Length: 1349 words (4.9 pages)
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A Close Reading on Pages 100 to 115 of The Remains of the day

 

"Examine pages 100 to 115 of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel "The Remains of the day" in detail.  Show by a close reading of key scenes within this how the novelist's language and form both reveals, and conceals, central issues of character, emotion, politics and memory."

 

Pages100-115 of Ishiguro's novel describe the beginning of a journey to the west country taken by a man called Stevens, (a model English butler). Stevens narrates the novel and Ishiguro writes in such a way that the reader is able to examine intersections of his memory, national history, politics of the era, and the way language is used to express emotion or to conceal it.

 

Ishiguro has shaped Stevens solitary motor journey as an ironic narrative that reveals more to the reader than it does to Stevens and therefore the reader should be very cautious when reading Stevens accounts, as he is not a reliable narrator.  For example, Stevens believes that he is making his trip to visit miss Kenton for "professional" reasons in order to offer her a job at Darlington hall. However if we examine closely we can see through Stevens's emotionless concealing language, that there are revealing signs that he is in fact in love with Miss Kenton.

 

 Stevens spent his earlier butler career moving from household to household trying to climb the social status ladder in order to achieve his ultimate goal...to become "a great butler". He continuously refers to the criteria that the Hayes society has put forward and sees his father as a role model. It is clear to the reader by seeing how many times Stevens mentions his fathers greatness that he loves, admires and respects his father. In his mind he sees his father as being 'above' him, which could be an explanation as to why Stevens was so insistent that Miss Kenton referred to his father "Mr. Stevens Senior" rather than "Albert".

 

However on the evening of 'Mr. Stevens seniors' death, any love or admiration Stevens may have had is far from apparent. It is obvious that Stevens is particularly proud of being a butler because it is a role that "serves humanity". Yet, ironically, this role also demands a remoteness, a suppression of emotions which is distinctly 'inhuman'. As a result of this, Stevens reflects a mechanistic personality which has been programmed to think and react, regardless of his true feelings.

 

This is illustrated on the night of his father's death by his failure to serve his father. It is in this scene that we observe that memory is a filter for Stevens. When describing the evening he fixates on the glittering occasion downstairs to distract him from his father's death .

 

Most people's natural inclination would be to go upstairs and see their father and Ishiguro illustrates this point by allowing the cook to show more emotion. Clearly Stevens is suppressing his true emotions, as they are too painful to acknowledge. He has been brought up to put duty first and keep the traditional British ' stiff upper lip'. This has influenced his memory to be selective and only focus on the success of the evening and his important role within it. The reality of the terrible loss of his father is repressed.

 

Stevens vividly recalls that the cook "reeked powerfully of fat and roast chicken" he therefore  "turned away". Stevens uses this as a tactic to avoid feelings of guilt about her display of emotion and his lack of it. In doing this Stevens is using the 'smell' of the cook as an excuse to leave so that he does not have to acknowledge his father's death or face up to his emotions. A common trait of Stevens' character is that he uses excuses to qualify actions e.g. his new staff plan was a professional reason to visit Miss Kenton.

 

It is in the deathbed scene where we see that Stevens only sees his father as a role & does not know who he is past the surface role of a butler... even when he leaves Darlington hall for the road trip. However we are given an idea that he is upset, as he is asked four times if he is "alright", and told that he looks like he is crying. He prefers to remain downstairs occupying a public role as a butler rather than a private role as a son upstairs so that his "mask" will remain. Nevertheless, at this point in the novel Stevens' mask appears to have slipped yet he tries to conceal this. We are told in the first chapter that

 

"Continentals are incapable to be butlers because they are a breed incapable of the emotional restraint which only the English race are capable of."

 

He uses this idea as an excuse to be emotionally hardened and manages to twist the evening events around in his memory so that the evening was not a sad occasion but a turning point in his career that he looks back on  "with a large sense of triumph". For him he left his father in order to become "a great butler" and to gain "dignity", which is what (he says) his father would have wanted.

 

Possibly this is what his father would have wanted on the surface, but faced with the reality of death and the repressed emotions of so many years perhaps he wanted to 'let down the barriers' just for his dying moments. Stevens, however, is too 'programmed' to sense this as in his mind detachment is linked with dignity and greatness with nationalism. His aloofness is something in which he takes pride.

 

Stevens lacks the strength of character to control his life and foolishly believes that as an English butler he will change the course of history. His constructed "mask" is based on the English notion of dignity to avoid political and social responsibility. Behind the mask Stevens has enslaved himself to the English system of professionalism. By hiding behind this, he escapes responsibility. Professionalism keeps Stevens from reacting compassionately to his father's illness and death. However Stevens father also hid behind the same mask of professionalism and dignity, never showing emotion or love for his son. Stevens believes that his father wanted him to behave this way.

 

Stevens's loyalty to his master and obsessiveness in being a "great butler" blinds him from seeing Lord Darlington's political errors as he creeps towards the appeasement of Germany. Mr. Lewis is an American diplomat and gives a speech about Lord Darlington's views, speaking with emotion, hence using very blunt, direct and colloquial language, which makes his speech clear, and revealing. E.g. "hogwash" & "bunch".  Lord Darlington's response to Lewis is very much like a politicians response as he does not criticise Lewis and receives applause from people whilst putting his view across.

 

Lewis' expression of language is in complete contrast to Lord Darlington and Stevens use of language. Both speak far more formally and they both tend to 'fluff' out their speeches. Their wrapper is so extensive that sentences lose meaning e.g. "embarking on a further point". The use of language is too convoluted and scripted. These are the reasons why Stevens finds it so hard to banter with Lewis, as bantering requires a spontaneous, light-hearted response, which Stevens is incapable of. This brings about the question, 'Is there any depth beneath the surface of English people/language'?

 

Stevens' loyalty to his master shows that his perception of events is distorted and that his memory has been programmed to be selective so that his main focus and priority in life is his role as a butler. His relationship to his master parallels the colonizer's relationship to its colonized subjects. By hiding behind the mask of dignity, he loses opportunities to experiences political, sentimental and human interactions.  Part of this mask is portrayed by his emotionless use of language which conceals his inner feelings yet at the same time is extremely revealing to the reader.