Arce 1

Griselda Arce
Professor Holly Batty
English 114 B
25 March 2014
Bioethics of the 21
st
Century in Neer !et Me Go
Never Let Me Go "y #a$uo %shiguro is a noel that &ortrays a dysto&ian society in the
1''0s( %n Never Let Me Go) the narrator) #athy) sho*s the reader her *orld *hen she "egins to
descri"e ho* her life is in Hailsha+( #athy) along *ith other "oys and girls are "eings that *ere
cloned for one &ur&ose) that &ur&ose is to harest organs for the ,original- &erson( %n Hailsha+)
carers *ere res&onsi"le for *atching after the "oys and girls of Hailsha+( Creatiity and a
healthy lifestyle *ere strongly enforced so that they *ere not easily influenced to do "ad choices
li.e s+o.ing( /his noel gies out a strong +essage to the reader a"out our conte+&orary
society and ho* it can "e co+&ro+ised in the future if no actions are ta.en to &reent un*anted
results( 0ur society has had great acco+&lish+ents and adances in the +edical field(
/reat+ents and cures hae "een found for hundreds of diseases *ith the constant atte+&ts to
create the "est +edications and &roducts for &eo&le( Ho*eer) the high e1&ectations that are held
for our +edical field can lead our conte+&orary society to &ut the life of ani+als and hu+ans at
ris.(
/he inclination to find alternatie +ethods to sae lies +ay not al*ays "e the "est
a&&roach for others and +ay not hae a &ositie outco+e as *ell( ,2es&ite their dissi+ilarities)
the !i"rary of Congress classifies "oth My Sister's Keeper and Never Let Me Go as its only
*or.s of fiction haing to do *ith hu+an organ donors(-34torro* 2556( Both noels are
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significant "ecause it sho*s the &ers&ectie of the donors and it &ortrays the "oundaries that
&eo&le are *illing to "rea. in order to heal those *ho suffer fro+ a disease 34torro* 2556(
4torro* &oints out that society should not go through the e1tre+ity of &utting other "eings in
danger in order to cure those *ho are sic.( Peo&le should not "e e1&osed to the &otential dangers
of creating ne* cures for diseases that +ay neer hae a definite solution( !aura) one of the
characters fro+ Never Let Me Go is an ideal e1a+&le of ho* the e1tre+e atte+&ts to sae lies
can affect others in a negatie *ay( , !aura laughed) and for a second a loo. ca+e into her eyes
that +ade +e thin. she *as finally going to co+e out *ith a crac.( But then the light died) and
she 7ust *ent on sitting there loo.ing tired(- 3%shiguro 2116( /his sho*s the .ind of effect that the
situation of haing to use the clone8s organs has on other &eo&le( !aura *as descri"ed as a
"u""ly &erson that had a ,+ischieous grin- 3%shiguro 20'6 and ,ineita"le *isecrac.- 3%shiguro
20'6( No* !aura is descri"ed as a gloo+y and de&ressed &erson "ecause of all the "ad things
that she has *itnessed *ith the donors that she has ta.en care of( Although !aura did not donate
any organs herself) she did *itness others go through a &rocedure that slo*ly deteriorated the+(
Never Let Me Go "y #a$uo %shiguro) in +y o&inion) uses the e1a+&le of cloning hu+ans
as a *ay to e+&hasi$e the &eril of co+&ro+ising the "ioethics of our conte+&orary society(
Although the scientists of our ti+e do not deal *ith hu+an cloning) they hae used ani+als as a
*ay to e1&eri+ent their scientific +ethods( 2olly the 4hee& is an ideal e1a+&le of ho* ani+als
are "eing used for e1&eri+ents( 4he *as the first ani+al that *as cloned fro+ an adult cell at the
9oslin %nstitute( 2olly *as "orn in 1'': "ut *as euthani$ed in 200; "ecause she suffered fro+
arthritis and shee& &ul+onary adeno+atosis *hich is a tu+or in the lung 3Cloning 2olly6( 2olly
*as &art of a research in *hich the scientists of 9oslin %nstitute *ere trying to incor&orate
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+edicines in the +il. of far+ ani+als 3Cloning 2olly6( 0ne e1a+&le that *as gien *as the
integration of the , "lood clotting agent factor %< to treat hae+o&hilia-3Cloning 2olly6) *hich is
a genetic disorder that &reents the hu+an "ody fro+ haing the a"ility to create coagulation(
