This GCSE English Literature quiz looks at themes in the novel Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Theme in a work of literature can be blindingly-obvious or appear as subtle suggestion. Themes connect setting, character, plot and dialogue and are communicated through concepts or ideas which arise in different parts of the text, often voiced in different ways by different characters. By paying attention to these related ideas, a reader can follow the development of a theme. When writing about themes, it can be useful to check whether your initial thoughts are the same as your thoughts at the end of a work. Has anything changed? If so, is it possible to pinpoint where your views on a key theme began to change?
Authors communicate with their readers through the themes of their texts. These are the ideas and issues which are raised in the text and which prompt readers to reconsider their own beliefs or ways of looking at the world. If a text makes you think, you are almost certainly engaging with one or more of its themes. Although your views might be similar to those of other readers, your response to a text will also be deeply personal because you will bring your own thoughts, beliefs and experiences into consideration of the text.
Never Let Me Go deals with themes of friendship, memory, freedom, the purpose of education, identity, utilitarianism, and what it means to be human. As in every text, these themes are interrelated. Although many of the themes are easily apparent, look out for subtlety and subtext in this novel. First impressions of an episode might not tell the full truth.
Read the questions below and test your knowledge of the themes of Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro.