2023 Comparative Essay – Never Let Me Go/Things We Didn’t See Coming

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Section B Exam Revision

Compare the ways in which humanity is compromised by external forces.

(Note that at almost 2000 words this essay is way too long)

Kazuo Ishiguro’s dystopian text ‘Never Let Me Go’ reveals how the certainty of a finite future can be a source of unification, bringing together childhood friends Kathy H, Tommy and Ruth.  Depicting a seemingly idyllic North England setting that conceals a more sinister reality where clones, designated for organ donation, are imprisoned, Ishiguro confirms the idea that hope can help safeguard humanity.  Interestingly, the chaos of a post-apocalyptic new world order poses similar challenges for an unnamed protagonist and the people he encounters in Amsterdam’s collection of vignettes ‘Things We Didn’t See Coming’.  Abandoning hope, a survivalist mentality exposes the adaptability of a protagonist who forfeits his faith in relationships and his belief in human goodness, adjusting to conditions where violence is normalised and betrayal commonplace.  Justifying theft as a response to a new paradigm, unpredictability leads to the destruction of humanity. Whilst Amsterdam tracks the moral decline of a protagonist subjected to an ever-changing world,  Ishiguro examines how Kathy H. and Tommy respond to the truth that their “lives are set out” for them.  Work too, becomes a means by which Kathy demonstrates her humanity; validating service as worthwhile, the pride she takes in her job suggests that in the absence of human agency, people can still find hope and meaning. Cynically, Amsterdam entertains the notion that relationships are a necessary casualty of an uncertain world.   In both texts, it seems, the concomitant connection between hope and humanity is evident. Ambivalent about whether hoping for the impossible is helpful or harmful Ishiguro demonstrates its destructive and restorative potential, whilst Amsterdam critiques the ways individuals struggle to maintain their moral integrity in times of crisis, presenting a bleak view of human nature. Despite this, the final chapter offers a modicum of hope, suggesting that people can change when the conditions for redemption are right.