Rhetorical Questions

"So what if she'd fibbed a little about her pencil case?  Didn't we all dream from time to time about one guardian or other bending the rules and doing something special for us?  A spontaneous hug, a secret letter, a gift?" - Never Let Me Go, page 60.

The quote above is a good example of the author's use of rhetorical questions.  Ishiguro used this literary device to show the reader what Kathy had been thinking inside.  She was upset with how she had plotted against Ruth and planned to prove that she had been lying about the pencil case.  Once she had done so, Kathy was humiliated with herself.  She realized she had harmed her "dearest friend."  The rhetorical questions serve the purpose of showing the reader that once she realized what she had done, Kathy tried to convince herself more than the reader that everyone lies every once in a while.  She tried to prove to herself that what Ruth had done wasn't such a big deal.  The rhetorical questions help Kathy convey why she felt she had done something wrong and to prove that Ruth was not at fault, even though we all know that lying is totally wrong.