Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
English 4 CP1 & CP2
Guided Reading Questions
DIRECTIONS: You are NOT required to complete the reading guide. However, the assessment you will take on the novel is an open-note/open-book assessment. If you complete these questions, you will be permitted to use them to help you complete the test.
Part 1: Chapters 1–5Chapter Questions1. Pay close attention to the beginning of the novel.

• What feeling or mood do the opening pages create?
  
• What does the opening tell readers about how the story is being told?
  
• Why do you think the author chose to tell the story this way?
  
• Who do you think Kathy is speaking to?
  

2. Tommy

• Describe Tommy’s personality.
  
• Use examples from Chapters 1–5 to support your ideas.
  
• Why do you think Tommy gets upset so easily?
  
• How does he begin to change in these chapters?
  
• What clues suggest he may care about Kathy?
  

3. Ruth

• Describe Ruth’s personality.
  
• Use examples from the text to support your ideas.
  
• How does Ruth interact with other people?
  
• Why do you think she behaves the way she does?
  

4. Kathy

• Describe Kathy’s personality.
  
• Explain her relationships with Ruth and Tommy.
  
• Use examples from the text to support your ideas.
  
• Why does Kathy stay loyal to Ruth? What does that show about her character?
  
• What clues suggest Kathy may have feelings for Tommy?
  

5. Kathy as the Narrator

• What makes Kathy an effective storyteller?
  
• Use evidence from the text to support your answer.
  
• Why do you think Ishiguro chose Kathy to tell the story?
  
• How does her personality affect what readers learn?
  
• Why is using memories and flashbacks an effective way to tell this story?
  

6. Setting: Hailsham

• Describe Hailsham.
  
• What is daily life like for the students there?
  
• How is their experience different from that of most children?
  

7. The World Beyond Hailsham

• What do readers learn about the outside world?
  
• What do we learn about the students’ lives and backgrounds?
  
• What questions or mysteries begin to develop?
  

8. Madame

• What do Kathy, Ruth, and the other students believe about Madame’s feelings toward them?
  
• Why do you think she reacts this way?
  

9. Secret Guards & Miss Geraldine

• Why do you think the students create the idea of the “secret guards”?
  
• Why do they imagine a plot against Miss Geraldine?
  
• What might these ideas reveal about how the students think and feel?
  

Chapters 1–5 Review10. Symbols

• What objects, events, or ideas in these chapters seem important beyond their literal meaning?
  
• Explain what you think they represent and support your ideas with evidence.
  

Part 1: Chapters 6–9Chapter Questions1. Norfolk

• Norfolk is described as a special place in the novel.
  
• What do you think Norfolk represents? Explain your thinking.
  

2. The Song “Never Let Me Go”

• Why is this song emotionally important in the novel?
  
• What themes or ideas does it connect to?
  
• Why do you think Ishiguro chose this title?
  

3. Madame and Miss Lucy

• Why do you think Madame reacts so strongly when she sees Kathy singing?
  
• Why does Miss Lucy become upset by the children pretending to be electrocuted?
  
• What might be the meaning of Miss Lucy crossing out students’ writing?
  

4. Skeleton Lessons

• Why do you think the students learn about sex using skeletons?
  
• How does this connect to larger ideas in the novel?
  

5. Jokes About Donations

• Why do the students joke about “unzipping” themselves to donate?
  
• What do these jokes reveal about how they deal with difficult truths?
  

Chapters 6–9 Review6. Learning About Their Futures

• What events cause Kathy, Tommy, and others to question their future as donors?
  
• What does Tommy mean when he says they were “told and not told”?
  
• What does this suggest about human nature?
  

7. Foreshadowing

• Find examples of foreshadowing in these chapters.
  
• Explain how they hint at future events.
  

8. Kathy as a Narrator

• What evidence shows Kathy is trustworthy and honest when telling the story?
  

9. Kathy and Tommy

• How does Kathy’s relationship with Tommy develop?
  
• Why is Kathy upset by Tommy pretending to be happy?
  
• Why might she avoid looking at him during their conversation?
  
• What do the silences between them suggest?
  

10. Clones and Donations

• What new information do readers learn about clones and donations?
  

11. Life at Hailsham

• What parts of life at Hailsham seem unusual or unnatural?
  

Part 2: Chapters 10–13Chapter 101. Essays

• Why do you think students are asked to write essays?
  
• How does Kathy feel about her unfinished essay?
  
• Why does she continue thinking about finishing it?
  

2. The Cottages

• Why is the setting of the Cottages meaningful?
  
• How does Keffers treat the students?
  
• Why do you think he acts this way?
  

3. Television

• What role does television play in life at the Cottages?
  

Chapter 114. Growing Up

• In what ways do the students begin acting more like adults?
  

5. “The Two Ruths”

• What does Kathy mean by “the two Ruths”?
  
• What does Kathy realize about Ruth’s behavior?
  
