Similarly, Farraday’s control over Darlington Hall also changes Stevens’ idea of English identity by demonstrating the lack of service staff. From the start of the novel, Stevens lets the reader know that he has been unable to hire a perfect staff because no one fits his standards. He admits, “I have a reluctance to change too much of the old ways. But there is no virtue at all in clinging as some do to tradition merely for its own sake … the retaining off unnecessary numbers simply for tradition’s sake — resulting in employees having too much time on their hands — has been an important factor in the sharp decline of professional standards” (Ishiguro 6). Stevens admits that he has a habit of holding on to traditions simply because they are …show more content…
This leaves Stevens to function as one of the few servants left in Darlington Hall that still embody the traditional English identity. As scholar Ryan Trimm mentions, “The irony that, in moving from serving the English aristocrat and amateur diplomat Lord Darlington to being in the employ of the retired American Mr. Farraday, Stevens has in fact changed positions without leaving Darlington Hall” (Trimm 197). Stevens is now forced to perform all of the duties of the different service personnel in hopes that he can keep the dignity of the English butler alive. While Stevens is still the butler of Darlington Hall, he is also now the last remaining symbol of Englishness in a now American space. Stevens is no longer surrounded by the gentlemen of England or the staff members that he had control over. The lack of service personnel within Darlington Hall plays a major role in Stevens’ identity because it isolates him within a space that once represented his …show more content…
During Stevens’ flashbacks to Lord Darlington, he prides himself on how his work of polishing the silver has contributed to the history within Darlington Hall, such as when he impresses Lord Halifax during a meeting at Darlington Hall. However, once Mr. Farraday takes over the house, Stevens loses his ability to properly do his traditional butler duties. He mentions one instance where “[Mr Farraday] had, upon seating himself, simply picked up the fork, examined it for a brief second, touching the prongs with a fingertip, then turned his attention to the morning headlines” 139). While Stevens has experience maintaining a great household, his inability to polish the silver to Farraday’s standards symbolizes how he is unable to keep up with the changes in the modern English society. In this case, the fork also symbolizes Stevens himself. While Farraday does not want to embarrass Stevens, he is compelled to switch the fork because it does not meet his expectations as a dignified butler. Similarly, Stevens also tries to fix this situation by emphasizing the need for more staff members. He explains, “Errors such as these which have occurred over the last few months have been, naturally enough, injurious to one’s self-respect, but then there is no reason to believe them to be signs of anything more sinister than a staff shortage” (Ishiguro 139). While Stevens is able to admit
The two pieces of art that I have chosen to compare reside in Toronto’s ‘Art Gallery of Ontario’. While the two pieces are very different in terms of artistic medium and period, the painting, “The Academy”, by Kent Monkman, makes direct reference to Auguste Rodin’s sculpture “Adam”. The sculpture is a giant bronze cast from 1881 inspired by Michealangelo’s “Creation of Adam” Ceiling Fresco in the Sistine Chapel. “The Academy” by Canadian painter, Kent Monkman was commissioned by the AGO in 2008. The piece was created as a visual commentary on the “injustices and oppression Aboriginal people have suffered” (Filgiano) However different they may appear to be, Kent Monkman ‘borrows’ the theme of Rodin’s “Adam” sculpture to create an analogy between Adam’s banishment from paradise and the Aboriginal’s loss of paradise through colonization.
There is also the stench of “judgementalness” and loneliness reeking from the pages. Take Miss Polly Baker, she has five children of whose fathers have forsaken her and the children. She doesn’t ask the community for a dime of support, hasn’t slept with anyone’s husband or underage boy. Yet, she is ridiculed by the community of being a “whore” and even her children are looked at as unworthy although they’re the most innocent of them all. Miss Polly and her children have no other choice but to keep to themselves. Miss Polly Baker has even been barred from participating in communion at the church! Rev. Hooper is well respected among the community and as aforementioned, “highly esteemed.” (Hawthorne, Eldritch Press) There was no proof he committed a sin other than that he was human. As soon as he wore the black veil, he was gossiped about. His fiancé left him yet ironically ended up being his nurse on his deathbed. He used to be invited to dinners and weddings, no gets no invitations for
concern to men of the seventeenth century. Out of the oppressive setting of the seventeenth century
Another symbol, though it may not be called to mind as quickly as food, is Lady Bracknell. Throughout the story, especially in Act III, she is the picture of the high-class in all its pride. Her character's purpose in the story is so witty on Wilde's part that it's comical in itself. She believes that for the high-class anything is possible, and a well-respected, dignified marriage is a key to more power, which is ironic because her character isn't power-hungry. Her pride is easily identified when Lady Bracknell asks Jack where his house is located in London by asking, "What number in Belgrave Square?" to which Jack answers, "149." and she replies, "The unfashionable side. I thought there was something. But that could easily be altered." Jack asks, "Do you mean the fashion, or the side?" and she says, "B...
Wilde’s strategically uses each of the characters to represent the manner in which those, who were in the upper class, would behave. As the play begins we are instantly battered with the satirically condemning wit that is Oscar Wilde. Algernon requests his servant, Lane, to produce the cucumber sandwiches for the arrival of Lady Bracknell. Lane and Algernon have idle chatter and end up on the subject of marriage. After Lane exits the room and Jack insists, “Lane’s views on marriage seem somewhat lax. Really, if the lower orders don’t set us a good example, what on earth is the use of them? They seem, as a class, to have absolutely no sense of moral responsibility”. This is Wilde’s analysis on the absurdity of the upper class and also gives us an improved view of the character Algernon. Algernon is a constituent of the affluent. He assumes less responsibility than his counterpart Jack,...
