Alain De Bottom's Never Let Me Go

Everyone has a different definition of what it means to truly live. In order to find one’s own definition of living, he or she needs to get rid of their tunnel vision and look at the bigger picture. In Alain de Bottom’s essay, “On Habit,” he states that the reason one does not find any interest in their environment after a long period of time is because he or she has become habituated. One only thinks of a newer or more interesting place to visit when one is already familiar with theirs. De Bottom explains that one needs to apply a traveling mind set to an old place and soon there will be a vision of excitement. For the clones in Kazuo Ishiguro novel, “Never Let Me Go”, they almost always had a traveling mindset. The reason why the clones almost always have a traveling mindset is because at one point the clones knew the

Humans subconsciously go in search for an exciting location after having become bored of theirs. Humanity goes in search of an exciting location their satisfaction tank is not filled anymore because of their daily boring routines. In a sense one becomes so familiar with a place that he or she is part of the location, like walking the same path to work or home or seeing the same people doing the same thing every day. When discussing how people become too habituated to an environment, De Botton wonders “What would it cost those who are out for a walk or crowding out of the theatre, to look up for a moment and admire the brilliant constellation which gleams above their head?” (De Botton, 66.) People do not seem to appreciate what is in front of them, which in this case above them. He or she becomes blind because they had never bothered to look up. One falls in a routine excluding the fact that there is much to be seen without having to be out of one’s environment. To show this point, De Botton explains having walked around his home town