Analysis Of Ishiguro's The Remains Of The Day '

BOOK (MONOGRAPH)

Bergonzi, Bernard. The situation of the novel. Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1972.

This book explains the situation of the modern novel and also it compares the English and the American novel. The chapter that has relations with The remains of the day is the called The ideology of being English, which constitutes such an important part of the novel and of the Stevens’s ideology and way of live.

Quote:

“There are times when to be English is, it seems, to be destined for endless humiliations. In these circumstances I do not think it surprising that many English writers, and some of the most talented among them, have exhibited the classical neurotic symptoms of withdrawal and disengagement, looking within themselves, or back to a more secure period in their own lives […].”

Stevens acts as a very private person, who prefers

“Ishiguro’s The remains of the Day”. The Explicator, 55.3, 1997:180-182

This article shows how Stevens tries to imitate his father in his labour as a butler. For him, his father is the example of a perfect butler (at least when he was young). This article is important to understand the relation father-son, and the relation between the perfect butler (Stevens senior) and the reflection of it (Stevens protagonist).

Quote

“Stevens's mirroring of his father is further evident in the butler's most intimate relationships, both of which are virtually emotionless and completely passionless. The relationship with his father is the end result of a lifetime of extreme emotional repression. This is most poignantly illustrated as his father, on his deathbed, tells his son, "I hope I've been a good father to you" (97), and Stevens can only reply over and over, "I'm so glad you're feeling better now" (97); Stevens is helpless to think of a better, more loving response. He has re-created within himself his father's emotional vacuum, ridding himself of all feelings and, simultaneously, his