Characters

The main character in the novel Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro is Kathy H. Kathy is a 31-year-old carer who reflects on her past and the people closest to her, Ruth and Tommy. Ruth is Kathy’s best friend, and Kathy tries to come to terms with her complex personality and with their up and down relationship. Tommy is initially Ruth’s boyfriend, but seems to be in love with Kathy even when they are at school. The complex relationship between the main characters is one of the key elements of the novel.

Madame, Miss Emily, and Miss Lucy are also important characters as they help the reader find out the truth about the main characters and their purpose. Madame is a mysterious character who seems to fear the Hailsham students, even though he comes periodically to collect their art. Miss Emily is the head guardian at Hailsham. The students remember her as an authoritarian figure, although when Kathy sees her after Hailsham is closed, she has become an old woman in a wheelchair.

 Miss Lucy stands out because of her vocal doubts about the morality of Hailsham, since she believes the students should not be encouraged with false hopes. Chrissie and Rodney are a veteran couple from the Cottages. They befriend Ruth and try to get her to help them obtain a deferral and have their donations postponed for a few years.

Other characters include Miss Geraldine, the students’ favorite guardian, Keffers, who takes care of the Cottages and who mostly ignores Kathy and her friends, and Laura, one of Kathy’s closest friends at Hailsham. Ruth’s possible is also worth mentioning.