Remains+of+the+Day


 * Title: ** Remains of the Day
 * Author: ** Kazuo Ishiguro
 * Date of Publication: ** May 1989
 * Literary Period: ** Modernism
 * Genre: ** Historical Fiction


 * Describe the setting and then explain the relevance of the setting. **

The events of //The Remains of the Day// take place in England during the interim between World War I and World War II, which is important because many of the political events that occurred in Europe during this time period are either mirrored in Darlington Hall, such as the unfair dismissal of the two Jewish maids, or create a scenario in which major events of Stevens' life occurred, such as when Stevens' father passes away as the most powerful politicians in Europe converged at Darlington Hall to discuss appeasement and other issues of iimportance.


 * Themes (These statements should be complete sentences and completely developed ideas) **

The focus of //The Remains of the Day// is centered around the ideas of greatness and dignity. Stevens makes some incredibly poor decisions, such as failure to strengthen his relationship with Mrs. Kenton and forsaking his father in Stevens senior's final hour, for the sake of reaching the standards of what has be defined as great and dignified by the conduct of honorable butlers preceding him. Stevens loses sight of what makes a life truly exemplary and all but relinquishes his humanity while trying to perform his duties as a butler; he realizes this at the end of the novel and is almost overcome with regret, but resolves to learn from the remains of his memories and focus on cultivating more successful personal relationships through banter.


 * Plot Summary (Please do not copy and paste. Simply list the high points of the novel) - Consider creating a visual flow chart or graph and posting it here. **

The plot was constantly switching between flashback and real time, so it's kinda hard to follow and summarize (thank you modernism), but I will try my best to hit the highlights.

Mr Stevens, the long-standing butler at Darlington Hall, is struggling to keep the house operating smoothly with such a small number of servants. Mr. Faraday, Stevens' new, American master, suggests a brief excursion from the house and offers to lend him a car. Stevens agrees, hoping to convince Miss Kenton, a previous housekeeper of the Hall, to return and occupy a position there after being absent from Darlington Hall for twenty years.

Back in 1922, Stevens employed both Miss Kenton and his own father at Darlington Hall as housekeeper and under-butler, respectively. Stevens and Miss Kenton disagree over whether she has the right to address his father by his first name. Stevens’s father begins to make small cleaning errors, which Stevens, who is always striving for ideal performance in his duties, is very concerned about.

Stevens’s father falls seriously ill d uring a conference being held to decide the fate of Germany in relation to the rest of Europe. Even while facing serious ailment, Stevens senior strictly adheres to the ideas of dignity and greatness that he and his son share; he is only concerned about the work in the house being well done. Stevens senior tells his son he is proud of him, knowing that they will probably not have much more time together. A little later, Stevens’s father is obviously dying, but Stevens continues to worry only about Lord Darlington’s guests.

Stevens remembers an incident in which Lord Darlington ordered that all Jewish staff should be dismissed. Stevens, being the ever-faithful servant that he is, behaves in an obsequious manner and agrees with his master. Contrarily, Miss Kenton opposes the dismissal and threatens to leave should it take place. Regardless of Miss Kenton's threat, the girls are removed from the staff, but she does not follow through with her threat.

Now Stevens reflects on where his relationship with Miss Kenton went south. After Miss Kenton saw Stevens reading a love story to "improve his command of the English language," Stevens decided relations between them had become too familiar and lost professionalism. Stevens remembers another episode, when Miss Kenton’s aunt dies, and he only showed interest in cleaning errors rather than showing he cared about how Miss Kenton was feeling.

Stevens thinks back to 1936 one night ‘important international visitors’ are staying, whose identities he cannot reveal. The same evening, Miss Kenton tells Stevens that a man has asked her to marry him, but that she has not yet made a decision. She is obviously trying to get a reaction out of him, but Stevens decides that being professional is more important than pursuing what he subconsciously wants the most and gives her none.

In real time, Mr Stevens meets up with Miss Kenton (now Mrs Benn) for tea, and they talk. She is now taking steps towards renewing her union with Mr Benn and has no desire to return to Darlington Hall. Stevens tells of the very bad reputation Lord Darlington had after the war, which is probably just his way of saying "Guess you were right after all." Just before leaving,Mrs Benn explains that she might have preferred to be with Stevens all these years, rather than with her husband. Stevens is uncharacteristically heartbroken, but characteristically says nothing. It's okay Stevens, I'll share your pain with you.

Stevens speaks to a man on the pier, and muses to himself in a melancholy way, for the first time really acknowledging his feelings that he actually might have been failing to live a fulfilling life. He feels perhaps he should have a slightly lighter, more emotional approach to life, and looks forward to being a good butler for a few years more.


