Summer Work: 'Quest' Essay
Quest in ‘The Remains of the Day’ by Kazuo Ishiguro
A journey or trip in a work of literature often holds a meaning deeper than is apparent on the surface. In The Remains of the Day Kazuo Ishiguro uses a trip initiated for practical and modest purposes to reveal to the protagonist of the novel a self truth of which he is originally blind to. Ishiguro’s trip in The Remains of the Day fits the criteria of a “Quest” as laid out by Thomas C. Foster in How to Read Literature Like a Professor. Ishiguro’s quest contains “a quester, a place to go, a stated reason to go there, challenges and trials en route, and a real reason to go there” (Foster 3). Ishiguro chooses to send his protagonist, Stevens, on the quest to have him undergo a great self realization from which the reader also benefits from.
As all quests require, Ishiguro’s quest has a quester that is blind to some part of his life and who “goes on a quest, whether or not he knows it’s a quest” (Foster 3). The quester of The Remains of the Day, the quirky and overly polite Stevens, is a man who has spent his entire life concerning himself with the comfort of others and never with his own needs, mentally or emotionally. Stevens, except for one point, is a clear cut candidate for being this quest’s quester; he is “inexperienced, immature, sheltered… [doesn’t] know enough about the only subject that really matters: [himself]” (Foster 3) and thus in need of a quest to discover self-knowledge. However, Foster writes, “questers are so often young… forty-five-year-old men either have self-knowledge or they’re never going to get it…”(3). It would thus appear that Stevens is missing this quality of a quester, as he is certainly over forty-five years old. Nevertheless, because Stevens has all of the other characteristics Foster attributes to the quester stereotype, he can be considered emotionally young and as the reader finds out, he is not too old to learn a new trick.
Though Ishiguro slightly strays from the traditional form of a quest story by choosing as his quester a middle aged man, he follows the next three requirements of a quest story- a place to go, a stated reason to go there, and challenges en route -rather precisely. Stevens is encouraged by his employer, Mr. Farraday, to “take the car and drive off somewhere for a few days,” (Ishiguro 3) a request which he initially declines. However, he later decides to take his employer up on his offer and decides to visit an old co-worker, Miss Kenton, for the stated reason of offering to her the position she once held as head maid at Darlington Hall. However the importance and chances of Miss Kenton coming back to Darlington Hall diminish as the story progresses and the focus becomes more on Stevens’ reflections on his life and his missed opportunities. This fits the quest story mold because, as Foster writes, “the real reason for a quest never involves the stated reason” (3).
The “challenges en route” that Stevens faces throughout his quest manifest themselves in the form of mechanical troubles and personal dilemmas. Superficially, car troubles hold Stevens back from reaching his stated goal- that of contacting Miss Kenton -and on more than one occasion he finds himself stranded on the side of the road. Moreover, Stevens faces a more powerful force holding him back from his goal: his own doubts and mentality. Stevens’ professionalism- and at times over professionalism –combined with his self doubts lead him to question whether he and Miss Kenton can connect on a personal rather than occupational level. Stevens ends up believing that perhaps Miss Kenton has no intention of coming back to Darlington Hall and considers turning back. However, Stevens overcomes these automotive and personal predicaments and reaches his destination and achieves his stated goal of offering Miss Kenton her old position back, though she does not accept it.
As Foster stresses in his chapter describing quests, Every Trip Is a Quest (Except When It’s Not), it is the real reason for quest that is most important, and that reason “is always self-knowledge” (Foster 3). The same is true for Ishiguro’s quest involving Stevens. After his six day quest, the events and recollections of which comprise the entire novel, Stevens comes to one “hard reality” that he “should cease looking back so much, that [he] should adopt a more positive outlook and try to make the best of what remains of [his] day. After all, what can [one] ever gain in forever looking back…” (Ishiguro 244). Stevens then vows to himself to make the best of his life by lightening up and, more specifically, bantering with his new employer because “in bantering lies the key to human warmth” (Ishiguro 245). Stevens’ self-knowledge comes in the form of his new awareness of the importance of self-gratification and human warmth.
The metamorphosis of character that Stevens undergoes throughout his quest is testament to Ishiguro’s mastery of writing. By choosing to portray his message through the self-realization of Stevens, Ishiguro has the reader realize through very emotional means the consequences of a life unlived. However, Ishiguro also conveys the message that it is never too late to begin enjoying one’s life through the open-ended finish to his quest. By conveying his maxims in the form of a quest, Ishiguro is able to give a believable and emotionally charged narrative of the importance of them. Thus, Ishiguro effectively and in a nonthreatening manner introduces the reader to the lessons from Stevens’ quest.
