Regret In Never Let Me Go

Regret is something you wish you did differently and makes you sad to think about. Sometimes your regret is over not doing something sooner and other times it is over not doing something at all. However, no matter what everyone has something they regret, this includes the people in the book, Never Let Me Go. They are many characters within the book who directly state their regret for certain situations.

One of these times Kathy specifically mentions she has regret is when she recalls her conversation between her, Tommy, and Ruth. Tommy had told Ruth his theory on why the crafts they made at Hailsham were taken away. He believed it was, so if the students ever went back to request a referral the art the guardians had collected over time would be able to tell if the students were in love because they always said, “art bares the soul of the artist” (Ishiguro p. 390). Ruth believes his theory is ridiculous and tells Tommy how she and Kathy both thought it was ridiculous. However, Kathy didn’t believe this and, “could just denied it” (Ishiguro p. 303), but she, “didn’t say or do anything.” Kathy even mentions how she, “should have found something to say,” and how she, “thought about those moments over and over” (Ishiguro p. 303).

Another time regret was directly stated was by Ruth. She mentions in the car how she regrets keeping Kathy and Tommy apart

She wishes they had gotten together sooner. If they had, they would have gotten more time to be together, “but what a pity,” they, “left it so late” (Ishiguro p. 367). Her feeling of them getting together too late never left her thoughts, no matter how hard she, “tried to keep it out” (Ishiguro p. 371). She believed, “there’d once been a time for it, but,” they, “let that go by” (Ishiguro p. 371). They tried everything they could think of and when the two of them couldn’t get a deferral she wished Ruth was still alive so, Ruth could still feel the regret of keeping them