1) What are the first words that come into your mind when you see this image? What does it make you think of?
The first (left) automatically brought to mind "lonely" or "isolated", as it depicts a girl sitting by herself in a secluded almost slumped posture. The cover to the right shows a torso with organs, which brings to mind "Medicine", or "Life."
2) If you hadn't read any of the novel, what would this image make you think the book was about? Now that you've read (some of ) the novel, what kind of relationship(s) does this image have to the text?
The image to the right make me think of organs and letting them go? Without reading the book the title or cover do not make much sense, however one the book had been read the covers explode with meaning. Organs to donations. "Never Let Me Go" to the tape cassette. The crude drawing seems to be from a child's hand, leading into the importance of creativity and art during the years at Hailsham. With the proper context, the covers are great foreshadowing sources.
3) Who seems to be portrayed? From whose viewpoint are we looking?
To the left, it shows a lonely Kathy, potentially down by the pond where her and Tommy met to discuss private matters. The viewpoint seems to be that of Tommy's because he was the very observant one who would see Kathy and notice her body language as a reflection of her inner troubles, which, by the way Kathy is sitting, seems to portray her as deeply troubled.
4) Does this image spark any ideas about the cultural construction of the book?
The image to the left seems to reflect a child's representation of their organs, because of the crudeness of the drawing. It gives an idea of the innocence of these children, and their childhood emphasis on creativity.
5) What kinds of people would make this book, and what kinds of people would read it?
The kind of people who would make this book would be the people who are more progressive, and see the reactions to the book as people read it. The people who read this, however, could very to a large extent. But this wide array of potential readers allows for multiple perspectives and take of the book, creating a somewhat social experiment.
I had to highlight the text to see it (it's coming up as white bars on my computer for some reason), but I like what you said about the crudeness of the drawing on the right. I think it's much less ambiguous to the core idea of the book/ the students' lives, and lends itself the monologue by Mrs. Lucy where she talks about how the clones don't really understand what donating their organs will be like. The childish was definitely shows the innocence and lack of full understanding the kids at Hailsham have.
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