• How does this change Kathy’s attitude?
  

6. Keffers

• What mixed feelings does Keffers seem to have about the students?
  
• What larger idea might he represent?
  

7. Kathy and the Magazines

• Why do you think Kathy looks through the magazines?
  

8. Leaving the Cottages

• Why do students avoid talking about people who have already left?
  
• What does this reveal about how they think about the future?
  

Chapter 129. Possibles

• What do readers learn about clones in this chapter?
  
• Why are students interested in finding their “possible”?
  
• How might knowing their originals live normal lives affect them emotionally?
  

10. Ruth’s Dream Future

• What future does Ruth imagine for herself?
  
• Why does it fit her personality?
  
• Why do dream futures matter to the students?
  

Chapter 1311. Ruth’s Behavior

• Describe Ruth’s actions in this chapter.
  
• How does Kathy respond?
  
• Why do you think Ruth acts differently around Chrissie and Rodney?​
  

Part 2: Chapters 14–17Chapter 141. Ruth’s Disappointment

• How does Ruth react after learning about her possible?
  
• Why does Kathy respond so strongly?
  

Chapter 152. Norfolk and the Tape

• What does Kathy and Tommy’s trip suggest about the meaning of Norfolk and the tape?
  
• Why doesn’t Kathy tell Ruth?
  

3. Tommy’s Theory

• What is Tommy’s theory about the Gallery?
  
• What evidence supports it?
  
• Why is it ironic when Tommy says no one is in a hurry?
  

4. The Missing Tape

• What do you think happened to Kathy’s tape? Use evidence.
  

5. Kathy’s Search

• What more do readers learn about Kathy’s interest in the magazines?
  

Chapter 166. Tommy’s Drawings

• What might Tommy’s animals represent?
  
• Why does Kathy struggle to compliment them?
  

7. Ruth’s Behavior

• Why does Ruth act like she forgets Hailsham?
  
• How does she get back at Kathy?
  
• Why doesn’t Kathy respond?
  
• Why does Tommy look at Kathy differently?
  

Chapter 178. Drifting Apart

• What causes the Hailsham students to become less connected?
  

9. Ruth and Kathy

• Why does Ruth tell Kathy that Tommy would never like her?
  
• How does this affect Kathy?
  

Chapters 14–17 Review10. Foreshadowing

• What hints suggest what may happen between Kathy and Tommy later?
  

11. Becoming Carers

• Why do students choose to become carers instead of staying at the Cottages?
  

Part 3: Chapters 18–23Chapter 181. Kathy as a Carer

• What qualities make Kathy good at caring for others?
  

2. Kathy and Laura

• Why does Kathy avoid speaking to Laura at first?
  
• How does this conversation make Kathy seem trustworthy?
  

3. Hailsham Closing

• Why is Kathy so upset about Hailsham closing?
  
• What does Hailsham represent to her?
  

4. Caring for Ruth

• Why does Kathy decide to care for Ruth?
  
• What themes does this choice connect to?
  

5. The Boat

• Why are the characters so interested in the stranded boat?
  

Chapter 196. Kingsfield

• What might Kingsfield represent?
  
• Why is its name ironic?
  

7. The Boat and Marshes

• What could the stranded boat symbolize?
  
• How do the characters react?
  

8. Contradictions

• What conflicting feelings do clones seem to have about their futures?
  

9. Ruth’s Gift

• Why does Ruth encourage Kathy and Tommy?
  
• Why is this surprising?
  

10. Ruth’s Growth

• How has Ruth changed?
  

Chapter 2011. Kathy and Tommy

• What emotions shape their relationship?
  
• How do they deal with those feelings?
  

Chapters 18–20 Review12. Accepting Their Fate

• What methods are used to make clones accept their lives?
  
• Consider language, routines, and separation from others.
  

Chapters 21–231. Madame and Miss Emily’s House

• The house may represent society’s thinking about clones.
  
• Choose details from the chapter and explain what they might symbolize.
  

2. Madame vs. Miss Emily

• Compare their beliefs and attitudes.
  

3. Society’s View of Clones

• How does society justify using clones?
  
• What historical connections can you make?
  

4. The Idea of a Soul

• What does “soul” mean in this chapter?
  
• Why does art matter?
  

5. Keeping Students Uninformed

• Why did adults keep students from fully understanding their future?
  
• Was this right or wrong?
  

6. Tommy’s Scream

• Why does Tommy scream?
  
• What does this moment reveal?
  

7. Tommy’s Drawings

• How does Tommy feel about his drawings at the end?
  

8. Growing Distance

• Why does Tommy become more distant?
  

9. Facing the Fourth Donation

• How do clones cope with fear?
  

10. The River

• What does the river symbolize?
  

11. Kathy and Tommy’s Ending

• Why is their goodbye quiet rather than dramatic?
  
• What gives Kathy comfort?
  

12. Final Setting

• What might the empty fields symbolize?
  

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