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How do the connections between Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth evolve over their time apart and following their reunion?

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The Inevitability of Time - Throughout the novel desires to go back to the past, look at the future, and extend the present are expressed. However, the time only moves in one direction and the characters must endure the hardships that come along in their dystopian world, even though they try desperately to cling onto memories, or pray for an optimistic outcome of the future. We can only control what's happening in the present: nothing more, nothing less.

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"I was thinking about back then, at Hailsham, when you used to go bonkers like that, and we couldn’t understand it. We couldn’t understand how you could ever get like that. . . . I was thinking maybe the reason you used to get like that was because at some level you always knew.. . . That’s a funny idea. Maybe I did know, somewhere deep down. Something the rest of you didn’t."

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"'We took away your art because we thought it would reveal your souls. Or to put it more finely, we did it to prove that you had souls at all.'" (Ishiguro, 201) This quote from chapter 22 is my favorite because it was one of the most surprising twists of the novel. It confirmed that Hailsham was indeed an experiment targeted at making the organ donation program more humane. What was even more surprising was that the public turned against the concept after the scandal, and proved that they showed indifference towards the clones even though they were saving lives.

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Memory - Over the course of the entire novel, we see just how powerful memory is. The whole story is based on Kathy reminiscing on her past to preserve her memories at with Ruth and Tommy. Looking back and holding onto these moments help her cope with her hardships.

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The Inevitability of Loss-the rumor about the deferral most clearly shows how death is inevitable-even their most optimistic idea of a deferral is just an extension of life. But, this desire represents the broader want of more time before death.

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“And so we stood together like that, at the top of that field, for what seemed like ages, not saying anything, just holding each other, while the wind kept blowing and blowing at us, tugging our clothes, and for a moment, it seemed like we were holding onto each other because that was the only way to stop us being swept away into the night.” This quote is from chapter 22, when Kathy consoles Tommy after he starts raging. This is my favorite quote because the symbolism of the wind and not letting each other go are very poignant and also that it ties in motifs from the beginning while giving us a sense of why the title is what it is.

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The Meaning of Life - When Kathy and Tommy find out that the deferrals are not real, they begin to question their purpose in life. What, then, was the point of all their efforts to try and get a deferral? Miss Emily argues that they have made the most of their lives, and have become great people. It still, however, raises the question of why they are alive and what their purpose is.

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"The fantasy never got beyond that-I didn't let it-and though the tears rolled down my face, I wasn't sobbing or out of control, I just waited a bit, then turned back to the car, to drive off to wherever it was I was supposed to be." This is my favorite quote because it serves as a profound way to end the novel, leaving readers sad as to how things ended up. This also ties back to the beginning of the novel, when Kathy sees places that remind her of Hailsham; now, she tries to subdue her imaginations of Tommy.

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The Persistence of Childhood Connections. At the end of the novel, several feelings and habits established back in Hailsham continue even as Ruth, Tommy, and Kathy approach the end of their lives together. Since their initial encounter on the soccer field, Tommy and Kathy have always been closer to each other than to Ruth, though the Cottages limited their interactions significantly. Now Ruth has passed, leaving Tommy and Kathy to, in a sense, consummate their otherwise platonic relationship. Their final road trip together to the boat is reminiscent of their trip to Norfolk all those years ago, with Ruth being the outlier of the three.

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"The way it is, it's like there's a line with us on one side and Ruth on the other, and when all's said and done, I feel sad about that, and I think she would too if she could see it." This is my favorite quote because it solidifies the feeling that was building between the three Hailsham students once they entered the Cottages and underwent a coming of age. Even once they've grown into adults, Ruth is still somewhat distant from Kathy and Tommy, and that feeling sticks with them beyond Ruth's passing. In addition to establishing a gap from Ruth, it also emphasizes a closeness between the other two that is fulfilled in the final chapters.