IvanOpinion answers “Can anyone explain me why didn't they all...”

Jamila Huseynova asked this question about Never Let Me Go:

Can anyone explain me why didn't they all run away from that place? Because I could not figure out that part.

IvanOpinion Most of the answers already given here are along the lines that the clones were so conditioned that it never occurred to them to try to avoid their in…moreMost of the answers already given here are along the lines that the clones were so conditioned that it never occurred to them to try to avoid their intended fate. I think this is certainly what the author intended, but for me he did not do enough to convince me that the conditioning was that strong.

The clones appear to have normal human psychology, as far as I could tell from how Kathy tells her tale. Except that they scarcely have any concerns that they are to be gradually, agonisingly slaughtered in order to improve the health of 'normal' humans. At most, they hope for a delay of a few years. I'm prepared to believe that you could brainwash a human to accept this, but I did not find it convincing that the upbringing described by Kathy could have achieved this.

Perhaps this was a problem with telling the story through Kathy. It would be hard for us to learn from her why she doesn't react to her fate the way we would react, because it does not occur to her that she is different in this way. Perhaps if we had seen things more from the perspective of Madame this could have been explained more? (less)

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