Covers, covers, oh my!

I thought it was time to switch it up. I needed some color on my blog.

The First Cover (top left)
- This cover features a girl who looks like a princess, sitting in a bright, sunny field. It is very bright and cheerful, which correlates to Ishiguro's statement of Never Let Me Go being his most cheerful novel. The irony of this cover is that although the cover is very colorful and happy, the story line is very dull and sad. This cover has the ultimate purpose of portraying the positive side of Never Let Me Go.

The Second Cover (top right)
- The first thing that caught my eye was the boat drifting among a marsh area in the fog, similar to a major scene in the book where Tommy, Ruth, and Kathy come to a revelation. At this point, Ruth has gone through donations and is getting close to completion. This is a major change in the book due to the fact that up until this point, Ruth has kept Tommy and Kathy apart and controlled a majority of their lives. She is finally letting go of her grasp and accepting what is going to happen. The cover portrays this very well. The background is very gloomy but you can see the brightness is coming through which is a symbol for the change occurring. Ruth is drawing near her death, yet there is a chance for Kathy and Tommy to be together at last.

The Third Cover (bottom left)
- This cover of Never Let Me Go clearly portrays the human organs. This representation of the organs inside of a human being foreshadow to the overall purpose of the characters in the book. The intention of this cover is to present the eeriness of the fate of the children in the book before the reader even flips the page. The vague darkness behind the outline of the human body and it's organs only further depicts the concept of their ultimate fate, which I found very interesting.

The Fourth Cover (bottom right)
-  The young girl dancing on this last cover is my favorite. This cover depicts the scene of Kathy dancing to her tape and singing over and over again "Baby, never let me go". Kathy is then interrupted by Madame who stops at the doorway abruptly and begins to sob. This is one of the first times Kathy has seen Madame show emotion in any way and is a huge revelation to the idea that the individuals running Hailsham feel guilty for what they are doing. This image also connects to the concept of the clones not having a real purpose in life and having hopes and dreams that will inevitably let them down. 

The texts all portray very dominant motifs and themes throughout the text that end of shaping the text. The dreams and aspirations are shown throughout all four covers regarding hopes of having a family, deferrals, and ultimately, a real life.

Q: What kinds of people would make this book, and what kinds of people would read it?  (cover  #3)
In my opinion, someone who steps outside of societal norms and considers concepts in a different scope than other people would both read and write this book. Never Let Me Go investigates literary concepts such as appearance versus reality, mystery, and juxtaposing purpose while incorporating in a societal advancement: cloning. This cover displays a dull background with the outline of human organs, foreshadowing the overall story line of clones being used for organ donations to save the surrounding society. People who would be into this kind of story would be into exterior advancements that are not common to society.

Q: What are the first words that come into your mind when you see this image? What does it make you think of? (Cover 4)
At first glance this cover looks as if a happy, easy going story is inside. The thoughts that come into my mind when I see the image of the young girl swaying in circles on the cover is the thought of Kathy dancing in her room to her favorite CD. She is so innocent, yet is learning of her fate. She dances as if she is holding a baby of her own and comments on how it makes her feel like a mother holding a baby of her own. This cover makes me think of the infertility of the children at Hailsham due to the fact that they are clones and how this sort of does not reconcile with them. Throughout the book, the infertility is never really commented on as a sad thing, rather an irrelevant topic.


Comments 
Anne Ross- Great job analyzing the covers while also providing your personal opinion! I always love reading your blog posts! Super interesting! It made me think so differently!
Sophie- GO SOPH! you really are quite the blogger. Thank you for interesting me so much in your writing. that sounds weird. You did a great job interpreting the book for its purpose and Ishiguro's tactics.d