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Literature: High School: 9th and 10th Grade Quiz - Never Let Me Go - Setting (Questions)

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This high school English Literature quiz looks at the setting in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go. The setting of a work of fiction includes its location and the time in which the events take place. Context, such as those events which occur in the background, providing the text’s wider fictional world, is also a key component of its setting. Atmosphere, too, plays an important role in establishing setting.

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It is important to spend some time considering the setting of any text you study. The world in which the characters live impacts the decisions which they make over the course of the plot. The effect of political or social events on characters can usually be seen in their reported thoughts, behavior and dialog.

In Never Let Me Go, scientific development and the use of cloning to provide human organs for transplant creates the context for the constricted lives of Kathy, Tommy, Ruth and the other Hailsham clones. We do not see many of the clones who were located at other sites as children, although Kathy occasionally reports on her interactions with them. Although the world in which this text is located is imaginary, it also feels very real. How is this sense of reality created and how does it affect the reader’s understanding of the text?

Geographical setting can include country, environment, the buildings where events occur, and even the weather. Do all the events occur in the same place? Do characters travel, or arrive from elsewhere? How does the interaction of characters with their environment create meaning in the text?

It can also be useful to think about when the text is set and if that differs from the time it is written. Find out why an author might choose to set a text in the past, present or future. Does this change our understanding of the story?

Answer the questions below on setting in Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro.

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1. Never Let Me Go is set in which country?
[ ] Ireland
[ ] England
[ ] Australia
[ ] Canada
2. When is the novel set?
[ ] In an unspecified future time
[ ] Between the 1930s and 1950s
[ ] In the 1990s, also retelling events taking place in the 1940s and 1950s
[ ] In the 1990s, also retelling events taking place in the 1970s and 1980s
3. Kathy spends much of her time in which of the following places?
[ ] On expressways
[ ] In recovery centers
[ ] In service stations
[ ] All of the above
4. What is Hailsham?
[ ] A boarding school
[ ] Cottages where donors make the transition to adulthood
[ ] A recovery center
[ ] A hospital
5. Which of the following best describes the mood at the beginning of the novel?
[ ] Jolly
[ ] Sorrowful
[ ] Weary
[ ] Bright
6. What prompts the turn to a more nostalgic mood in the first chapter?
[ ] Kathy receives a letter from Miss Emily
[ ] Kathy receives a letter from Ruth
[ ] Kathy cares for a donor who is envious of her time in Hailsham
[ ] Kathy spots Hailsham on one of her long drives
7. Kathy indulges in her memories while driving. Which of the following best describes the landscape through which she drives?
[ ] Bustling
[ ] Empty
[ ] Over-crowded
[ ] Post-apocalyptic
8. Which of the following does NOT describe Kingsfield, Tommy's recovery center?
[ ] Unfriendly
[ ] Uncomfortable
[ ] Dismal
[ ] Dirty
9. How does Kingsfield become "precious" to Kathy?
[ ] Kathy becomes fond of places easily
[ ] Kathy's relationship with Tommy makes Kingsfield precious to her
[ ] Kathy decides that she wishes to begin her donations in Kingsfield
[ ] All of the above
10. What is represented by the woods with which Hailsham is surrounded?
[ ] The lack of success of the donation program
[ ] The hatred which the Guardians of Hailsham have for their students
[ ] The illegality of the cloning program
[ ] The hostility of the outer world to the clones
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Literature: High School: 9th and 10th Grade Quiz - Never Let Me Go - Setting (Answers)
1. Never Let Me Go is set in which country?
[ ] Ireland
[x] England
[ ] Australia
[ ] Canada
Locations mentioned in the text include Dover, Norfolk, and Littlehampton
2. When is the novel set?
[ ] In an unspecified future time
[ ] Between the 1930s and 1950s
[ ] In the 1990s, also retelling events taking place in the 1940s and 1950s
[x] In the 1990s, also retelling events taking place in the 1970s and 1980s
Kathy narrates the novel from her present life in the 1990s, recalling events taking place throughout her childhood, teens and early adulthood in the 70s and 80s
3. Kathy spends much of her time in which of the following places?
[ ] On expressways
[ ] In recovery centers
[ ] In service stations
[x] All of the above
Kathy also frequently mentions her bedsit. Many of these places are lonely spots where Kathy can wander through her memories
4. What is Hailsham?
[x] A boarding school
[ ] Cottages where donors make the transition to adulthood
[ ] A recovery center
[ ] A hospital
Although it is not named as a school, Hailsham has students who practice sports and spend time learning. We, like Kathy, never discover the location of Hailsham
5. Which of the following best describes the mood at the beginning of the novel?
[ ] Jolly
[ ] Sorrowful
[x] Weary
[ ] Bright
Although beginning wearily, the text moves rapidly to a nostalgic tone
6. What prompts the turn to a more nostalgic mood in the first chapter?
[ ] Kathy receives a letter from Miss Emily
[ ] Kathy receives a letter from Ruth
[x] Kathy cares for a donor who is envious of her time in Hailsham
[ ] Kathy spots Hailsham on one of her long drives
The dying donor wishes to share Kathy's recollections of a seemingly-idyllic childhood in Hailsham
7. Kathy indulges in her memories while driving. Which of the following best describes the landscape through which she drives?
[ ] Bustling
[x] Empty
[ ] Over-crowded
[ ] Post-apocalyptic
Kathy's loneliness is emphasized by the manner in which she describes the landscape through which she passes. Even when she stops to investigate a place, perhaps because it seems familiar to her, she gives the impression that the place itself is abandoned
8. Which of the following does NOT describe Kingsfield, Tommy's recovery center?
[x] Unfriendly
[ ] Uncomfortable
[ ] Dismal
[ ] Dirty
The donors share a sense of community, gathering in the Square, but the environment shows a lack of care for the donors. Kathy contrasts this negatively with Ruth's recovery center
9. How does Kingsfield become "precious" to Kathy?
[ ] Kathy becomes fond of places easily
[x] Kathy's relationship with Tommy makes Kingsfield precious to her
[ ] Kathy decides that she wishes to begin her donations in Kingsfield
[ ] All of the above
Human relationships give meaning to Kathy's life; her memories of physical locations are infused with recollections of people important to her
10. What is represented by the woods with which Hailsham is surrounded?
[ ] The lack of success of the donation program
[ ] The hatred which the Guardians of Hailsham have for their students
[ ] The illegality of the cloning program
[x] The hostility of the outer world to the clones
The outer world's mistrust of clones represents a danger to the students