Nick Cooley, Engl 570, Discussion Starter, 20 January 2009

The reliability of Stevens as narrator seems apposite to any discussion of Ishiguro’s Remains of the Day. To call narrator reliability into question, though, does not answer many questions; it does, however, raise many. Is Stevens’ unreliability a function of butlerly propriety (think of him acting as Lord Darlington’s apologist on page 61)? Is it an innate unreliability of personal memory (e.g. his reversal on the position of Miss Kenton’s forwardness in criticizing his father so early in her employment at Darlington Hall on page 60)? Is it a symptom of the “blinders” Joe brought up in class Thursday? Does it imply that he sees some benefit in willful and purposive misdirection? Furthermore, what are the implications of Stevens’ unreliability to a reading of the novel? For our attitudes as readers?

For example, I believe Ishiguro gives us a hint by placing the main narrative of the novel in July 1956—the same month Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, an event which led ultimately to the joint British, French, and Israeli invasion of Egypt. Jeremy Black referred to British participation in the Suez Crisis as a “last major flourish of imperial power” in his “Overview: Britain from 1945 onwards” on the BBC History website. I posit that although Stevens may not be intended as a synecdoche or allegorical figure, he is intended to be viewed in parallel to the days when Britian was clearly losing influence in the world. His unreliability, then, becomes an attempt—a conscious attempt—to make a “last major flourish” of butlerly “dignity” and forces the reader to carefully weigh all of his seemingly candid revelations.

Other potential pages for discussion on unreliability: 5, 9, 37(!), 48, 49, 56

William Rannals, Discussion Starter

The prologue and first two chapters of the book present an interesting story through the eyes of Stevens. The creditability of his story does not seem to concern me, as it seems it has others, but rather his relationships with his father and Miss Kenton.
He seems to have a great deal of respect for both of them, in the present (the time in which he is telling this story), but as we learn they treated him with nothing but disdain until his father became ill. It was his father’s illness that brought out his own compassion and that of Miss Kenton.
Also, an area of interest is Steven’s constant lack of respect for other countries and his feeling of superiority over anyone who isn’t British, upper-class, or employed by the upper-class…….. He enjoys being mistaken for a wealthy individual when he arrives at the guest house in a nice Ford and pressed suit. Chapter two also seems to serve as a subtle justification for why he should be considered a ‘great’ butler.