Through
Ishiguro’s use of characters he illustrates what it means to be a human being. Ishiguro
created these clones as a vehicle to show his readers what constitutes
humanity. These clones are very much human since they can love and want to continue
living. The love that Tommy has for Kathy is nothing but human nature:
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 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)
Clone or not, these individuals
share something that is so common in the world yet so hard to find. Love is
purely a human emotion that separates us from animals and artificial
intelligence. Ishiguro uses this idea and incorporated into his characters
Tommy and Kathy to show us that no matter how a human life is created they
deserve to live for themselves rather than for society.
