent way to examine the clone's level of humanity and its closeness to
human traditions. In Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, the profession of 'carer' is extremely
important: a clone who can temporarily ward off death in order to help clones that are currently
PIET 4

going through organ donations. The novel's focus on care and nursing shows the ways in which the
inherently human concept of care has the ability to affect the process of death and how care can
humanize the horrific nature of the system of organ donation. Therefore, the notion of care is a
highly useful tool to investigate the ways in which care can show the level of humanity that the
clones possess.
Moreover, in Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake, care is an institutionalized field that is part
of a highly corrupted and extremely consumer-driven society that borders on a totalitarian state. On
the one hand, the society of the Compounds are responsible for their citizens’ health in the form of
providing protection from the viruses and other health hazards present in the Pleeblands. However,
on the other hand the Compounds create diseases to instil fear in their citizens and ensure loyalty.
This society has replaced the important concept of care with economic profit. In the post-apocalyptic
world, care becomes an essential tool of survival and through the care they provide, the superhuman
clones can express their humanity and show their close connection to the human race. Additionally,
as he is believed to be the only human being who has survived Crake's virus, Snowman is left in
charge of the Crakers and a structure of mutual care is set up between Snowman and the Crakers.
Furthermore, the ways in which the significance of artistic creation is expressed in both
novels will be discussed. The creation of art is considered to be a strictly human practice through
which one can express his humanity in the form of emotion and empathy. Therefore, the evaluation
of the concept of humanity through artistic creation is an excellent tool to examine to what extent
the clones in Never Let Me Go and Oryx and Crake are portrayed as humanlike characters. In Kazuo
Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, art plays a significant role in the attempted creation of the clone's sense
of self. The students at Hailsham are encouraged to create art to prove their humanity. Through the
creation of art, which is considered to be inherently human, they can express their ability to show
humanlike qualities and prove they share notions of hope, desire and love. Additionally, through the
creation of art, Hailsham's clones are enabled to prove their humanity to a society that considers
them to be mere organ factories.
PIET 5

Moreover, in Oryx and Crake, art is not considered to be a realm that is profitable and thus,
in the market-driven society that is focused on consumerism and corruption, artistic creation is
overshadowed by society's need for scientific creation. As society is moving further away from the
humanities, and schools such as the Martha Graham Academy are considered to be a waste of an
education as they do not teach skills that benefit scientific invention and genetic manipulation, it
becomes increasingly clear that the human concept of art loses its value. In this analysis, I will
examine the ways in which the lack of interest in artistic creation as well as the fact that art as a
concept is mocked show how the citizens of the Pleeblands have been distanced from human
traditions and can in this sense already be viewed as posthuman. Moreover, the Children of Oryx and
Crake are heavily influenced by the broad field of art and culture, since they slowly acquire the use of
human language and are able to create artistic rituals as well as worship divine entities. As the
concept of art is closely linked to humanity, the Crakers are able to express their humanity and
equality to the human race through their artistic endeavours. Snowman is able to strongly affect
their use of language and in this way takes on the role of ultimate creator, despite the fact that the
Crakers believe Crake to be their creator. I will analyze to what extent the role of art and the level of
its appreciation shift throughout the novel, as well as the ways in which the notion of art determines
the characters’ level of humanity.
Additionally, this thesis will discuss the ways in which the self-will of the clone and its desire
to create its own destiny evaluate to what extent the clones are portrayed as human subjects in both
novels. The fact that the clone desires to alter its fate is an extremely human quality, yet the clone
remains to be denied the right to change its destiny by its creator. I will examine to what extent the
clone's sense of self is constructed by its self-will and its desire to create its personal destiny in both
Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go and Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake. In this discussion, I will
analyze the importance of the clone's body in its representation towards its creator and the ways in
which this representation as an inferior being affects its treatment and its restrained abilities to
create its destiny.
PIET 6

