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Juan Sanchez
Professor Jorgenson
April 3, 2014
English 114 B
Unfortunate Use of Spaces
Working spaces are created to serve a purpose for us being there, whether its a physical
or abstract location the way we use space can have an impact on society and a person. In the
novel Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro people are categorized as either human or sub-human
based upon both scientific and emotional backgrounds. In a physical location people are
classified as either human or sub-human based upon behavior and belief. Kathy, Ruth, and
Tommy are clones who have been scientifically created rather than naturally. Although they may
be genetically altered these individuals still have feelings, emotions, and characteristics that
humans do. School is a space where depending on who you are with you tend to act in a different
way. Both in the novel and in contemporary society people are categorized as either human or
sub-human depending on if they use the space around them as intended.

In the novel there are two kinds of people human and sub-human. People are considered
sub-human if they are not born naturally, and instead are created scientifically. Society in the
novel judge them as if they do not behave the way real humans do with action and emotion.
Tommy and Kathy are both clones who were genetically created. But they have emotions and
feelings just like real humans do. In the scene where Tommy is being bullied because of his
emotional breakouts we can clearly see that Tommy has feelings and felt bad about what he did
to Kathy and apologizes to her. So if Tommy has feelings and emotions like actual humans do
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why is it that he is viewed as sub-human? In a space and environment where rules and
surveillance of others is meant to keep order within a group of people it is viewed that if you
break those laws then it is considered different from the rest of society. In the novel Tommy is
not artistically creative and there is a scene by the soccer field in which Kathy tells Tommy that
he does not have to be creative if it is for pleasing others, the only person he has to please is
himself. It is behavior within a society that makes up whether a person is human or sub-human
not whether or not you were born naturally or scientifically. In contemporary society we use
surveillance in order to make sure people do not break laws and to keep people under control.
Tommy is known for having emotional breakouts and can end up resulting in physical
harm to other, although the school is intended for students to get together and engage in physical
activities, students do not use the space as intended. For instance students use the soccer field to
judge others based on athletic or physical attributes. Surveillance from other students limits
Tommy in his self-expression. Thats when at last Tommy seemed to become aware of me,
aware of the others, of himself, of the fact that he was there in that field, behaving the way he
had been, and stared at me a bit stupidly. (p. 11). In this scene Tommy is being bullied and
chosen last on the team despite of his physical and athletic abilities. From reading this scene you
can feel the disappointment in the dialogue of both Kathy and Tommy. Tommy was wearing his
favorite shirt and despite of that he did not care because for him the space (soccer field) is used
for him to release his stress and his breakout was okay because there were no supervisors who
caught him. Tommy viewed school as a place where he went to show his abilities and to improve
in areas such as communication and leadership despite of what others think of him. In this scene
Tommy stains his favorite shirt and because of it he breaks out physically and ultimately leads up
to him harming Kathy and as a result gives him the look of being sub-human.
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I have observed a space of my own where surveillance is meant to keep people in order
and set boundaries between what is right and what is wrong. In a contemporary setting such as
my school that I observed I noticed that there were multiple cameras placed in a variety of
locations throughout the campus. I noticed that although the setting was really busy, it was a
location that serves coffee, and the majority of the population inside were students. The
employees are young high school and college students. There are no metal detectors or security
guards at the entrance and management is hardly supervising. The employees are busy with what
they have to do and it is almost impossible for them to make sure that people do not leave the
store with items that do not belong to them. As I continued to observe I noticed that surveillance
cameras are meant to strike fear within a person in order to keep them from doing the wrong
thing.
At this location students sit and do activities as they wish without anyone questioning
them nor is anyone getting involved in their personal space. I noticed that coffee can be very
appetizing for students often times causing them to create a large line often times making it seem
as if there is a sea of backpacks without any room to navigate. There is no one supervising
making sure the student takes the correct drink often times students had to stand up for
themselves saying, thats my drink! the facial expression of the student had changed and
appeared as if it had lost its appetite for coffee completely. Although yes there is surveillance
throughout the store I noticed that surveillance is limited compared to other locations. There
surveillance cameras are counted and it is not our priority to be supervising the customers. In this
location what categorizes a person as either human or sub-human is the way a person behaves
and interacts with other people in the environment. When a person is behaving obnoxious or is
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choosing to not follow the basic rules in society we tend to look at them differently and not being
like everyone else. The soccer field and the space I chose to observe serve as work places in
which people watch others and judge based upon in the moment behavior rather than emotion
and feelings.
With space we are setting boundaries for what a person can and cannot do in society. I
disagree in the way we try to keep control over a group of people in both the novel and in
contemporary society. In both settings there is one person or one group of people with too much
power while the other has very little or has none at all. The constant surveillance of others
watching Tommy causes Tommy to act and behave in a matter that he would not normally do. In
contemporary society the constant surveillance of cameras also causes people to behave in a
matter that they would not normally do in order to not harm their position in society.
Both the soccer field and the space in which I watched are spaces that are meant to bring
out teamwork and communication within people. The spaces are not being used to their full
intentions. When this happens it is harming society and the citizens within it because it makes
living in these settings uncomfortable. When studying these two spaces I came across a bigger
question and a bigger picture and that one was what makes us human? In both the novel and
contemporary society I was studying humanity. I noticed that there is no difference between us
and in order to eliminate surveillance from our societies we must come together and trust each
other. Communication is an essential in our everyday lives. In both situations I noticed that
communication was limited. Instead of communicating with Tommy and seek to give him
assistance to see why he acted the way he did the other students used that as a weakness and used
it against him. In the space in which I analyzed no one communicated what was right or what
was wrong to the customers and instead are placed under cameras constantly being watched
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which strikes fear and causes people to think twice about what is right and what is wrong.
Space and the way in which the space is laid out can have either a positive or a negative
effect on a person. Each space is intended to serve a different purpose with the hopes of each
person using that space to fulfill those purposes. The soccer field is intended to bring students
together to engage in physical activities and communicate with one another and to trust one
another in order to succeed on the field. But instead is used as the opposite. The soccer field in
the novel is used as a space of bullying and constant surveillance. Despite of Tommys athletic
and physical abilities students still decided to tease him about it and led to Tommy having his
emotional and physical out bursts. The space that I analyzed had little surveillance despite the
high activity that goes on within the vicinity. The staff is young and the last thing that is on their
list is to be constantly watching customers and make sure they do not take things that do not
belong. Cameras are placed but when cameras are placed it strikes fear because it may catch
them doing something wrong. In both the novel and contemporary society I disagree with the
way order is maintained.
Educational spaces are created to serve a purpose for us being there, whether its a
physical or abstract location the way we use space can have an impact on society and a person.
In both situations I was studying what space is, what are its intentions, and what are its affects.
But as I began to study I realized I was missing the bigger picture although we may be slightly
different we are human and equal to one another. In both the novel and contemporary society
surveillance makes us behave in ways we normally would not and classify us as being different
from everyone else. Feelings, emotions, and the ability to learn are abilities we share. In order to
eliminate the cage that is surveillance we must learn to trust one another and communicate. I
disagree with the way they keep order over a group of people in both the novel and in
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contemporary society because it takes away what make an individual unique; self-expression and
individuality. Space is an area where we can accomplish goals and create a better society if we
use that space as intended and do not limit ourselves with our possibilities of what we can
accomplish.
Works Cited
Ishiguro, Kazuo. Never Let Me Go
New York: Vintage Books, 2005. Print.