"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...
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...e 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.
Conclusion: In all, racial oppression and identification is a concurrent theme in Butler’s works that have been discussed. Butler’s examinations involving the sense of pride and passion towards uniqueness and individualism are evident in many different perspectives. In Butler’s works, the passion the main characters have towards themselves in an alien world teach the reader important values and lessons against negativity and racial discrimination.
The Effect of Gas Exchange on a Locusts' Breathing Aim- To see the effect of Carbon dioxide on a locusts' ventilation rate. Method- Since the locust was already in the 20cm³ plastic syringe held in a clamp, our first step was to monitor its ventilation movements. By looking at the abdomen, we could clearly see the ventilation movements of the locust, which we counted for thirty seconds. We repeated this three times under normal atmospheric conditions.
The narrator thinks the many identities he possesses does not reflect himself, but he fails to recognize that identity is simply a mirror that reflects the surrounding and the person who looks into it. It is only in this reflection of the immediate surrounding can the viewers relate the narrator's identity to. The viewers see only the part of the narrator that is apparently connected to the viewer's own world. The part obscured is unknown and therefore insignificant. Lucius Brockway, an old operator of the paint factory, saw the narrator only as an existence threatening his job, despite that the narrator is sent there to merely assist him. Brockway repeatedly question the narrator of his purpose there and his mechanical credentials but never even bother to inquire his name. Because to the old fellow, who the narrator is as a person is uninterested. What he is as an object, and what that object's relationship is to Lucius Brockway's engine room is important. The narrator's identity is derived from this relationship, and this relationship suggests to Brockway that his identity is a "threat". However the viewer decides to see someone is the identity they assign to that person. The Closing of The American Mind, by Allan Bloom, explains this identity phenomenon by comparing two "ships of states" (Bloom 113). If one ship "is to be forever at sea, [and] ¡K another is to reach port and the passengers go their separate ways, they think about one another and their relationships on the ship very differently in the two cases" (Bloom 113).
...oncluding passage to his narrative for a specific purpose: to create a more profound connection with his audience on the basis of his experiences and thoughts. He creates a vision of relief in the beginning of the passage by means of diction, similes, and an impeccable amount of imagery. Douglass also applies an approach for the application of syntax, diction, and connotative sense to amplify the feelings of loneliness and paranoia presented after emancipation. The result is the masterpiece that fluently runs from one state of mind following his escape to another. It is a masterpiece with a timeless sense of moral values being unconsciously taught to its audience, whether or not they succeed in deciphering it.
Murphy, B. & Shirley J. The Literary Encyclopedia. [nl], August 31, 2004. Available at: http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2326. Access on: 22 Aug 2010.
Waxler, Robert P. The Mixed Heritage of the Chief: Revisiting the Problem of Manhood in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. N.p.: Wiley-Blackwell, n.d. Literary Reference Center. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.
‘…the characters’ strength was a direct result of their necessary stoicism in the face of so much hostility.’ Discuss the role of women in Burial Rites.
The 2013 fictional film, The Butler, focuses on racial issues in America. The story begins in the 1920’s in Georgia. At the time, Cecil Gaines and his family are all slaves. Cecil Gaines and his father were in the field picking cotton. The master told Cecil Gaines’s mother to come with him to the shed and raped her. Young Cecil Gaines asked his father why he didn’t say anything. His father responded “This is the white man’s world, we’re just living in it.” Then his father told him to get back to work. Soon after, the master comes out of the shed and Cecil Gaines’s father says “hey.” The master takes out his gun and shoots him in the head. This part of the film highlighted the fear that was used to control slaves during this time.
Fink, I. "The Power Behind the Pronoun: Narrative Games in Calvino's If on a winter's night a traveler." Twentieth Century Literature. Vol.37:1 (Spring 1991): 93-105.
Butler begins with asking the question of what makes our lives worthy? What assists us in the relevance of humanity? What helps us become recognizable as an individual who’s relatable to others, along
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
Stylistically, the book is arranged in rotating chapters. Every fourth chapter is devoted to each individual character and their continuation alo...
Kazuo Ishiguro’s Remains of the Day is about the struggles one man, Mr. Stevens, has with relationships with his father, Miss Kenton and his employer, but the struggle he focuses on the most is to be a “great butler.” He pushes himself physically to work as hard as he can, as well as mentally to determine what makes a butler great. Stevens sacrifices all normal human encounters with those around him in order to be an emotionless person. “When one encounters them, one simply knows one is in the presence of greatness” (44). Stevens, through many trials, proves himself to be a “great butler.”
Di Yanni, Robert. “Character Revealed Through Dialogue.” Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996.
SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on The Remains of the Day.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. n.d.. Web. 22 Aug. 2011.