Blog Post #10

"Only Judge Books By Their Covers" - Edgar Allen Poe, William Shakespeare, and Sylvia Plath

Figure 1.1 is the girl sitting in the forest. Figure 1.2 is the blurry girl in the blue dress. Figure 1.3 is the boat. Figure 1.4 is the human anatomy. The images were making the text impossible to read on the blog so I had to remove them.

While briefly analyzing all four covers provided, a common theme of isolation is presented within each. However, the purposes for each aren't nearly as universal. In my opinion, Figure 1.1 and 1.2 convey deep senses of individuality. They isolate what is assumably Kathy and contrasts her with the background (i.e. red on green for 1.1 or blue on yellow for 1.2). However, Figure 1.2 attempts a much vaguer message with the assimilated silhouette of a young girl with the background. It is definitely one of the happiest covers as there is only a vague sense of loneliness associated with the outline. Conversely, Figures 1.3 and 1.4 choose not to focus on characters, but try to capture the tone of the text in general. Both convey loose senses of surreality with the color scheme and the situations depicted, but the tone is far different. Figure 1.3 seems to convey a more worn, lost, melancholy world with the soft, yellow dusk and the old boat. Adversely, Figure 1.3 depicts a grim reality with the dirty grey and rough (a bit ominous) sketch of human anatomy. The reasons for these radically different covers (Figures 1.1-4) is to establish different tones so the text is interpreted differently. This is seen best with Figure 1.4 as the viewer would be actively looking for any associated theme ("donors").

For deeper examination, I chose Figure 1.3 and Figure 1.4 as they have the most radically contrasting tones and messages. At first glance, the two covers make me believe the text is about two different themes. The first, with Figure 1.3, is that Never Let Me Go, is a text of loss and disconnection as the cover depicts no characters in sight and a lonely, mournful sunset. Had I not read the novel, I would have believed the text would be about the toll that loneliness has taken on a person as they reflect upon the past (somewhat similar to the real plot). For Figure 1.4, the cover initially makes me think of physical self-control and how it can be lost (the tile in addition to the cover supported this). Had I not read the book prior to seeing this cover, I would have thought it centered around death as a concept and the gradual decay/loss of a character to an illness. However, now that I have read the book, both covers hold a stronger connection with motifs of the text. For example, with Figure 1.3, the image holds a resemblance to that of the boat described in Part 3. Thus, the symbolism (as beauty in the simplest things) and significance to the text as a whole is solidified deeper due to its display on the cover. Therefore, this cover is a reflection of the tiny moments that make up Never Let Me Go. 

On the other hand, within Figure 1.4, no specific situation comes to mind. Rather, it attempts to envelope the surreal situation that lies beneath the familiar situations of Never Let Me Go. This cover, completely unlike Figure 1.3, sparks a few claims about the culture established within the text and aligns with some major motifs and themes throughout. Culturally, the cover seems to make the claim that humans are all fundamentally built the same, so why should the origin matter (an integral social issue of Kathy's reality). Additionally, due to the fact that the story is a bildungsroman, a heavy emphasis is put on how each character fares with the reality of donating. Thus, the cover displays the main burden that each "student" has to carry. Though no cover is ultimately superior, my personal favorite is Figure 1.3.