Comparing 'Never Let Me Go' And Cormac Mccarthy's The Road

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Kelly Nolan Mrs. Hantack Adv. English II, 6th hour 5 April 2024 Lost Innocence and the Fragility of Hope Human beings shape their experiences based on the world around them. Dystopian literature paints a violent picture of how societal structures can alter the fundamental understanding of humanity. In Kazuo Ishiguro’s, Never Let Me Go, and Cormac McCarthy’s, The Road, worlds are in contrast to one another; yet, each explores the ideas of a loss of innocence and the fragility of hope. While Never Let Me Go explores the unsettling reality of clones bred solely for organ harvesting, The Road depicts a post-apocalyptic wasteland where survival is a constant struggle. Both novels allow the reader to explore many profound questions surrounding the …show more content…

In response to this, the boy says “but we’re not dying” (McCarthy 75). The boy’s usage of the word we’re talking about represents that he sees him and his father as a unit rather than two individuals as they are so loyal to one another. In his eyes, his father dying is not an option as he does not know life without him nor does he want to. Despite the hardship they experience, family prevails. The themes found in Never Let Me Go, although not as deep as in The Road, are still incredibly moving. Specifically, the theme being that growing up is inevitable. In an exchange between Tommy and Kathy, he says to her that “[it] [is] not a game anymore. [They] have to think carefully” (Ishiguro 76). Tommy and Kathy grew up around one another, they were able to see one another mature. Within their circle of friends was Ruth, who dated Tommy. Kathy felt conflicted between her crush and her friend; she always remained silent. They are adults now though and the love triangle returns; however, it’s much different now as the weight of donations and upcoming fate looms over them. Tommy, by relating the situation to a game, effectively displays that the situation has much less

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