Lastly, this thesis will discuss the inherently human realms of care, art and self-will to answer
the following question: In what ways is the creation of the clone’s sense of self in Kazuo Ishiguro’s
Never Let Me Go and Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake affected by the level of agency it is assigned
and how can the clone express its humanity and construct itself as a subject in a society that
condemns it to live a life inferior to humanity? The notion of humanity and how an entity can be
considered to be human is evaluated in these novels through notions of care, art and the ability to
use its self-will to create its own destiny. Therefore, I will argue that the clone has the ability to
express its humanity and show its equality to the human creator through connecting to these
inherently human qualities and traditions.
PIET 7

Chapter One: Care in Never Let Me Go
In this chapter, the importance of the notion of care and the ‘carer’ in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never
Let Me Go will be further analyzed with regard to the concept of humanity. I will examine the ways in
which the realm of care is closely linked to humanity as a whole and its practices, and I will argue that
through the concept of care, the clones can connect to humanity and express their human
characteristics.
Firstly, the notion of care is of great importance in Never Let Me Go. The institutionalized
structure of care of the society in Never Let Me Go creates a framework in which its characters must
obey the assigned rules after having arguably been trained in altruistic behavior. In the opening
passages of Never Let Me Go, Kathy recalls her eleven years of being a ‘carer’; she reflects on her
capacities in this role, which she believes have been successful due to her patients’ short recovery
times and her ability to refrain patients from getting "agitated" (Ishiguro 3). In this description, she
draws particular attention to the word ‘carer’, which is described in the Oxford Dictionary as: "A
family member or paid helper who regularly looks after a child or a sick, elderly, or disabled person”,
and was first used in this sense in 1978 (Oxford Dictionary, 108). According to this definition of the
term, the voluntary nature of the act of caring is highlighted, as well as the superior position of
power that is assigned to the carer.
In "Writing With Care: Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go", Anne Whitehead states that in the
opening remarks of the novel, Kathy "locate[s] the word [carer] within discourses of professionalism
and competency" (Whitehead 59). Moreover, Whitehead states that "the novel therefore opens not
only by calling attention to the word itself, but also by drawing out the inherent tensions and
ambivalences that reside within it, between discourses of competency and professionalism, on the
one hand, and languages of affect and feeling, on the other" (Whitehead 60). Therefore, in the
opening passages of the novel, the word 'carer' is able to instantly blur the notion of traditional
caring and give the reader a glimpse into the term's problematic underlying meaning in the novel.
The term both entails an affectionate and emotional bond that is created through the act of caring,
PIET 8

that is, Kathy states that she prefers to care for her 'own kind' (former students of Hailsham), and the
language of affect and feeling connects the term with positivity in the form of loving and healing
(Ishiguro 4). However, a 'carer' is also viewed here as merely a professional term, that is, Kathy refers
to many of her professional accomplishments such as her "great record", which allows her profession
to become more than a mere altruistic service and instead incorporates aspects such as competency
and professionalism (Ishiguro 3). Thus, these different aspects connected to the term set up the
novel's intriguing introduction of the characters' fate and the ways in which the institutionalized
structure of care is involved in the creation of this limited fate.
It becomes increasingly clear that the clones in this story (copies of human bodies that are
created to eventually aid the human being in the 'real' world by providing human organs) can be
presented with the possibility of temporarily escaping this fate through caring for their fellow clones
who are going through organ donations. In "Cruelty is Bad: Banality and Proximity in Never Let Me
Go", Robbins underlines the notion that for the clones that become carers "this bureaucracy defines
a certain possible path of modest professional advancement. Yet the advancement has a biological
limit" (Robbins 291). In this way, caring becomes an option with which a clone can temporarily ward
off death, allowing the clone more time before its own donations commence. With regard to the
relationship between donor and carer, Whitehead states: "Expected to perform the care work as well
as to end their own lives prematurely in the isolated and run-down treatment centers, the clones
powerfully engage questions of class concerning who is 'carer' and 'cared for' in society" (Whitehead
62-63). Despite the fact that the carer cares for the donor, there is no inherent difference between
the donor and the carer, as the carer eventually must undergo the same procedures. Therefore, the
concept of care is continuously negotiated and reestablished within the structure of care, and the
structure of care is held in place by both society and clone. Through the concept of care and the fact
that the donor requires care to undergo as many organ donations as possible, the 'carer' is able to
closely examine the process of the organ donation and the way it affects its donor, and in the process
acquires uncanny experience of its own fate.
PIET 9

