Paradox

"'If no one else will talk to you,' she continued, 'then I will.  The problem, as I see it, is that you've been told and not told.'" - Never Let Me Go, page 81.

The part in this quote that says, "you've been told and not told," is a wonderful example of a paradox.  It definitely contradicts itself.  The purpose of using this literary device is to show how the children have been told about their futures yet do not fully understand them.  It demonstrates how things are still sort of being kept from them considering a lot of them think they will be able to go to different countries or get normal jobs.  They think they will do these things but they do not understand that they will not.  I can relate this to my life when I was learning how to drive.  Before I got my license I was excited about the concept of driving and could not wait for the freedom.  I was told it was going to be more work than I expected but I didn't really believe it.  Now that I have my license, I realize that it isn't as wonderful as I though it would be.  I have to drive my sisters and myself all around to practices and what not and I have to run special errands all the time to the store for my parents.  Then there is the problem with gas and how expensive it is.  Just like the students at Hailsham, I was "told and not told."