Personal Worth In Remains Of The Day

10 Pages 2563 Words

Mr. Stevens’ journey across the countryside coincided with his journey through his career in search of affirmation of dignity and having served a noble cause—or rather, a noble man of dignified morals. Stevens, like the majority of society, wants to find purpose in his life. Just as everyone looks back on their careers hoping that they did something worthwhile with their life, Stevens does as well—hoping that he made a difference. During his drive, Stevens begins to recall his time under Lord Darlington’s service and thinks back about what kind of employer he was. Stevens encounters and recalls several individuals during his journey who make assumptions about Stevens and instead of being outright honest, Stevens blatantly deceives these people. While there are consistent points of deception throughout Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day, they are primarily those of Stevens deceiving himself about his time and service under Lord Darlington. It is only at three major points in the novel which Stevens blatantly deceives others.
Stevens’s ideas about dignity and his service under Lord Darlington must be examined in order to gain a better understanding of why he felt the need to reminisce—evaluating his career—and why he blatantly deceived others. According to both the Hayes Society and Mr. Stevens “‘great’ butlers are distinguished by their ‘dignity’” (p. 33). Although one of Stevens’ colleagues claims that dignity is comprised of something one either possesses or does not simply by a ‘fluke of nature’, Stevens’ disagrees, arguing, “dignity is something one can meaningfully strive for throughout one’s career” (p. 33). Stevens looks at his career, wondering if he strove hard enough to achieve the status of a ‘good butler’ and if he was dignified. As he journeys cross-country Stevens attempts to analyze his greatness, “It is surely a professional responsibility for all of u...