Themes — Humanity, Identity & the Soul

Never Let Me Go is, at its core, a novel about what it means to be human. Ishiguro uses the cloning premise to strip this question down to its essentials: if you create a being that thinks, feels, loves, and grieves, is it human? And if society decides it is not, what does that reveal about society? This lesson explores the interconnected themes of humanity, identity, and the soul.

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The Question of the Soul

The central thematic question of the novel is: do the clones have souls?

Hailsham's answer

Hailsham was founded on the premise that clones do have souls, and that art can prove it:

"We took away your art because we thought it would reveal your souls. Or to put it more finely, we did it to prove you had souls at all." — Miss Emily (Chapter 22)

The Gallery exists to collect the best student artwork and present it to the outside world as evidence that clones are capable of genuine creativity, imagination, and feeling.

Society's answer

Society does not want to know. Miss Emily explains: