Anaylses of Ishıgura's The Remains of the Day through the issues Essay

Anaylses of IshÄ ±gura's The Remains of the Day through the issues of Stevens roles, persona,repression,deception and self deceit - Essay Example Firstly, the character of Mr. Stevens the Butler is depicted brilliantly in the novel by bringing out the subtleties and nuances of emotion and internal conflict. Mr. Stevens is quite reserved and introverted by natural disposition, whose manifestations take inhuman proportions when he adds qualities of orthodox professionalism to his work. Mr. Stevens’ work ethic is centered on a particular understanding of â€Å"dignity†, which requires him to focus exclusively on serving his master, in his case Lord Darlington and compels him to remain insulated from external circumstances of the lives of both. It is also made clear that Mr. Stevens is not unaware of the dangers of this pattern of behavior, as suggested by his sense of guilt. But it is not much later in the narrative, after the calamitous developments of the Second World War under the Nazi command that Mr. Stevens admits to his betrayal and guilt. The Butler’s code of conduct, which Mr. Stevens immaculately in culcates in him turns into an affliction, when he completely subordinates his personal feelings and aspects of his persona to the dictates of that code of conduct. In other words, his role as the Butler of the Darlington house blinds him from being critical of his employee and induces a sense of moral numbness, which is reflected in other aspects of his life, as discussed in the next paragraph. Mr. Stevens exhibits such extreme measures of restraint and reserve in his demeanor that it reflects in his speech as well. Not only does he ever indulge in small banter but his language and choice of words represent a Victorian sensibility and professionalism that borders on being mechanical and inhuman. Kazuo Ishiguro mildly suggests that such understanding of one’s professional role eliminates all qualities of humanness from the individual. Another feature of is personality is his tendency to hide unpleasant facts