Chapter 18 & 19

In these two chapters we as readers learn about the fact that Kathy has been able to live with the sight of donars and their ailments. she is emotionally stable enough to see this each day and understand that although this is uncomfortable it is inevitable an unfortnate fact of life that she and her fellow clones will too have to face. This seems to be quite a cold stance for someone like Kathy to take but in someways it is understandable. She appears to be more acute in her knowledge of the world that she has to live in but also the way in which others who are considered to be 'normal' have to live. so she is able to understand the importance of her being able to control her emotions so she can provide a high standard of care for the other donars she is expected to care for.

The way in which Kathy came about caring for Ruth is explained and we see how their friendship is much the same as it was before Kathy left the cottages after her first visit with Ruth. But this improves only after Ruth apologises for lying to Kathy about her "urges" where she reveals that she too had the same urges and was not completely faithful to Tommy. When she begins this apology it is as though a sense of deja vu is created as I immediately thought that this was a repeat performance of the bus stop incident however this encounter had in some ways a more positive outcome - it was not a sinister as the first.

Just before this - I was surprised at the way in which Kathy and Tommy were in some ways attacking Ruth about the advert she was showing them on the side of the road. I felt that this was below the moral standards that Kathy usually obtains and I was slightly disappointed. But some may chose to argue that she had a right to behave in such a vengeful manner.

I was also surprised that Ruth refused to apologise for keeping Kathy and Tommy apart eventhough she knew that they were supposed to be together.however this suggests that although what she did was wrong there is a possibility that Ruth genuinely possessed some feelings for Tommy. If this is not the case she was simply extremely jealous of Kathy.