A journey or trip in a work of literature often holds a meaning deeper than is apparent on the surface. In The Remains of the Day Kazuo Ishiguro uses a trip initiated for practical and modest purposes to reveal to the protagonist of the novel a self truth of which he is originally blind to. Ishiguro’s trip in The Remains of the Day fits the criteria of a “Quest” as laid out by Thomas C. Foster in How to Read Literature Like a Professor. Ishiguro’s quest contains “a quester, a place to go, a stated reason to go there, challenges and trials en route, and a real reason to go there” (Foster 3). Ishiguro chooses to send his protagonist, Stevens, on the quest to have him undergo a great self realization from which the reader also benefits from.
As all quests require, Ishiguro’s quest has a quester that is blind to some part of his life and who “goes on a quest, whether or not he knows it’s a quest” (Foster 3). The quester of The Remains of the Day, the quirky and overly polite Stevens, is a man who has spent his entire life concerning himself with the comfort of others and never with his own needs, mentally or emotionally. Stevens, except for one point, is a clear cut candidate for being this quest’s quester; he is “inexperienced, immature, sheltered… [doesn’t] know enough about the only subject that really matters: [himself]” (Foster 3) and thus in need of a quest to discover self-knowledge. However, Foster writes, “questers are so often young… forty-five-year-old men either have self-knowledge or they’re never going to get it…”(3). It would thus appear that Stevens is missing this quality of a quester, as he is certainly over forty-five years old. Nevertheless, because Stevens has all of the other characteristics Foster attributes to the quester stereotype, he can be considered emotionally young and as the reader finds out, he is not too old to learn a new trick.
Though Ishiguro slightly strays from the traditional form of a quest story by choosing as his quester a middle aged man, he follows the next three requirements of a quest story- a place to go, a stated reason to go there, and challenges en route -rather precisely. Stevens is encouraged by his employer, Mr. Farraday, to “take the car and drive off somewhere for a few days,” (Ishiguro 3) a request which he initially declines. However, he later decides to take his employer up on his offer and decides to visit an old co-worker, Miss Kenton, for the stated reason of offering to her the position she once held as head maid at Darlington Hall. However the importance and chances of Miss Kenton coming back to Darlington Hall diminish as the story progresses and the focus becomes more on Stevens’ reflections on his life and his missed opportunities. This fits the quest story mold because, as Foster writes, “the real reason for a quest never involves the stated reason” (3).
The “challenges en route” that Stevens faces throughout his quest manifest themselves in the form of mechanical troubles and personal dilemmas. Superficially, car troubles hold Stevens back from reaching his stated goal- that of contacting Miss Kenton -and on more than one occasion he finds himself stranded on the side of the road. Moreover, Stevens faces a more powerful force holding him back from his goal: his own doubts and mentality. Stevens’ professionalism- and at times over professionalism –combined with his self doubts lead him to question whether he and Miss Kenton can connect on a personal rather than occupational level. Stevens ends up believing that perhaps Miss Kenton has no intention of coming back to Darlington Hall and considers turning back. However, Stevens overcomes these automotive and personal predicaments and reaches his destination and achieves his stated goal of offering Miss Kenton her old position back, though she does not accept it.
As Foster stresses in his chapter describing quests, Every Trip Is a Quest (Except When It’s Not), it is the real reason for quest that is most important, and that reason “is always self-knowledge” (Foster 3). The same is true for Ishiguro’s quest involving Stevens. After his six day quest, the events and recollections of which comprise the entire novel, Stevens comes to one “hard reality” that he “should cease looking back so much, that [he] should adopt a more positive outlook and try to make the best of what remains of [his] day. After all, what can [one] ever gain in forever looking back…” (Ishiguro 244). Stevens then vows to himself to make the best of his life by lightening up and, more specifically, bantering with his new employer because “in bantering lies the key to human warmth” (Ishiguro 245). Stevens’ self-knowledge comes in the form of his new awareness of the importance of self-gratification and human warmth.
The metamorphosis of character that Stevens undergoes throughout his quest is testament to Ishiguro’s mastery of writing. By choosing to portray his message through the self-realization of Stevens, Ishiguro has the reader realize through very emotional means the consequences of a life unlived. However, Ishiguro also conveys the message that it is never too late to begin enjoying one’s life through the open-ended finish to his quest. By conveying his maxims in the form of a quest, Ishiguro is able to give a believable and emotionally charged narrative of the importance of them. Thus, Ishiguro effectively and in a nonthreatening manner introduces the reader to the lessons from Stevens’ quest.
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