Another e1a+&le that *as gien *as al&ha=1=antitry&sin *hich treats cystic fi"rosis) a disease
that affects the lungs 3Cloning 2olly6(
/o +ost &eo&le) ani+als +ay see+ li.e the ideal thing for the testing of +edications)
genetic alterations) and ne* &roducts( Ho*eer a&&lying these sort of testing to ani+als can
i+&ly +any co+&lications such as high rates of e+"ryonic and neonatal lethality( A neonatal
+ortality is a death that occurs *ithin the first 25 days of life( >or e1a+&le) during the creation
of 2olly the 4hee&) other atte+&ts hae "een +ade to clone +ulti&le shee&) ho*eer) they did
not surie +a.ing 2olly the only full ter+ &regnancy 3Cloning 2olly6( Genetic alterations in
ani+als also &uts the+ at ris. of death and +utation( 4cientists should "e +ore considerate of
ani+als and should sto& using the+ for scientific &ur&oses that only "enefit hu+ans( Aside fro+
e+"ryonic and neonatal lethality) ani+als can also suffer fro+ genetic +utation *hich can leae
the+ inca&acitated and *ould re?uire for so+eone one to *atch after it and tend to its needs(
>urther+ore) ani+als should not "e used as testing ite+s "ecause they are not al*ays relia"le(
0ne e1a+&le of *hy ani+al testing should sto& is "ecause they +ay not al*ays gie the results
that *e see. for( 4o+e cos+etic co+&anies use ani+als to test their &roducts for any allergic
reaction that can "e caused on a hu+an( An ani+al and a hu+an do not contain the sa+e ty&e of
s.in) therefore an ani+al +ay not get a reaction "ut a hu+an "eing can(
>or this reason) hu+ans should not "e cloned for scientific &ur&oses( !i.e the cloned
ani+als) hu+ans can run the ris. of haing a genetic +utation that can affect the+ &hysically
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and +entally( Not only do cloned hu+ans run the ris. of haing health issues "ut , it iolates a
&erson8s right to genetic indiiduality- 34aulescu 5@6( Cloned hu+ans *ould contain the e1act
2NA as the ,original &erson- therefore +a.ing the+ only a co&y of so+eone else( /hey don8t
hae their o*n distinct 2NA( Aside fro+ "eing denied their genetic indiiduality) ,Clones *ill
"e har+ed "y the fearful or &re7udicial attitudes &eo&le +ay hae a"out or to*ards the+-
3Burley 1056( Peo&le +ay hae a different idea a"out clones( /hey +ay "eliee that clones are
co+&letely different fro+ the+ "ecause they *ere created in a la"( /his could lead to
+isunderstanding clones and treating the+ in a &eculiar +anner( Peo&le *ould see clones as
si+&le o"7ects that *ere created for one &ur&ose *hich is to aid the science co++unity in
finding cures for society(
/he setting in Never Let Me Go is significant "ecause of *hat it stands for( /he *ay
Hailsha+ is descri"ed it can "e seen as a science la") "ut in the noel it is referred to as an
institute *here they encourage a healthy lifestyle and e+&hasi$e creatiity to the clones( Carers)
*ho are &eo&le *ho *atch after the clones) can "e seen as scientists *ho are in charge of
+aintaining the children healthy and *ith a &ositie attitude so that nothing can derail their
+ental and &hysical state of health( /he children of Hailsha+ can "e seen as the cell that needs to
"e highly ta.en care of( /his &aints a &icture of ho* our current society can "e seen as( #a$uo
%shiguro is trying to &ortray an i+age to the reader on ho* our society can turn out if *e .ee&
ignoring *hat can ha&&en in the near future(
/hroughout the noel) %shiguro tries to gie a +essage to his readers( , % *on8t "e a carer
any +ore co+e the end of the year) and though %8e got a lot out of it) % thin. % hae to ad+it %8ll
*elco+e the chance to rest AAA to sto& and thin. and re+e+"er- 3%shiguro ;@6( #athy sho*s a
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&assie attitude to*ards her destiny( 4he tal.s a"out ho* she is ready to donate her organs and
die(>ro+ the "eginning of the noel) #athy sho*s a &assie attitude to*ards her situation( 4he
see+s confor+ed *ith the ti+e she has "een gien and tal.s as if she has nearly e1&erienced
eerything that she *anted to go through( As one of the +ain characters in the noel) % thin.
