Synecdoche

"I hadn't mentioned to a soul anything about the Sales Register business, but I suppose Ruth wasn't to know that." - Never Let Me Go, page 63.

Well, here is another example of a literary device being used in this novel.  The quote above is an example of a synecdoche.  When Kathy says she "hadn't mentioned to a soul," she really means she has told no one.  She combines every person into one soul.  This is what makes it a synecdoche.  This saying is something that most people say on a regular basis even if they do not necessarily know they are using a literary device.  When speaking, a lot of people will say they "haven't told a soul."  It seems to be just one of those things about our language.  I wouldn't go as far as calling it slang but it is something that has been adopted by our language that people have become accustomed to saying.  Ishiguro used this literary device to connect these people to our world.  It shows a simmilarity between us and them.  We can not truly understand what these characters are going through because we can not relate to their situation.  By having the characters talk in a way that we might talk in, Ishiguro is creating a connection between us and the people in the story.  We are able to be more open to their situation and relate better with them just because we can unconsciously relate to their speech and language.