The children at Hailsham boarding school appear to be living in somewhat of an alternate universe, secluded in England from the rest of the world. The only contact they have with the outside world is through the guardians, Madame, and the items brought in for the monthly Sale. It is clear from the get-go that these children are not normal, but special children with a special destiny. The guardians are a constant reminder of their exclusion and difference from "normal" people; however, it is interesting that the children see themselves as "normal". They do not appear to have reservations about donating all their vital organs throughout their lifetime. The children accept this as "normal", as if it was always supposed to be this way.
Even after Miss Lucy's outburst at the pavilion, the children were not surprised at what she had to say. As Miss Lucy put it, they had been "told but not told". I think Miss Lucy's outburst was meant to "shatter the glass", so to speak, about the children's pre-determined destinies as organ donors. I think she meant to break the illusion that they could lead some sort of "normal" life like the rest of society. The children were freaks; they had to accept their destiny that whatever appeared normal to them was not normal for the rest of society. The sooner they accepted it, the better it would be.
Thus, the children are not freaks by being physiologically different, per se. The children are freaks because of their exclusion and exploitation by others (potentially in the future). They embody a freak status because their existence serves a drastically different purpose for their destiny than that of a "normal" person.
You have to wonder, too, if perhaps the way the Guardians "fear" the clones only serves to perpetuate their "freakishness."
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