What are some motifs and examples of symbolism in Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein?

If we were to compare symbols and motifs
between byand Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, there
would be quite a few intriguing overlaps! Both novels share the motif of fantasy: characters in
both Ishiguro and Shelley's stories imagine themselves in alternate realities in order to cope
with their current circumstances. Ishiguro's Ruththe best friend of the novel's ,
Kathyfrequently encourages her friends to embark on make-believe adventures that serve to
distract them from their inescapable futures of becoming donors, the clones that exist merely to
give their originals healthy, functional organs.

The Monster in
Frankenstein understands himself to be grotesque and frightening after
attempts to interact with humans go awry from their reactions to his physical appearance. To
cope with his inability to interact with humans, the Monster hides in a hovel that is attached
to the small home of the De Laceys. From this hovel, the Monster is able to fully observe the
family and their whereabouts. The Monster observes immense love and care within this family and
in turn imagines himself to be loved and cared for. The Monster states,

The gentle manners and beauty of the cottagers greatly endeared them
to me; when they were unhappy, I felt depressed; when they rejoiced, I sympathised in their
joys.

Through intense observation, the Monster is able to
envision himself as existing amongst the family.

Another significant motif in
both novels is that of the unreliable narrator. Kathy, Ishiguro's protagonist, tells her story
from thirty years' remove, detailing her childhood as she now sees it as an adult. This time
lapse forces the reader to question how much Kathy truly remembers from her childhood and what
biases she has accumulated over the years that may color her view of the past. Kathy is also the
only character who is able to tell her story firsthand; therefore, we do not fully know the
stories of the surrounding characters.

Similarly, in
Frankenstein, Shelley layers the novel such that we hear the entire story
of Victor and his Monster through a mere observer, Robert Walton, who happens to be working on a
ship alongside Victor. So, while we read the story of Victor and his monster, and we hear from
both Victor and the Monster, the reader must remember that the narrative is
all filtered through Robert's interpretation of the story.

A symbol both
novels share is that of the artificial body. Ishiguro creates a world in which clones are
produced in order to prolong the lives of the original humans. Kathy and Ruth, along with their
friend Tommy, have been artificially produced for the express purpose of benefiting other human
beings. These characters struggle to feel autonomy over their own bodies as they realize they
merely exist for their viable organs. The Monster, too, understands his body to be
"artificial" when he learns his originsthat he was created in a lab by
Victor.

The artificial body in both novels represents a wide array of ideas
and themes. Firstly, both authors use the artificial body to explore questions of control. Who
owns our bodies, and who is allowed to control them? Who are we if our body is not ours? Both
authors also use the artificial body to explore questions of ethicsin Ishiguro's case we wonder,
to what end do we strive for longer lives? At what cost? In Shelley's we may ask, to what end do
we seek to demonstrate our mastery and genius over a certain subject? And what lives will we
sacrifice to explore our craft?