# data[].attributes.body
What factors led to the changes seen in the relationships between Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy nearing the end of their stay at the Cottages?

# data[].attributes.body
Coming of Age - The relationship between the main characters Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth become more mature as the characters move on from Hailsham. There are big questions about what to do now in their adult lives, since they are not within the confinement of Hailsham anymore.

# data[].attributes.body
"We all know it. We’re modeled from trash. Junkies, prostitutes, winos, tramps. Convicts, maybe, just so long as they aren’t psychos. That’s what we come from. We all know it, so why don’t we say it?"
This quote is said by Ruth, and is meant to question their relationship with their original. It brings into focus the question of whether life is determined by fate or choices.

# data[].attributes.body
"Sometimes on the rare occasions she did lean back, I tried to get something going between the three of us, but Ruth wouldn't pick up on it, and before long, she'd be crouched forwards again, her face stuck between the two front seats" (Ishiguro 112-113). Although Ruth getting in the way seems like an insignificant detail, I think it serves as a great symbol of their relationship over the past several chapters. Not only does Ruth completely ignore the others to talk with the Veterans, but she also prevents Kathy and Tommy from interacting. This dynamic of being right next to each other yet completely isolated is something I've noticed a bit more these past few sections.

# data[].attributes.body
Moving On - We discussed in the previous section that the trio's transition from Hailsham to the Cottages represented their transition to adulthood. In these chapters, we see more of what that means for the relationship between Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth. Ruth's search for her possible represents her attitude towards her future, and this contrasts with Kathy and Tommy's search for the tape, representing their attempt to recover the past.

# data[].attributes.body
The theme that I came up with was really similar to the one Anthony chose about lack of identity and a desire to search for one's identity. I also used Ruth and her possible as an example but Anthony pretty much covered everything I would have said.

# data[].attributes.body
“If we’d left it at seeing the woman through the glass of her office, even if we’d followed her through the town then lost her, we could still have gone back to the Cottages excited and triumphant. But now, in that gallery, the woman was too close, much closer than we’d ever really wanted. And the more we heard and looked at her, the less she seemed like Ruth.”
This quote appears after the group had followed Ruth's possible to a gallery and found out that she did not look like Ruth. This is my favorite quote because it really demonstrates the optimism that they have and represents a turning point in this section.

# data[].attributes.body
Search for Identity - Ruth's attitude toward the trip to see her possible highlights her longing to find her identity. She is extremely upset when they almost have to cancel the trip and is also dissapointed when the woman they meet is not like her at all. She sees her possible as a hint as to who she is.

# data[].attributes.body
"Ruth and Chrissie followed, but Tommy didn't move. Only when Ruth stared at him did he say 'I'll stay with Kath. If we're splitting, then I'll stay with Kath.'" This is my favorite quote because it emphasizes Tommy and Kathy's close relationship with one another. Even though it had always been Ruth in an official relationship with Tommy, they never seemed to connect well. Tommy's decision to follow Kathy when the group split up reveals his true feelings toward her.

# data[].attributes.body
The Loss of Commonality
These chapters see a significant deterioration in the relationships between the Hailsham students, namely Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy. One large component of this gradual distancing is the loss of their strongest commonality: their Hailsham upbringing. Living in the Cottages shifts their demeanors away from that which they held at Hailsham, back when they were close friends. Ruth chooses to side with the veterans often, and Tommy is also kept away from Kathy as a result. All this prevents them from stoking their friendships by reminiscing about Hailsham, thereby whittling them down until they no longer desire each other's company.

# data[].attributes.body
"I thought about Hailsham closing, and how it was like someone coming along with a pair of shears and snipping the balloon strings just where they entwined above the man's fist. Once that happened, there'd be no real sense in which those balloons belonged with each other anymore." I enjoyed the analogy that Kathy forms between the Hailsham kids and the cluster of clown balloons, with the clown's hand representing Hailsham. Seeing as she noticed this parallel, Kathy must still have felt a certain connection both to Hailsham and all those like Ruth and Tommy that grew up there alongside her, even as they've since parted from the Cottages.