Cloning as Depicted in Never Let Me Go Essay Example
Cloning as Depicted in Never Let Me Go Essay Example

Cloning as Depicted in Never Let Me Go Essay Example

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  • Pages: 4 (947 words)
  • Published: April 16, 2022
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Never Let Me Go is a science fiction novel by Kazuo Ishiguro that tells the story of different conflicting moral authority and models that are depicted through the attributes that are cited by characters in the novel. The narrator who is the main character Kathy tells the story of the lives of the clones who were being prepared to act as donors in their lives. It is an intriguing novel that encompasses the different failures and aspects that are identifiable through the struggles of the clones through the novel. The clones have a responsibility to donate their organs however; they also have similar needs and attributes that are similar to those of the humans. According to the pluralist approach to moral theory, virtue ethics and deontology are among the attributes that are listed. There is a moral

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authority against using the people’s organs against their will since most of these clones depict human qualities. However, the clones are made for the sole purpose of giving up their organs. This raises the issue of virtue ethics and deontology against each other. This paper aims at assessing the depiction of cloning in the novel and the different aspects of moral theory that can be defined from the models defined.

Never Let Me Go tells the story of Kathy and her friends Ruth and Tommy. The three are fascinated with the world and live a normal life until their purpose in life is revealed. Their purpose in life is to donate their organs once they were of age to other people and after one had all the important organs harvested they were considered “completed”footnoteRef:1. It is a story of

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intrigue as the three look for the best approach that they could use to live longer in a life that they cherished dearly. The care given to the clones after some of their organs were harvested was no consolation since they knew that their life would end in imminent deathfootnoteRef:2. 1: Ishiguro, Kazuo. Never let me go. Ernst Klett Sprachen, 2012. 2: Ishiguro, Kazuo. Never let me go. Ernst Klett Sprachen, 2012.

The author has put the moral authority of cloning into question assessing how it affected the lives of the three characters in the novel. Ruth is a cunning and manipulative girl a factor that has been used by the author to illustrate the human nature of the clones. The clones are human since they have the same feelings and are driven by the same qualities that drive humans. It therefore, raises the question of virtue ethics under the moral theory of why humans would be deprived of their rights after depicting their human naturefootnoteRef:3. It is an important assessment as the author looks to illustrate the flaws of cloning individuals only to kill them after harvesting their organs. One of the characters in the book is Madame whom Kathy notes that she used to collect art from them each year. The art was one of the ways that Madame used to depict the clones as humans as was later revealed.

The author is critical of the treatment that the clones are given in the school only to be killed in the end. They are allowed to love and live a normal life only for these aspects to be taken away at the end. This raises the moral

question of where the moral authority of cloning in the society is if the individuals are not to be treated as humans. The virtue ethics that have been developed and addressed under this model are critical in giving the individual the best tools and models that are critical in deriving the best structures and models accordinglyfootnoteRef:4. There are changes that can be assessed and these are critical in giving a chance to individuals to gain perspective and enjoy their lives since they are exposed to the same conditions and feelings as humans in the society. 3: Hinman, Lawrence. Ethics: A pluralistic approach to moral theory. Nelson Education, 2012. 4: Vaughn, Lewis. Doing ethics: Moral reasoning and contemporary issues. WW Norton & Company, 2015.

On the other hand, under moral theory in the pluralistic approach there is deontology that highlights the importance of duties or roles within the society. Deontology is concerned with the fulfillment of moral codes and aspects that individuals have been given in the societyfootnoteRef:5. The clones had a responsibility and duty to give people their organs once they had reached the required age. Most of the clones according to the author were aware of their duties and were willing to give up their organs. The duty of the clones was fulfilling a single purpose in their lives, an aspect that they met accordingly with the models that they used while in the school. They were connected and developed a single model that was critical in giving the individuals the best host and good life. Clones therefore, had a responsibility to fulfill as were the guardians who were tasked with different roles in the school. The

guardians fulfilled their roles impeccably and derived the best models that could be used to give the individuals the best environment for growth. 5: Hinman, Lawrence. Ethics: A pluralistic approach to moral theory. Nelson Education, 2012.

In conclusion, the author leaves the audience split between the importance of cloning to the society as a duty or a moral decadence that robs the clones of their lives. However, depending on the assessment that one makes it is important to highlight the importance of moral theory in the approaches taken.

Bibliography

  1. Hinman, Lawrence. Ethics: A pluralistic approach to moral theory. Nelson Education, 2012.
  2. Ishiguro, Kazuo. Never let me go. Ernst Klett Sprachen, 2012.
  3. Vaughn, Lewis. Doing ethics: Moral reasoning and contemporary issues. WW Norton & Company, 2015.
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