Never let me go

• Children cannot leave Hailsham

• The only glimpses of the outside world come from pictures in Miss Emilys calendar

• Their fate as donors is predetermined  no choice of carrer paths

• No hugging or other pysical forms of love or sympathy

• Strict rules

• Being creative is the most important and cherished quality of a student -> clear demand for being creative

• Students know that they are not “normal” they scare people outside

• Children are given some form of medical investigation every week

• Building up a collection of personal possesions through Exchange

• Private conversations were rare (f.e. possible in a queue), lack of privacy

• Wodden chest with their name with personal things from sale or Exchange

• Sale was a big disappointment because most of the things were broken

• “normal” social life

• Normal relationships between students

• Privacy/having own bedrooms

• Activities -> laughing and playing together

• Exploring your surroundings -> travelling

• Carrying out hobbies/activities according to your personal interest

• Normal relationships with families

• Being friends/finding a group that you belong to

• Developing your own personality + interests

• Not being controlled all the time

1. No contact to the outside world

• Problem of adapting to a normal structure of a day

• Problems of developing a full and own personality

• Feeling of insecurity regarding what might wait for them outside Hailsham

• Higher risk of depression

• Filtered information by guardians: manipulation

1. Strict rules

• Risk of being dramatised/afraid for their whole lives

• Potential feeling of security: you know exactly, where your limits are

1. Recognition by achievements in sports and arts

• + motivation to be better than others  some sort of competition

• + personal belongings don’t matter  nobody can stand out/show off

• - putting lots of pressure on the children  preperation for any kind of future competition

• Only very few character of social skills in other fields of life

1. Very little physical contact

• Might lead to mental/social problems when interacting with others

• Problem of passing on love + emotions to others later on

• Replacing physical contact by talking a lot about it can also provide chances

• No strong bonds among the children can develop

• They cannot experience love at all  they don’t know what love is

• head guardian

• not particularly tall, but keeps herself very straight, head held up

• silvery hair tied back, talks in a quiet, deliberate voice

• intimidating – students are scared of her and respect her and her decisions

• seems to know where students are even if they try to hide from her

• students don’t want to disappoint herm want to please her

• always listens to the students, but unpredictable with punishments

• her authority makes Hailsham students feel safe and protected

• Physical weak: not the upright woman they knew, but in a wheelchair, dependent on others

• Remembers all her students: they were important for her

• Is proud of them, has kept track of Kathy

• Is attached to them, calls them “my dears”

• Together with madame she fought a desperate battle for the students with all her means, is committed because of this

• She always believed that the students had souls, was nevertheless terrified by them: she felt dislike, but surpressed it:

• She was determined not to let such feelings stop her doing what was right

• She feels she won

• The battle might be lost and her body broken, her spirit is not

• The children were right that it was Miss Emily who protected them at Hailsham

• Sports teacher

• Very fit

• Better at sports than most Hailsham students

• Very short black hair

• Doesn’t talk much to the younger students

• Lively

• Trustworthy, emotional, honest, helpful, kind

• has a low self-esteem  and quiet person

• Stands up for her friends and not for herself

• Strange relationship with her sexuality

• Careful observer

• outspoken, complex and difficult

• Has lied a lot in the past years

• Natural leader

• lacks artistic ability

• Struggles to control his temper

• Have souls

• Just waiting for their task: donation

• Wonder about their model

• See them as machines

• Ignore them

-  Regulates the donors