Studied by 2 people
IB English Language and Literature
I don’t know…
“I don’t know how it was where you were” - Kathy
Repetition of phrase throughout the novel
Narrates as if the reader is also a clone
Clones are aware of their mortality and death is normalised
Chapter 7 - You’ve been…
“You’ve been told and not told” - Miss Lucy
Students are aware of their mortality but this knowledge doesn’t influence how they live their lives
Irony - information should come as a shock but is treated as normal when students are told
Students wouldn’t be able to function if they were constantly thinking about their deaths
Chapter 14 - We all know it…
“We all know it. We’re modelled from trash… that’s where we all come from. We all know it, so why don’t we say it?” - Ruth
Ruth finally crumbles when realising that her ‘possible’ life is not real.
Ruth is confronted by her own mortality, where she has previously been in denial
Chapter 23 - I just waited a bit…
“I just waited a bit, then turned back to the car, to drive off to wherever it was I was supposed to be” - Kathy
Ambiguity of “wherever I was supposed to be” shows how Kathy is lost without her relationships
Her life was built on the relationships formed at Hailsham
all she had ever known
Chapter 22 - I saw a little girl
“I saw a little girl… holding to her breast the old kind world… pleading never let her go” - Madame
motif of “never letting go”
emotional image of pleading
Dealing with the fear of inevitable loss
Mourning the fact that these children are effectively sacrificed for science
Chapter 22 - No Tommy…
“No Tommy. There’s nothing like that. Your life must now run the course that’s been set for it” - Miss Emily
Tone of bluntness
shows that there is no future for these children other than what they were made for
lives are set out for them
And we stood together
And we stood together, like that… just holding each other while the wind kept blowing… tugging our clothes