Moreover, the clone’s innate humanlike tendency to care and show affection for others is
exploited in order to maintain a system of suppression and unethical ending of lives, purely to aid
humanity’s own healthcare system. Whitehead argues that "a profit-driven culture of 'care'
disconcertingly underpins, legitimates, and makes possible the creation of the 'donation' system
itself" (Whitehead 62). Therefore, the clones’ human tendency to show empathy and care for
another allows the system of organ donation to exist and properly function. Without this care, the
system would not be able to be carried out in the same manner as its unethicality would be more
apparent. In this sense, the clones’ humanlike qualities are used to strengthen the system’s success,
yet despite their ability to connect to these human qualities, the clones remain to be seen as inferior
as this system revolves around aiding humanity.
Furthermore, Whitehead argues that "the students are, we learn, being trained as
professional 'carers', and their literary and artistic education seems to underpin their undeniably
close affective bonds and their altruistic behaviour toward one another" (Whitehead 56). The clones'
education at Hailsham is double-edged: on the one hand, Hailsham allows its students to explore
their identities and their similarities to humanity, yet on the other hand keeps a system in place of
molding and preparing students to become mere objects that are able to endure a painful death. In
this sense, their education incorporates artistic subjects in order to turn the students into caring and
altruistic beings, as this will not only prepare them for their future tasks of carer, but additionally
provide them with the opportunity to explore their humanity. Robbins states that the system of care
that is put in place "resembles the welfare state both in its rationale and in its total penetration of
the private lives of those in its care" (Robbins 291). Therefore, the system of care in the novel not
only affects the donors that are currently going through the organ donation process, but it affects
the clones’ entire society. Their education needs to encourage their caring qualities in order for the
students to calmly accept their future and not rebel against the system that is in place, as well as
prepare them for a possible life of caring for donors who go through organ donations.
Furthermore, the fact that the carers allow their fellow cloned entities to be slowly taken
PIET 10

apart until there is not enough left of them to survive, proves the clones’ inability to protest the
system. The notion of care strongly aids the suppression of the clones, and Whitehead wonders if
"'caring', . . . [is] a form of labor that is socially valuable because Kathy is making a positive difference
to others (preventing 'agitation'), or—given the political resonances of Ishiguro’s choice of word
here—is it a means of preventing resistance and unrest, securing passive compliance through
endless, exhausting activity and minor compensation?" (Whitehead 61). This act of care giving does
not strive to benefit the health of its patients, as it merely attempts to maintain the patients’ calm
state whilst their bodies are stripped of organs for human transplants and thus human profit.
Interestingly, when Kathy describes her career as a carer in the opening passage of the novel, she
states that "hardly any of them have been classified as 'agitated', even before fourth donation"
(Ishiguro 5). This confirms Whitehead's statement with regard to the reason the structure of care is
held in place; the structure of care aims to prevent donors from rebelling and arguing against their
fate, which in turn questions the positive nature of the care that is provided. To what extent can this
type of care be characterized as 'caring', when its main function is to ensure its patients remain calm
through the brutal extractions of their organs?
Moreover, Kathy states that she has been a carer for almost twelve years, yet the longevity
of her caring career does not necessarily mean that she is a good carer ("there are some really good
carers who've been told to stop after just two or three years", Ishiguro 5). However, she does believe
herself to be a good carer, and she states that "I do know for a fact they've been pleased with my
work, and by and large, I have too" (Ishiguro 5). She states that her patients have done much better
than they were expected to and that their recovery times have been impressive; the recovery times
of the clones are considered to be a tool with which the carer’s abilities can be measured. The fact
that Kathy has been pleased with her own work confirms her apparent acceptance of her terrible
fate and the role she plays in those of others.
However, the care that is given not only applies to the carer who aids the clone; the clone in
its turn benefits the human through its organ donations. Therefore, the system of care extends to the