Empty Chair
After Miss Lucy tells a class of students that their purpose is to have their organs harvested, we see the head of Hailsham on stage with the other teachers to announce Lucy's dismissal. We see one empty chair and it symbolizes that telling the truth is not valued at Hailsham, only doing a job that ensures these young souls are raised up for one purpose only, to give their organs so that another may live.
Bird on Kettle
We watch as Kathy is in the kitchen and we see a bird land on the kettle inside the cottage home she is staying at. It then flies on. The symbol is that Kathy is this bird, she is in a place that she doesn't belong and must fly free. She then decides to become a carer which delays her process of giving her organs so soon and also gets her away from Ruth and Tommy and having to see them together.
Never Let Me Go
Tommy barters for a cassette tape as a gift for Kathy. It has the song Never Let Me Go on it which she listens to constantly and thinks of Tommy. The song becomes a symbol of the connection and love that the two have for one another.
Darkness
Ruth comes into Kathy's room and is seen with her in a close up shot. Only Kathy's face can be seen, Ruth is in darkness. She is only a shadow. This imagery is a symbol that Ruth's intentions are malicious in nature towards Kathy as she desires to be with Tommy and to keep Kathy away from him as she knows their love is real and her relationship with him is only surface.
Toward the Light
Kathy walks with Ruth in the hospital 10 years since they've seen each other. They walk in a dark hallway with light shining in through the window at the end of the hall. The image is a symbol of Ruth's readiness to complete as she has already been through two surgeries and doesn't have the strength to continue on. She is walking from life which is darkness into death, which is represented by the light.
