Summer Reading Essay

The Journey in The Remains of the Day

In literature, journeys tend to serve as pathways to self-discovery. The journey Mr. Stevens embarks on in the novel The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro is no different. Ishiguro uses Mr. Stevens’s journey to argue that life without emotion and self-satisfaction is a life unfulfilled. The journey consists of events that lead Mr. Stevens to this conclusion. Therefore, the journey plays a pivotal role in plot progression as well as exemplifying Ishiguro’s purpose.
As Mr. Stevens proceeds on his journey he encounters several characters who direct him to see the cities’ various sights. For example, the old man who he meets in Salisbury tells him to get a better view of England from atop a large hill. The man says, “I’m telling you, sir, you’ll be sorry if you don’t take a walk up there. And you never know. A couple more years and it might be too late.” (25) Symbolically, this statement is referring to the importance of fulfilling one’s duties to oneself. The view, which is supposedly a rather enjoyable sight, represents such self-fulfillment and the hill represents the struggle to reach that state of satisfaction and relaxation. Later, he meets a young woman who suggests that he sees the Salisbury cathedral steeple (Ishiguro 69). In general, cathedrals are thought of as emotional places in which enlightenment occurs. Therefore by this woman suggesting to Mr. Stevens that he see the cathedral it is clear that Mr. Stevens is being guided to a place that will allow him to embrace his emotion. Speaking more generally, the persons guiding Mr. Stevens represent the progression of his emotional journey.
The geography of the journey also illustrates Ishiguro’s claim. The journey’s starting point is Darlington Hall, a rigid, structured, and cold place. This starting point clearly reflects Mr. Stevens’s personality. The journey’s end point is the scenic peak in Weymouth. Here the atmosphere is jovial, free, and relaxing. This, in turn, represents Mr. Stevens’s new outlook and changing personality. It is important to note that the book doesn’t end with him returning to Darlington Hall even though he presumably does return. It ends at the calm, scenic location. This gives the effect that Mr. Stevens’s changes are permanent and that he won’t regress back into his once strict habits. The journey would not have the same effect and would not achieve the author’s purpose if Mr. Stevens was to return to Darlington Hall at the end of the novel.
Mr. Stevens, at various points in his journey, denies ever working for Lord Darlington. When asked whether he did or did not work for Lord Darlington he answers with “Oh no, I am employed by Mr. John Farraday” (120) and “I didn’t, madam, no.” (123). Typically, when one denies something they are trying to disassociate his or her self from the object of denial. Lord Darlington represents the past and the rigidness associated with Darlington Hall. By denying Lord Darlington, Mr. Stevens is shedding everything that Darlington symbolized. Mr. Stevens is letting go of the past and disassociating himself from the structured, emotionless lifestyle he once led. Since the denials occurred while on his journey, it is appropriate to say that the journey itself caused such change to occur.
On his journey, Mr. Stevens must lodge in various inns. In these inns he is served as all the other guests are. What makes this so significant is the fact that Mr. Stevens is not like the other guests, he is a butler. This is ironic because butlers are the ones who serve, prepare the house, and perform other household duties. Here, Mr. Stevens is a butler who is being served. This allows him to experience a kind of relaxation that he never experienced at Darlington Hall. If he hadn’t embarked on his journey he would have never had reason to lodge in an inn and would have never learned what it is liked to relax, and taken care of. Therefore, the journey leads him to this piece of self-discovery.
Finally Mr. Stevens encounters the subject of bantering once again at the end of his journey. On the subject he resolves, “After all when one thinks about it, it is not such a foolish thing to indulge in- particularly if it is the case that in bantering lies the key to human warmth” (245) Mr. Stevens has shed his previous inhibitions and rigid nature to accept the act of bantering, an act of human emotion. Later he writes that he will make more of an effort to banter with Mr. Farraday. This simply serves as an example that the journey did in fact cause a change in Mr. Stevens’s personality and way of thinking. He now sees how life can be fulfilling when emotion is embraced.
Ultimately, the journey served as a means of self-discovery for Mr. Stevens. In this case the discovery was that life is more fulfilling when duties to oneself are fulfilled and emotions are allowed to run freely. All of the aspects of the journey and every event that Mr. Stevens experiences, leads him to this answer, and since the events constitute the journey, the journey ultimately leads him to this answer.