The four covers of Never
Let Me Go are similar in that each cover portrays a sense of solitude.
In the first cover, solitude is presented with the blonde
woman sitting alone in a forest. Her head is turned to her left and she is
staring intently at the ground. It seems like she is remembering past memories
which is similar to the main character of the novel, Kathy.
The second cover has a blurry image of a woman. The woman
appears to be dancing by herself, which could be why the image of the woman
appears blurry. The third cover presents solitude in nature. There is one boat
on an empty lake. Also, the muted, neutral colors used further emphasize
solitude. The final book cover shows the torso of a human body and a faded
picture of trees in the background.
One difference that stands out is that each of the covers uses
different colors to create contrasting moods. For example, vibrant colors such
as blue and yellow are used on the second book cover and those colors signify
joy and youth, while a poignant mood is created from the dark blues used in the
last cover.
This cover illustrates the reality of the clones at Hailsham. In the text, Miss Lucy is one of the few guardians that disagree with the way Hailsham is run. In fact, she continuously tells the students the truth about who they really are. An example of this is when Miss Lucy tells the students that they are “special. So keeping yourselves well, keeping yourselves very healthy inside, that's much more important for each of you than it is for me” (Ishiguro 68-69). Miss Lucy emphasizes the importance of good health for the clones because once they graduate from the Cottages, they become donors. The students are not completely aware that becoming donors is their only fate, however with Miss Lucy’s statement, they are given a glimpse of their reality as clones.
I liked your analysis of the first cover and I agree that this is Kathy. But I am wondering if this is Kathy when she is in Hailsham or when she was older. But I like how you see this cover as Kathy's point of view. ALso I agree how the covers set a different mood because of their colors. I think these book covers focus on different themes or parts of the book. The fourth one focuses on the scientific part whereas the second one shows Kathy dancing, which represents her childhood at Hailsham.
ReplyDeleteI like that you talked about how the different colors of each book cover give them different moods. I think the first two covers represent the joy and innocence of childhood, just like you said, while the last two convey the sinister mood that comes with what the students of Hailsham learn about their fate. The last one kind of reminds me of how I picture the setting of Jekyll and Hyde looking like at night. I also like what you said about the last cover representing the reality of the clones. However, I would even further to say that the fact that the torso is made out of barbed wire signifies that the requirement for the students to keep their body healthy is like being in a prison. There's no way they can escape from their fate that they are to donate their organs once they graduate from the cottages. Overall, I thought your analysis was very well thought out.
ReplyDeleteYour overall impressions on the four covers could be more descriptive, like with the first one where you talk about a theme found in the cover, whereas the last one you just give a general description. I think the fact you contrasted the colors is good and your interpretations of them give us a good idea of the theme of the cover.
ReplyDeleteI think you should analyze the big picture a bit more for the two covers you chose but I also think it was good that you included a quote in one of your analyses.