%shiguro uses #athy as a sy+"ol to e+&hasi$e the &assie attitude and lac. of interest that &eo&le
in our conte+&orary society sho* to*ards the issue of cloning( %shiguro uses #athy8s character
to send a +essage to the reader a"out ho* &eo&le need to ta.e action and sho* interest on *hat
is going on *ith +edical research and e1&eri+ents(
/here are +any *ays in *hich a &erson can ta.e &art in finding solutions and &reenting
future cloning( Petitions and &eaceful &rotests can "e a si+&le start to*ards ending ani+al
testing and the genetic alterations that are "eing a&&lied to innocent ani+als( Another *ay a
&erson can hel& is "y 7oining organi$ations that &rotect the rights of ani+als and sae the+ fro+
"eco+ing e1&eri+ents( /here are +any +ethods in *hich *e can raise a*areness(
/he "ioethics of our conte+&orary society should not "e co+&ro+ised in any *ay(
Ani+als should "e treated *ith res&ect( No ani+al deseres to "eco+e an e1&eri+ent in *hich
their lies can "e 7eo&ardi$ed( Never Let Me Go "y #a$uo %shiguro uses hu+an cloning as a *ay
to coney a +essage to his readers that our society8s "ioethics can "e at sta.e if *e continue to
use scientific +ethods that can "e seen as ina&&ro&riate( 0ur society has had +any great
adance+ents in the +edical field than.s to all the cures that hae "een found in the &ast years(
Be hae "een a"le to en7oy these "enefits "ut our health should not "e "ased on the the health of
innocent ani+als( 4ociety should "eco+e a*are that it is i+&ortant to "e inoled and &rotect
the "ioethics of the 21
st
century(
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Bor. Cite
CAni+al9esearch(%nfo/he Glo"al 9esource for 4cientific Eidence in Ani+al 9esearch(C
Cloning
Dolly the Sheep( N(&() n(d( Be"( 24 Mar( 2014(
Burley) Dustine( CHu+an Cloning and Child Belfare(C Journal of Medical Ethics 25(2 31'''6E
105=1;( JST!( Be"( 25 Mar( 2014( Fhtt&EGG***(7stor(orgGsta"leG10(2;0@G2@@152::HrefIsearch
=gate*ayE;@e2cd'd;f@"4@a05c40ae;;::'"e''1J(
%shiguro) #a$uo( Never Let Me Go( Ne* Kor.E Alfred A( #no&f) 2005( Print(
4aulescu) Dulian( C4hould Be Clone Hu+an BeingsH Cloning as a 4ource of /issue for
/rans&lantation(C Journal of Medical Ethics 25(2 31'''6E 5@='5( JST!( Be"( 25
Mar( 2014( Fhtt&EGG***(7stor(orgGsta"leG10(2;0@G2@@152:2HrefIsearch=
gate*ayE55@f0d1f'1'ac5c05a0fa05;fd@;0;12J(
4torro*) 9ichard >( C/hera&eutic 9e&roduction and Hu+an 2ignity(C La" and Literature 21(2
3200'6E 25@=@4( JST!( Be"( 25 Mar( 2014(
Fhtt&EGG***(7stor(orgGsta"leG10(1525Glal(200'(21(2(25@ refIsearch=
gate*ayE0a@41;4'a521e"d401d41'5'dc2ae1c0J(