Never Let Me Go - Understanding the Text

Understanding a text is not always easy! Authors convey meaning in many ways and very rarely state what they mean directly. Instead, they use character, setting, plot, theme and dialog to show the reader what they want to convey. Readers must pay close attention and try to understand a text as they go along. Sometimes it’s necessary to reread certain sections, especially if a later turn of events shows that you might have missed something. If so, don’t worry. This shows how thoroughly engaged in the text you actually are!

Comprehension works on many different levels simultaneously. Ensure you understand how the context and setting relates to events and how events are related to each other. It can be helpful to create a timeline of events. Remember, though, that events are not always revealed in the order in which they occur chronologically.

Think about the motivation behind characters’ actions. Are there clues in the text which explain their behavior? Should their words be trusted at face value, or should you look more closely at the subtext? Do characters’ words always match their actions and their beliefs? In light of the evidence, consider why or why not.

It can also be very productive to analyze beginnings and endings. Why does the text begin where it does? How do you know about previous events? Is there a distance between the narrator and the time when the events he or she relates took place? Are future events foreshadowed? How? Individual chapters can be analyzed in the same way: think about the significance of their beginnings and endings. All of this analysis will really improve your knowledge and understanding of the text!

Read the questions below on Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and test your knowledge and understanding of the text.