Tragic Irony: Never Let Me Go

"'I keep thinking about this river somewhere, with the water moving really fast. And these two people in the water, trying to hold onto each other, holding on as hard as they can, but in the end it's just too much. The current's too strong. They've got to let go, drift apart. That's how I think it is with us. It's a shame, Kath, because we've loved each other all our lives. But in the end, we can't stay together forever'" (282).

I thought that this was one of the most despairing parts of the novel. The fact that Tommy and Kathy have finally realized that they have always loved each other but cannot be together is ironic but also very tragic. I think that Kathy knew she loved Tommy, but I am not sure that Tommy was fully aware of his feelings for Kathy. With Ruth gone, they can finally be together, but the tragic part is that they cannot be together for long. Tommy's metaphor was a perfect comparison to their situation, being torn apart by donations. Both of them tried to stay together in the river, trying to earn the deferral. In the end, however, the deferrals did not exist and the river began to pull them apart. This scene ties in directly to the melancholy mood of the end of the novel, adding to the feeling of loss. I pitied Tommy and Ruth the most at this scene, seeing how important time became to them. If they had been able to be together earlier, they would have had more time to spend with each other. Their time was running out, and they could do nothing to stop the waters from tearing them apart.