 * Memorable Quotes and their SIGNIFICANCE. **

//"The English landscape at its finest—such as I saw this morning—possesses a quality that the landscapes of other nations, however more superficially dramatic, inevitably fail to possess. It is, I believe, a quality that will mark out the English landscape to any objective observer as the most deeply satisfying in the world, and this quality is probably best summed up by the term 'greatness.' … And yet what precisely is this greatness? … I would say that it is the very lack of obvious drama or spectacle that sets the beauty of our land apart. What is pertinent is the calmness of that beauty, its sense of restraint. It is as though the land knows of its own beauty, of its own greatness, and feels no need to shout it."//

This quote comes very early in the novel and gives an idea of what Stevens's idea of greatness. Stevens believes greatness to be the maintenance of tranquility and poise, even during times of great distress.

//"How can one possibly be held to blame in any sense because, say, the passage of time has shown that Lord Darlington's efforts were misguided, even foolish? Throughout the years I served him, it was he and he alone who weighed up evidence and judged it best to proceed in the way he did, while I simply confined myself, quite properly, to affairs within my own professional realm. And as far as I am concerned, I carried out my duties to the best of my abilities, indeed to a standard which many may consider 'first-rate.' It is hardly my fault is his lordship's life and work have turned out today to look, at best, a sad waste-and it is quite illogical that I should feel any regret or shame on my own account."//

Stevens believes he is devoid of all culpability for Lord Darlington's misguided efforts because, although he wholeheartedly supported his lord in everything Darlington did, he was merely following orders as a subordinate in the household. It is remarkably uncanny how this kind of blind servitude could be easily compared to the blind patriotism that consumed the nations of the world during the World Wars, especially Germany as it fell under the control of Hitler and the Nazis.


 * Describe the significance of the opening scene. **

The opening scene, in which Stevens reveals his intent to embark on an excursion from Farraday Hall that Lord Farraday himself suggested, reveals the extent to which Stevens's subconscious effects his ability to accurately recall events. All Lord Farraday had to do was plant the seed of the idea in Stevens's mind and Stevens starts to seek closure for all that happened in the hall when it still belonged to Lord Darlington and Miss Kenton was still housekeeper.


 * Describe the significance of the closing scene. **

Althoug bantering is only one of many elements in human interaction, Stevens's new, enthusiastic dedication to bettering himself in this respect shows his desire to embrace human warmth and share it with other individuals, the first of these individuals being Lord Farraday. He realizes that it is pointless to rationalize and justify the choices both he and Lord Darlington made, but resolves to move forward and live out the remains of his days in a fulfilling manner.


 * Describe the author's style and provide examples from the text. **

//The Remains of the Day// shares elements of brokeness and uncertainty with many other novels of the Modernist period. Steven's exemplifies these characteristics in his narration with fragmented memories he even admits may not be accurate at multiple points in the novel.


 * List importance characters and their significance. **
 * Stevens: Protagonist of //The Remains of the Day// and head of staff in Darlington and Farraday Halls. Throughout the novel, he can be observed to undergo a transformation from an individual who pursues dignity with reckless abandon to an individual who realizes the error of his ways and desperately yearns for human warmth
 * Miss Kenton: Former housekeeper of Darlington Hall who was romantically interested in Stevens, but deterred from developing a relationship with him outside of their work by his constant rebuffs of emotionally-charged events. She eventually gives up and marries another man out of spite, but it takes her many years to actually love this man over Stevens.
 * Lord Darlington: The lord of the house in which Stevens and Miss Kenton serve for all of Stevens's memories. He is a benevolent person who was all too easily manipulated by Nazi Germany to serve their interests in Great Britain.
 * Lord Farraday: The current, American lord of the house which Stevens serves in and departs from for an excursion in the beginning of the novel. At the beginning of the novel, Stevens is unsure of how to correctly respond to and interact with Lord Farraday because, as consequence for his persistent effort in suppressing human emotion, Stevens loses an understanding of how lighthearted discourse works. By the end of the novel, Stevens gains an inkling of understanding and looks forward to talking to Lord Farraday again as an opportunity to grow closer, not a chore to best perform his duties
 * Stevens's Senior: Father of Stevens who embodies everything Stevens believes to be greatness and dignity. Even in his old age, Stevens Senior strives to be at his absolute best in performing his duties and greatly exerts himself in order to do so. Stevens Senior's death could be seen as a prediction of Stevens's fate, as he was only concerned with the state of the house in his final hour.