Dreams and Possibles: ch 12-14 NLMG Monday, 03 December 2018

dreams What do you know about literary dreams after reading Of Mice and Men? Remember this. DREAM FUTURE 141.6: setting is cold and inhospitable. 142.2: the place looked sparkling and so did the people 142.7: “dynamic go ahead types”-unconscious irony. 156.8: “It’s their lunch break, but they don’t go out. Don’t blame them either” seems naïve 156.8: “a smart, cosy, self contained world”. Implies safety. REALITY: A repetitive job, not requiring significant intellect. Workers required to work through breaks

Origins Not TV this time. A magazine (thrown away) – simple advertising. Why can the clones not interpret the clichés of advertising language? How must this affect them in the outside world? Becomes a dream for Chrissie and Rodney as well – “because Ruth was from Hailsham, the whole thing became within the world of the possible” 143.5

Possibles: Kathy scans pornography – Tommy realises: Ruth sums it up 164.5 “we’re modelled from trash. Junkies, prostitutes, winos, tramps…look down the toilet, that’s where you’ll where we all came from”. What has broken Ruth’s dream so powerfully? Chrissie and Rodney seem relieved (163.3). Kathy relates this to Hailsham. Why else might they be relieved? 163.5 Is it “a bit of fun”? Why does Kathy side with Tommy here? Why is Kathy so upset by Ruth’s “straight talking”? 165.3

Bigger dreams Chrissie and Rodney present the big dream – deferral. What does this mean? Would two years be enough? Why would the authorities grant this? Look at the section starting on 149. What evidence suggests that Chrissie , Rodney and Ruth have already discussed this point? What does the description of the deferral stories being told in Wales remind you of? Deferrals hinge on “love”. Why might this be seen as so important at this stage of life? (It is absent from any discussion of sex, after all).

Deferral stories We heard… this sounds like the woods at Hailsham… why might it be invented? Why do Hailsham students tend to let the rumours grow? What does the existence of the rumour suggest about Hailsham students? Is there anything similar in “real life”? 152.5 Ruth hides behind “told and not told” How is Ruth feeling at this moment Why is Tommy so angry at the end of the chapter?

A big dream? If you were told that you had eight years to live before a slow and painful death would come for you, would you crave a deferral of two years? Or would you crave a removal of that fate? Why do they aim so low? Why do they simply accept their fate? Why do the clones never rebel? (answer this at the end of the book).