“The Remains of the Day” by Kazuo Ishiguro
Introduction
The book The Remains of the Day Kazuo by Kazuo Ishiguro is a character study of Mr. Stevens, an old butler who has worked for many years of service at Darlington Hall. The books describe a butler who is on a cross-country drive and brings out the aspect of emotional intensity, questions related to regret and responsibility, betrays and political conspiracy.
The plot in The Remains of the Day
Initial Situation
Mr. Stevens is the protagonist and the narrator. He narrates his account of affairs in the first-person point of view. Initially, Mr. Stevens participates on road trip taking place to the West Country. The journey was his very first vacation and participated with a thin excuse that it was a professional activity meant to meet Miss Kenton and convince her to return to Darlington Hall. Along the way, Miss Kenton peeps on the Window and calls Stevens. Stevens retraces the route to the summerhouse carefully, “as if he expected to get some precious jewels” (Ishiguro 5). The memories of Stevens intensify when Miss Kenton mentions how it could be if he were free to share his feeling to her the previous year, Miss Kenton asked, “Do you realize how things could be if only you accepted the express your feelings to me last” (Ishiguro 6). Mr. Stevens’s responses negative as he confirmed how he experienced a lot of challenges as he thought how he was all alone.
Moreover, it makes him think about a topic like loyalty, dignity, bantering, being a great butler and greatness. As the story continues, it becomes obvious that Mr. Stevens and Miss Kenton had developed a close relationship after many years of working together. However, it also comes out clear that neither Mr. Stevens nor Miss Kenton has admitted any feeling towards the other party. Now married Mrs. Benn currently, Miss Kenton has a child and has been in a marriage for more than twenty years. Mr. Stevens reflects on his lost opportunities, but in the end shifts changes focus on his life as a butler for Mr. Farraday after he realizes that there is no possible future with Mrs. Benn.
Conflict
Mr. Stevens experience a conflict of mind especially when questioned by a certain stranger where he denies about knowing Lord Darlington. He gets a flashback about the conference that was hosted in 1923 by Lord Darlington. The association between the two characters have been a tad problematic from the beginning. After denying having Lord Darlington, Stevens reflected the conflict and later defended him. In the year 1923, it was the time Miss Kenton and the father to Stevens began working in Darlington Hall. Such memories gave Mr. Stevens some base for tension in life. In another instance, Mr. Stevens’ current employer, Mr. Farraday an American citizen, puts forward that he should take the motorcar to explore more of England while he is on a five-week stay in the United States. He progresses to flashback his old days, like the big gatherings at the Darlington Hall. Such collections were filled with very prominent guests from all around the world and in which talks and discussions took place. Most of these meetings occurred after the First World War. An example is the narration of the 1923 conference which had been planned for a very long time, and shortly after the Great War the visit by Herr Bremann. Lord Darlington is open to Mr. Stevens, telling him that he found the trip to Berlin Germany at the end of 1920 disturbing and is very upset by the treatment of a defeated foe.
Complication
Mr. Stevens remained stranded in a place called Moscombe where he thought about the instances that took place in the 1930s. Stevens was engaged in feisty political discussion with the local people in Boscombe. He also gets a flashback about how Lord Darlington was supporting German and other Anti-Semitism and Fascism. In this period, Miss Kenton had begun a relationship with the former coworker. He recounts working with his father, Mr. Steven Senior and Miss Kenton, like in one instance where Miss Kenton and Mr. Steven encounters regarding his father. Miss Kenton explains to Mr. Stevens that his father’s duties are far too much beyond his age. As shown to the reader, it is evident that Miss Kenton and Mr. Stevens had a close working friendship which continued to deepen and grow even further.
Climax
Mr. Stevens finally reaches Cornwall where he meets with Miss Kenton for tea. They talk about their past, and their current lives and Mr. Stevens within no time finds out that Miss Kenton did not wholly mean what she had written in the letter, where she was complaining about her present situation. It becomes evident that Miss Kenton will not be willing to take up employment at Darlington Hall as she is informed of her daughter Catherine expecting a baby. They exchanged words about their past and in the end, they part their ways.
Conclusion
As Mr. Stevens was traveling back to Darlington Hall, he sits attempted to come in consensus with his memories. The memories give Mr. Stevens with the idea that Miss Kenton might be the solution of his current problems. According to Mr. Stevens, these problems include small errors that are a consequence of being understaffed. The former staff left for other jobs when Mr. Farraday entered Darlington Hall. Mr. Stevens thinks that Miss Kenton may be the solution to his problems as he hears of her crumbling marriage with Mr. Benn, her husband from the letter. Mr. Stevens starts a journey to the West Country, planning a meeting with Miss Kenton in Cornwall, where she resides. In the trip, he travels through small English villages, where he spends nights at local bed and breakfast hotels. As the story continues, it becomes clear to the reader that Mr. Stevens’ expedition has not only become that of the present thoughts and experiences but majorly those of his past.
Works cited
Ishiguro, Kazuo. The remains of the day. Vintage, 2010.