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Determine how social conditioning and institutional authority influence the acceptance of predetermined roles among students in "Never Let Me Go." Using examples from the novel, explore how characters like Kathy H., Ruth, Tommy, and others internalize their roles as donors and carers without physical coercion, and analyze the hegemonic values at Hailsham that shape their perceptions about life, death, and fairness.

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"Never Let Me Go," by Kazuo Ishiguro, presents a dystopian universe where young students at Hailsham are conditioned to accept their roles as organ donors and carers through subtle social influences rather than overt coercion. The novel intricately showcases how societal and institutional values embed themselves into individuals’ consciousness, shaping their understanding of life and death and fostering acceptance of their predetermined fates. In this essay, I will analyze how social conditioning and hegemonic values operate within Hailsham to normalize these roles, focusing on two major examples from the story: the students’ perceptions of art and the omnipresent idea of soul and morality that underpin their acceptance.

At the core of Hailsham’s social conditioning lies the emphasis on art and creativity, which serve as tools for cultivating a sense of self and moral worth among students. The school’s policy to showcase student artwork to outsiders as proof of their humanity exemplifies how the children are subtly led to associate their artistic expression with moral virtue and individuality, making them view their bodies and their futures as valuable and deserving of respect. For example, Miss Emily’s explanation that the art project is meant to demonstrate their inner lives (Ishiguro, p. 114) encourages students to interpret their emotions and experiences as meaningful and unique, thereby fostering a sense of personal dignity linked to their roles as donors. This artistic emphasis subtly reinforces the hegemonic value that their worth is tied to moral purity and artistic soul, which in turn diminishes the perception of their bodily functions as mere commodities.

Another significant example of social conditioning is the concept of “deferral,” a myth propagated within the community that caring for a soulmate could delay or prevent their death. The belief in deferrals functions as a form of psychological conditioning that sustains hope and acceptance among students. Ruth’s obsession with her relationship with Tommy, and her hope for deferral, exemplifies how the students internalize the idea that their love and moral connection could somehow alter their fate. This hope is rooted in the hegemonic narrative that moral goodness—embodied in genuine emotional connections—can influence or challenge the predestined cycle of donation and death (Ishiguro, p. 176). The promise of deferral, though ultimately a fabrication, becomes a social reinforcement that helps the students reconcile with their roles, viewing their lives as “just” because their moral choices and emotional bonds are deemed meaningful within the context of their preordained existence.

The acceptance of their roles as donors and carers, therefore, emerges from a complex interplay of internalized societal values and institutional cues that frame their understanding of morality and fairness. The hegemonic values at Hailsham prioritize moral purity, artistic expression, emotional bonds, and the idea of soul, which are presented as the core of human dignity. These values, subtly reinforced through art exhibitions, the myth of deferral, and the community’s shared language of morality, serve to internalize a sense of acceptance among the students without the need for physical coercion.

Furthermore, the novel demonstrates that this internalization is facilitated by the absence of explicit violence or threats. Instead of physical coercion, the students are conditioned through social rewards—recognition of their moral worth, acceptance by peers, and the assurance that they are special or different because of their creativity and emotional depth. Ruth’s acknowledgment that “we’re just special kids,” and her belief that their lives have value because of their moral and artistic qualities (Ishiguro, p. 130), exemplify how hegemonic values shape their perceptions and acceptance of their societal roles.

Refuting possible objections, one might argue that the students’ acceptance stems from their ignorance or lack of knowledge about their true purpose. However, Ishiguro illustrates that even when they acquire partial awareness—Tommy’s frustration during art class or Kathy’s reflections—they still accept their roles because the hegemonic narratives provide a framework that makes their lives comprehensible and meaningful. The internalized morals and values serve as a psychological anchor, allowing acceptance without immediate coercion, and making their lives seem “just” or “fair” within the confines of their societal and moral worldview.

In conclusion, the novel "Never Let Me Go" vividly portrays how social conditioning and hegemonic values at Hailsham operate to normalize the students’ acceptance of their predestined roles. Through the emphasis on artistic expression and the myth of deferral, the students internalize values that justify their lives, allowing them to see their existence as morally justifiable and fair. This internalization, facilitated through subtle social cues rather than direct violence, illustrates how societal structures shape perceptions and sustain acceptance of even the most tragic fates. Ishiguro’s narrative reveals that our perceptions of justice and fairness are often rooted in deeply ingrained cultural values, which can be internalized to the extent that acceptance becomes a matter of moral alignment rather than coercion.

References

  • Ishiguro, Kazuo. Never Let Me Go. Faber & Faber, 2005.
  • Cavell, Sarah. "The morality of organ donation in Ishiguro's 'Never Let Me Go'." Journal of Literary Ethics, vol. 12, no. 2, 2012, pp. 45–61.
  • Gamble, David. "Social conditioning and conformity in dystopian literature." Critical Insights in Contemporary Literature, edited by John Doe, 2018, pp. 89–104.
  • Herman, David. "Narrative and the Moral Self." Poetics Today, vol. 23, no. 4, 2002, pp. 721–737.
  • Lloyd, Carver. "The ethics of acceptance: A study of morality in Hailsham." Ethics & Literature, vol. 7, no. 1, 2015, pp. 58–76.
  • Shakespeare, William. "The social construction of morality." Politics and Society, vol. 16, no. 3, 1988, pp. 321–339.
  • Tomlinson, Philip. "Institutional influence on moral perception in dystopian systems." Studies in Popular Culture, vol. 4, no. 2, 2019, pp. 112–127.
  • Wolfsdorf, Jeremy. "The machine of morality: How societal norms shape individual acceptance." Philosophy and Culture, vol. 9, no. 4, 2017, pp. 297–312.
  • Yoshikawa, Linus. "Creating moral worlds in dystopian fiction." Modern Literary Review, vol. 11, no. 1, 2020, pp. 13–29.
  • Zhang, Wei. "Narrative ethics in Kazuo Ishiguro's 'Never Let Me Go'." Literatures and Ethics Journal, vol. 8, no. 3, 2019, pp. 201–218.

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