Englishness and Americans by The Best Group[LOO]: Lisa, Olle, Ola

In the novel The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro plays with contrasts between Englishness and Americans. This is shown by Stevens' confrontation with various stereotypical characters in the novel as well as the English countryside and his own cultural beliefs.

Very early in the novel Stevens is put in an uncomfortable situation when he and Mr. Farraday are having a conversation. Mr. Farraday is making a joke about Stevens 'lady friend' Ms. Kenton, which makes Stevens extremely embarrassed: "This was a most embarrassing situation, one in which Lord Darlington would never have placed an employee." (14) This 'American-style' of bantering is not something which Stevens is used to as the customs of his former English employer Lord Darlington was very different. This ‘American-style’ of bantering, can be contrasted with Steven's conversations with Lord Darlington when he wants Steven's to convey the "facts of life" to his godson Reginald: "Oh Stevens, he began with a false air of nonchalance. [...] The facts of life Stevens. Birds, bees. You are familiar aren't you?" (85) As we can see, this conversation is more awkward compared to the previous one between Stevens and Mr. Farraday. Lord Darlington must use metaphors to distance himself from the actual subject of sex. Also, this very English way of being too embarrassed to give his message to his godson directly shows a contrast between Mr. Farraday’s jokes about women and Lord Darlington’s awkwardness towards the subject.

At the great meeting between the French, the Germans, the English and the Americans in 1936 we can again see a great contrast between Americans and Englishness, when Mr. Lewis makes a speech: "I don't have anything to say to the nonsense our French friend has been uttering. I just dismiss that sort of talk. [...] You gentlemen here, forgive me, but you are just a bunch of naïve dreamers." (106) As we can see here, Mr. Lewis is much more straight-forward in his speech than any of the other English gentlemen present. He also accuses them for being amateurs in a diplomatic game full of professionals: "A classic English gentlemen. Decent, honest, well-meaning. But his lordship here is an amateur. [...] You [gentlemen] here in Europe need professionals to run your affairs." (106) Here he points out the cultural preferences as a factor of their disability.

Stevens English customs, his dignity and his role as the 'perfect butler' is ironically what makes him trust Lord Darlington's judgement so blindly. So in a sense, his customs are what indirectly lead to his large issue in the novel, the theme of blindness and self-denial. This can be seen when Mr. Cardinal visits Darlington hall during a meeting Lord Darlington is having with the Prime minister. Here, Stevens has a conversation with him which clearly illustrates his blindness and self-denial: "You don't understand, Stevens [...] Over the last few years, his lordship has probably been the single most useful pawn Herr Hitler has had in this country for his propaganda tricks. All the better because he's sincere and honourable and doesn't recognize the true nature of what he's doing." (235) Here we can see the notion of amateurs in a Europe of professional politicians, Lord Darlington is obviously being tricked by German politicians. As the conversation continues, Mr. Stevens continues to deny this notion in his blindness: "I'm sorry sir, but I have to say that I have every trust in his Lordship's good judgement." (236)

Mr. Stevens regards the English countryside as a symbol for Englishness and the English people. He reflects on this as he overlooks the hills of Salisbury:

“I would say that it is the very lack of obvious drama or spectacle that sets the beauty of our land apart. What is pertinent is the calmness of that beauty, its sense of restraint. It is as though the land knows of its own beauty, of its own greatness, and feels no need to shout it.” (29)

This paragraph reveals the qualities Stevens considers intrinsic to the English identity.

The theme of Englishness and Americans is very closely connected with the other main themes in the novel. Seeing and blindness, the bantering, the self-denial, Steven's customs and his dignity etc. It's also closely connected to the title, "The Remains of the Day", which refers to the last days of the true English gentlemen and their customs. The British Empire is on the verge of downfall and the old and noble values are increasingly being replaced with a more modern type of culture that values different things. Stevens is a part of this last bit of English culture as he is a part of one of the old houses, Darlington hall, which changes owner from the classic English gentlemen, Lord Darlington, to the modern American, Mr. Farraday.