How does Ishiguro characterize Tommy, and to what end?
In Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel, Tommy is a character who struggles to fit into Hailsham. As he finds a vocabulary to express some of his difficulties, he begins to understand how he can belong to this community in particular and, by extension, to any community. Through his changing relationships, first problematically growing closer to Ruth and then later being deeply involved with Kathy, he extends himself into genuine emotional relationships. The love that he and Kathy share as they move to the Cottages joins them into a family.
The contrast between Tommy’s and Kathy’s personalities rounds out the novel. Kathy seems more level-headed—although this may be only because her perspective is presented—and balances Tommy’s impulsive, rash behavior. By the time Tommy fully understands what his destiny has been all along, he is disheartened by having been so horribly cheated of a future, but he is no longer the rebellious child. In this regard, Tommy seems to stand for the evolution of the society in which they all live, as everyone has come to accept the clones’s sacrifices that enable the originals’s survival. But his growth and maturing, especially his evolving love for Kathy, bring home the point that the clones are fully human as well.
Tommy is characterized as a loner, despite the fact that he eventually becomes friends with Kathy and dates Ruth. His tendency as a youngster at Hailsham to give in to his emotions and to throw tantrums makes him different from the rest of the students, Kathy explains. As well, Ruth describes Tommy as a boy who is often left out of group activities and mocked for being different, and she even goes as far as to say Tommy isn't a real Hailsham student. All of these details give the reader the sense that Tommy is a bit of an outcast, which makes his sense of belonging that comes along later in the book when he becomes a donor all the more poignant. Ironically, in order for Tommy to be included and to feel like a part of a bigger community, he must give up his organs, the parts of him that make him alive.
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