Symbols and the Shifting Landscape of Innocence

Symbols, as objects, persons, or places representing thoughts, institutions, or ideals, evolve over time, taking on diverse meanings for different individuals. The concept of innocence, embodying a blissful mindset towards life or surroundings, undergoes a transformative journey when confronted with knowledge that shatters this bliss. Octavia Butler's “Bloodchild” and Kazuo Ishiguro's “Never Let Me Go” intricately explore innocence and its loss through symbols, revealing the profound impact of shifting meanings on characters' lives. This essay delves into the evolving symbolism within both narratives, demonstrating how the alteration of these symbols, accompanied by newfound knowledge, leads to a paradigm shift from innocence to non-innocence.

Examining Gan's life, we witness the profound impact of T'Gatoi's symbolism on his innocence. Gan's existence begins with T'Gatoi, whom he regards as an honorable presence in the family (Butler 4). Initially, T'Gatoi serves as a symbol of safety and security provided by the Tlic government to Terrans, highlighting the blissful ignorance maintained by Gan. However, as Gan starts feeling controlled by T'Gatoi, the narrative takes a dramatic turn.

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Gan's claim, "no one ever asks us [to be implanted)... you never asked me” (Butler 23), reveals the loss of innocence and the shift in T'Gatoi's symbolism from a benevolent figure to a symbol of institutional control. Butler skillfully employs T'Gatoi's character to illustrate the erosion of innocence, emphasizing the significance of symbols in shaping individuals' mindsets.

Similarly, in Ishiguro's “Never Let Me Go,” Hailsham, initially considered "somewhere so special" by Kathy and her friends, undergoes a symbolic transformation as Kathy loses her innocence (Ishiguro 20).

The revelation by Miss Emily that Hailsham was a social experiment alters Kathy's perception, transforming Hailsham from a cherished home into a memory of a failed societal endeavor. Ishiguro employs Hailsham as a symbol with shifting meanings, demonstrating how personal views evolve based on experience, knowledge, and the type of memories associated with a place.

Gan's belief in the innocence of the eggs provided by T'Gatoi is shattered when he discovers their original purpose – to make humans "a little more than big animals" (Butler 10). The symbolism of eggs, traditionally associated with fertility, is subverted by Butler to represent control over the Terrans. Initially, Gan believed the eggs symbolized the affection T’Gatoi has for his family, creating a close link between the government and its people. However, after witnessing the birthing process, Gan's view of the eggs shifts significantly. No longer associated with blissful experiences, the eggs now symbolize the control T’Gatoi has over his family, a powerful tool to make the Terrans complacent. Butler changes the traditional symbolism of eggs from fertility to a type of control, representing the loss of innocence as Gan understands the implications of the government's influence on his family.

As Butler uses the symbolism of eggs to represent the loss of innocence, Ishiguro uses the same method with galleries to present the harsh truth of reality to Kathy and her friends. The first gallery in the story is the Madame's, and the gallery's mysterious and taboo quality made it no more to the children than a way to compliment artwork by saying “it would be good enough to go into the Gallery" (Ishiguro 54). This first mention of a gallery is an appropriate symbol of childlike wonder. Kathy thinks of the gallery as a mysterious entity, not talked about and full of possibilities, and through childlike wonderment she and others are able to consider the gallery as anything. The second gallery in Norfolk, in contrast, is the scene when everyone there realizes “the more [they] looked, the more (they] realized (the possible] looked nothing like Ruth” (Ishiguro 253). The second gallery is a concrete place, which is why it is a symbol of Kathy losing her innocence through knowledge. As a child, she could consider things abstractly, but as she grew up, she could not ignore the truth, that originals were not middle or upper class members of society. Ishiguro uses the symbolism in the galleries to represent the loss of innocence to portray that people grow up no matter what, and that harsh reality will one day be faced.

The Preserve in Butler's story initially represents a place of security from Tlics trying to forcefully take Terrans, and to Gan, “only [the Preserve] stood between [him] and the desperation that could swallow [him]” (Butler 5). After witnessing the birth, Gan can relate to the disgust his brother feels for the Tlics, and sees the safety net as a trap, because “... there is now ‘away'. Not in the Preserve” (Butler 19). Before Gan witnessed the birthing, and before Gan gained new knowledge of the Tlics from his brother, the Preserve was a symbol of how precious Terrans are to Tlics' future generations. Once Gan loses his innocence regarding the relationship between Tlics and Terrans, the Preserve is no longer a symbol of security, but a symbol of the power the Tlics have, and how the power is used to keep the Terrans from ever leaving. Butler once again shifts the symbolic meaning of something, in this case the Preserve, to represent governmental control over citizens, and how citizens will blindly accept this being controlled due to naivety, until more knowledge is gained, and the citizens begin feeling trapped.

The cassette tape in Ishiguro's novel also has different symbolic meaning, but instead of that meaning changing over time, it is portrayed through different characters. For Kathy, the cassette tape represents her life as a child and as an adult, because it was about whatever (she] said” (Ishiguro 115). She interpreted the song in a way that best suits her, and so the tape represented something different for Kathy than for Ruth. When the tape reappeared to Tommy and Kathy, she “avoided telling Ruth about the tape” (Ishiguro 180) because, to Ruth, the tape would symbolize Tommy and Kathy's growing bond, which made her feel threatened. Butler changes the tape's symbolism between characters to represent innocence and the loss of innocence. Initially to Kathy, the tape was a simplistic reminder of her childhood, but due to Ruth's understanding of the tape, it becomes a symbol of something much more – a bond between two friends and a seclusion of another, which would never be a representation of a childhood symbol.

The use of symbols and their shifting meaning to represent the theme of innocence and the loss of it is especially effective in Octavia Butler's “Bloodchild”, because the technique takes the most important aspects of Gan's life and shifts the way they affect him enough to evoke change in his mindset and future purpose. Shifting how Gan sees T’Gatoi and her character is the most prominent way to represent Gan's loss of innocence because no longer having an adult figure for comfort and support is a huge sign of losing innocence for many people. Similarly in Ishiguros' Never Let Me Go, one large symbol is the trademark example of Kathy losing her innocence, which is Hailsham. When one gains new knowledge regarding their childhood home, it can shift their memories from the past and influence their actions in the future. This is what happens to Kathy, and since it is plausible for anyone, it becomes a relatable and main symbol to effectively represent Kathy's loss of innocence. Butler's short story and Ishiguro's novel initially seem to have little in common, but symbols and growing up are universal. Everyone can have their own thoughts and feelings connected to an object, and those thoughts shift as more knowledge is gained and innocence is lost, and since symbolic meaning is universal, it is an effective way for authors to get across main ideas.

Conclusion

In conclusion, both Octavia Butler and Kazuo Ishiguro employ symbols to intricately explore the theme of innocence and its inevitable loss. The shifting meanings of symbols, be it T'Gatoi, Hailsham, eggs, galleries, the Preserve, or the cassette tape, serve as powerful tools to depict the transformative journey from blissful ignorance to the harsh reality of knowledge. The authors effectively convey the universality of this experience, illustrating how individuals' perspectives evolve based on the symbols that shape their lives. Symbols, as portrayed in these narratives, become dynamic reflections of the characters' changing understanding of the world around them, making the stories poignant explorations of the complex interplay between innocence and knowledge.