Stevens, in The Remains of the Day, lives only to serve. Whoever employs him is awarded with a blind loyalty. He works tirelessly to please his master. No act is too great or small to complete. All it takes is for a a wealthy man to give him his paycheck and in return they get his life. Stevens is not one to take time off. He dedicates his life to the house. His mind is always on the subject of his job. His actions all concern his role as the butler of the house. He puts it ahead of family, of love, of his morals. He lets the love of his life slip through his fingers because of his devotion to the job. He believes “a butler who is forever attempting to formulate his own 'strong opinions' on his employer's affairs is bound to lack one quality essential in all good professionals: namely, loyalty” (Ishiguro 165). Stevens sounds sure of himself, he uses bound as if to say it going to happen, like no good butler can have their own opinions. He admits to unquestioning faith. He believes to be loyal is to be a robot. He only believes in what he is ...
butler to do something simple he himself can do and by having excessive things like food.
The character of Stevens is unique amongst the others in the novel, as it is written from a first-person perspective and he is the narrator. Ishiguro uses a wide variety of techniques to develop Stevens' character during the first eight pages.
Stevens possesses “the emotional restraint which only the English race are capable of” (43). When his father takes ill during a major dinner party, Stevens remains calm and goes on with his duties. After Stevens’ father passes away he says to Miss Kenton, “please don’t think me unduly improper in not ascending to see my father in his deceased condition just at this moment. You see, I know my father would have wished me to carry on just now” (106). Stevens is capable of going about his work after his father has died, which takes much emotional restraint. Although the reader may see this action as heartless, it is clear that Stevens respected and looked up to his father, therefore was upset by his death. Stevens believes his “father was indeed the embodiment of dignity” (34), which is what Stevens is trying to become.
Wilde’s criticism on high society and manners are shown by creating absurd situations and characters whose lack of insight causes them to respond in an inappropriate manner. An example is shown in Lady Bracknell’s preoccupation with her own parties and that the lack of sympathy for invalids makes her react to the news of Bunbury’s illness in an exaggeratedly cold manner. “I think it is high time that Mr Bunbury made up his mind whether he was going to live or to die. I should be much obliged if you would ask Mr Bunbury, from me, to be kind enough not to have a relapse on Saturday, for I rely on you to arrange my music for me”. This quote conveys the audiences that Lady Bracknell is more concerned with the propriety of her music arrangements over the life and death struggles of Bunbury. As mentioned earlier, Lady Bracknell displays a great deal of pride and pretense through her sense of entitlement and by...
The difference in social class between Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth affect their ability to get married. Sir Walter doesn't like the idea of having equality with men in the service, because he thinks it makes them unworthy of certain attributes, which is not uncommon for this time period. In this situ...
The first element of the parties that should be examined is the décor of Myrtle Wilson's apartment compared to that of Gatsby's house. In the first line describing the apartment, the narrator, Nick Carraway, informs the reader of the lack of comfort in the apartment and the ensuing awkwardness of the setting: "The apartment was on the top floor - a small living room, a small dining room, a small bedroom and a bath" (33). Nick's description makes it amazingly clear to the reader how unhappy and unpleasant the situation was, not only for himself, but for Tom and Myrtle, as well as the other guests in attendance, Catherine, Myrtle's sister, and the McKees, neighbors who live in the same building. One can imagine the walls virtually closing in because of the overcrowding furniture, the overpowering size and strength of Tom and his ego, and the oversized picture of Myrtle's ...
Zora Neal Hurston’s book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, reveals one of life’s most relevant purposes that stretches across cultures and relates to every aspect of enlightenment. The novel examines the life of the strong-willed Janie Crawford, as she goes down the path of self-discovery by way of her past relationships. Ideas regarding the path of liberation date all the way back to the teachings of Siddhartha. Yet, its concept is still recycled in the twenty-first century, as it inspires all humanity to look beyond the “horizon,” as Janie explains. Self-identification, or self-fulfillment, is a theme that persists throughout the book, remaining a quest for Janie Crawford to discover, from the time she begins to tell the story to her best friend, Pheoby Watson. Hurston makes a point at the beginning of the novel to separate the male and female identities from one another. This is important for the reader to note. The theme for identity, as it relates to Janie, carefully unfolds as the story goes on to expand the depths of the female interior.
The class system in this time period is very similar to our time. They both have a lower, middle, and upper class system in place. We both judge and see people in the terms of their class and use this daily in our thoughts of others. In the book a great representation is the knowledge of the difference between the Middleton’s and the Dashwood’s. This is shown also with Colonel Brandon and his placement in the class system and the way he helps those around
At this point, Mary is sitting at the edge of a pond at “Oxbridge,” a fictional university meant to suggest a combination of the names Oxford and Cambridge, two major British Universities. Mary begins to think about the projected thesis statement, when she is interrupted by a beadle (security guard). He informed her that women are not allowed to sit in the area unless accompanied by a male student.