Norfolk, England

Heydon, Norfolk

Norfolk is a city in England. It has a long history which involves the citizens living under the rule of the Roman Empire, Queens, Saxons, and Vikings. In 43 AD, Norfolk was conquered by Romans, and the Romans highly prioritized "The Wash" which is a large bay in Norfolk. Under the Roman army, building roads and forts was another priority. However, in 410, the Saxons then had control of Norfolk. Under the Saxons' rule, forts were also built, but they were also concerned about producing salt and farming. Most importantly, they were worried about protecting the shores surrounding Norfolk, until the Vikings took over the city in 840AD. There isn't much evidence that remains in regards to the Viking's rule, but during the 8th century, the Saxons took control of Norfolk once more, but tragically the Vikings returned as well and burnt the city to the ground. Since then, Norfolk has been rebuilt some sixty years later. Today, Norfolk is a very rural city where farming is a top priority. Many people also take vacations to Norfolk to see the beaches, and there are also national parks people come to see in Norfolk as well. 

Norfolk is an important location in Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go. In the beginning, it's an inside joke between the students who attend the boarding school called Hailsham. The students joke that anything they've lost will be found in Norfolk. Eventually  the main character, Kathy, and her friends, Tommy and Ruth, get to visit Norfolk. Kathy had previously lost a beloved CD back at Hailsham, which featured a song that comforted her, and her friend Tommy wanted to find a copy of the same CD in Norfolk because of the old inside joke. When Tommy and Kathy are alone together, they search for the CD at a variety of stores, and Kathy finds it again, proving the inside joke to be true in a way. Never Let Me Go has an overlying somber theme: that all of the characters are clones and have an unavoidable fate of donating away their organs. In fact, these characters have to donate their organs at a young age, so none of them can live a longer life. They are all destined to die young. Despite this, the characters bond and grow close to each other. They still would show up at school and learn about art, and they would also prioritize forming stronger connections to their peers. The characters of Never Let Me Go still find ways to connect, despite their fates that loom over their head in the not too distant future. As humans, we also know that we will die one day, and yet we also go to class, learn, and make friends throughout our life until death comes our way. Mortality is still an aspect of what makes of human, but what makes us even moreso human is the fact that we still do our best to enjoy our life for the most part. 

Sources:

Doggett, Geoff. Heydon, Norfolk. Public Domain Pictures, https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=6210&pictur....

Ishiguro, Kazuo. Never Let Me Go. Faber and Faber, 2010. 

"Norfolk History." Discover Norfolk, https://www.discovernorfolk.co.uk/story/norfolk-history-11/.

Parent Map

What Makes Us Human? - M Deremo

Coordinates

Latitude: 52.613968600000
Longitude: 0.886402100000

Timeline of Events Associated with Norfolk, England

Date Event Manage
Apr 1960

Kazuo Ishiguro Moves to England

Free Night View Nagasaki photo and picture

Kazuo Ishiguro was initially born in Nagasaki Japan, and he attended Kindergarten to learn hiragana; the most simplest form of the Japanese alphabet. However, his father had been invited to work in England, which initiated the move. Because Ishiguro's father's work was continuously supported by the British government, the family never moved back to Japan. As Kazuo Ishiguro grew older, he was fascinated by song writing and writing as a subject, as he studied literature and began to practice his own writing. As an example, he started an unfinished novel in 1977. 

In 2005, his novel Never Let Me Go was published. This book seemingly follows Kathy and her friends at a boarding school as they form connections and attend classes to learn about art. However, Kathy and her classmates are told that their sole purpose in life is to donate their organs once they reach a certain age, and so these students do not have much time on earth. This novel deals with feelings of humanity, which include making connections, learning lessons through school, and trying to enjoy life despite the fact that these students will die at a young age from donating organs away. Mortality is an aspect of humanity, and one way in which we can cope with this is to do our best to enjoy our lives despite the fact that our time on earth is limited. 

Sources:

Ag2016. Night View Nagasaki Japan Three. 2016. Pixabay, https://pixabay.com/photos/night-view-nagasaki-japan-1342591/.

Ishiguro, Kazuo. Never Let Me Go. Faber & Faber, 2010.

"Kazuo Ishiguro – Biographical." The Nobel Prize, Accessed 1 May, 2025, <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/2017/ishiguro/biographical/>.