Ordinary people, not just gentlemen, deserve dignity, although Dr. Carlisle is skeptical about whether socialism is the way to do it.
After spending over six chapters three-quarters of the novel reflecting on the concept of dignity, Stevens can only manage this definition of dignity… which seems pretty easy to fulfill unless you're a chronic exhibitionist.
But what Stevens means here is that the persona you put on in public should correspond to who you really are when you're alone. Parents Home Homeschool College Resources. Study Guide. By Kazuo Ishiguro. Previous Next. Principles Duty, Dignity, Professionalism It is all very well, in these changing times, to adapt one's work to take in duties not traditionally within one's realm […].
Socialism would allow people to live with dignity. Farraday Mr. William Stevens Senior Mr. Graham Mr. Lewis Mr. What's Up With the Ending? Tired of ads? Stevens is so concerned with dignity and yet his misinterpretation of it, together with the emphasis his father put on it, has left him unable to calculate his own ideas on what dignity actually is and has thus naively lead him into an empty life.
It is his father's stress on the tiger anecdote that has in my view confused Stevens, the idea being that a butler resorts to dramatic lengths to ensure that "no discernible traces" of the tiger "are left". It is the fact that his father "knew instinctively that somewhere in this story lay the kernel of what true dignity is," and Stevens does not, but yet continues to follow his father's perspectives because he considers him a "great butler".
Everyone is motivated by aspirations to climb higher, and Stevens' ultimate goal is to be acknowledged as a "great butler". He feels he comes significantly closer to his quest at a conference Lord Darlington, holds for the most important delegates in Europe. At the conference he believes that he is heavily relied upon to oil the friction between the delegates from different countries by ensuring that the guests have nothing whatsoever to complain about.
Whilst the delegates attend these various conferences, Stevens' father is very ill, however Stevens is more willing to return to work than attend to his sick father who is the only family Stevens has left. There has always been a cold relationship between the two, both of them only conversing over professional issues, and Stevens respects his father not for being a good father but a good butler.
As Stevens is devoid of sentiment he can only judge others based on their dignity and we see how important Stevens' views on dignity are because it defies how he interacts and relates with others.
Not only does he describes his father as "dark and severe", which is dignity personified, he refers to him in the third person, "I hope father is feeling better now. Despite his father always being detached, he ironically asks, "Have I been a good father?
Furthermore, it is his arrogant ignoring of Mr Cardinal who tells him of Lord Darlington's wrong attitude to the Nazis and of Miss Kenton's attempts to give him one last chance to propose, that severely damaged his chances of becoming a "great person" and hence a "great butler". However, he ironically recalls this experience with "a large sense of "triumph", and consequently dismisses any hope of happiness as he is prepared to place professionalism before relationships.
Stevens is also unable to communicate to the reader his true intentions for undertaking the excursion, stating that he wishes to improve the current "staff plan" however the reader perceives that he wants to visit Miss Kenton, and hence becomes "an unreliable narrator", always placing a professional spin on everything.
He believes that he is respected for his dignity, and thus judges others on how dignified they are. Dignity means everything to Stevens, it being all he has and hence his profession becomes his life, unable to even call holiday clothes by their true name but instead a "costume.
Another significant point demonstrating Stevens' unreliability is his relationship with former employer Lord Darlington. Everyone must feel good about themselves in order to remain optimistic in life and Stevens accomplishes this by feeling good about being a good butler working for a good master.
Despite dedicating the best years of his life to Lord Darlington, Stevens is then quick to deny any knowledge of his former employer once we hear of his connections with the Nazis in World War Two.
At Mortimers Pond significantly halfway through the novel, another butler of a lesser stature than himself attends to his car and he asks if he actually worked for Lord Darlington, to which Stevens replies, "Oh no, I am employed by Mr John Farraday.
However, the reader is first given a hint of Stevens' unreliability through his deliberate changing of his mind and misinterpretation of events which have occurred. Stevens corrects himself when he recalls passing Miss Kenton's room and originally believes that she is crying, however on reflection he realises that it is not due to the untimely death of her Aunt, but her acceptance to marry Mr Benn, and that her efforts to provoke him into action had gone unnoticed.
Miss Kenton asks him "Do you want me to stay", giving Stevens the opportunity to react and tell her how he feels, however he ignores these blatant signs and continues to neglect the forming of relationships in order to protect his reputation. The reality is that he changed his mind about these events in order to shield himself from the painful truth that he is destined to spend the rest of his life alone because he chose dignity above warmth.
Everything Stevens encounters on his excursion, he relates to his profession. He travels to Mursden, not as a tourist, but an admirer of the famous silver polish, and naively believes that using this has had positive repercussions all over Europe.
However, Stevens has again attempted to selfishly pass something off as his own, so that he can feel good and important, helping him to fill the emptiness left from a lack of human warmth and intimacy. Despite Stevens' clear longing for a close relationship with anyone, he still feels the urge to place his pride above what really matters.
He stays at his post as his father instructed him all through his youth. At this point in the novel you get the feeling that Stevens has no human feelings at all. He finds that in his duties he cannot become emotionally attached to anything around him. This includes Ms. Kenton, who he has feelings for but can? His position forbids him to ever be with Ms.
Kenton, at least in his mind. These ideas were ingrained in Stevens from the time that he can remember. His duties as a butler have cut him off from all human contact, even the simplest thing as falling in love. He has feelings for Ms. He can be somewhat chummy with these people but at all times he is to be istant because he has to make the decisions. His only service in life is supposed to be that service to his lord of the household that he holds a position in.
Farrady never associated with their butlers. So, when Farrady starts talking to him as an equal of sorts he is taken aback. He starts to see things in his memories that he ignored because of his station as a butler. This is what Stevens has strived for his entire life was to be a great butler.
He envisions himself as being a hero of sorts because of his duties to the household and his lord. His memories though are starting to open his eyes to the truth of what really happened in those last years at Darlington Manor underneath Lord Darlington.
As he remembers more and more about the years at Darlington Manor under Lord Darlington you start to see as a reader that Lord Darlington was a fascist. He held secret meetings in his manor for the fascist supporters, and Stevens never realized what it was about. It was the memories of the years during the war and immediately after the war that make Stevens really doubt his lord.
As the reader you see that Lord Darlington more than likely fell into shame because of his support for the Nazi cause. The way that Mr. Farraday acts towards Stevens is degrading to him because of his staunch English background.
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