Final Summer Essay: Anaysis of the use of a quest in "The Remains of the Day"

In the novel, “How to Read Literature Like a Professor,” Thomas Foster writes about the actual meaning of a quest or a journey. The novel “The Remains of the Day” by Kazuo Ishiguro is a prime example to what Foster is discussing in his opening chapter. The entire novel is about the protagonists’ journey that he embarks on in order to meet with one woman.

“The Remains of the Day” is about an English butler named Stevens who embarks on a journey to find an old worker of Darlington Hall. Stevens was a butler he can remember. It is basically all he knows and lives by. From his proper manors to his sincere language, he is seen as the “greatest butler.” All throughout the novel, Stevens talks about what it takes to be a “great butler.” He has never lived outside of the walls of Darlington Hall, so everything that he encounters on his journey relates somehow back to his profession.

According to “How to Read Literature Like a Professor,” basically every trip is considered to be a quest. “The quest consists of five things: (a) a quester, (b) a place to go, (c) a stated reason to go there, (d) challenges and trials en route, and (e) a real reason to go there.” (Foster, 3) Thomas Foster also states that the state reason for a quest is never the real reason. The real reason for someone to undertake a quest is always for self-knowledge. Although the real reason is hidden, the quester makes it easy to realize it when the end of the quest is found. The reaction gives away a lot of information about what they are really thinking.

Stevens’ journey has all of the qualities needed for it to be considered a quest. First off, Stevens is the quester. He took it upon himself to embark on this journey for his own intentions, whether good or bad. His journey is to go meet with a previous Darlington Hall employee, Miss Kenton, due to the lack of service that is there now. There used to be feelings between Stevens and Miss Kenton when they had both worked together for Lord Darlington. One large disagreement has made it so they haven’t spoken in a while. Stevens has told everyone he is going for pure business. Deep inside, he is hoping for closure, or maybe for sparks to flare up again. Even though he will not admit it at many times, he misses Miss Kenton and what used to be. Hope is what makes Mr. Stevens continue on this long journey.

Stevens’ journey did not run as smoothly as he had planned. This was his first time actually seeing the English landscape, and noticing what the outdoors has to offer. Everything was new to him. He was often unsure of which way to go. Car troubles occurred as well. At one point, Mr. Stevens had to sleep in a foreign town due to his car having difficulties. He met new people, who weren’t as highly ranked as the people he was used to. They basically looked up to Stevens as a hero of some sort. The journey was a long process for Stevens and he knew that giving up was not an option. He was experiencing a whole new life that he could not see from inside the walls of Darlington Hall.

Towards the end of the novel, Stevens finally reaches his goal. He finds Miss Kenton. Although his hopes are high, it does not go as well as he had hoped it would. He found out that Miss Kenton is already happily married and is not coming back to Darlington Hall. Reading the context clues proved that there were once feelings between the two of them. When they finally met with each other Miss Kenton said to Stevens, “But that doesn't mean to say, of course, there aren't occasions now and then- extremely desolate occasions—when you think to yourself: 'What a terrible mistake I've made with my life.' And you get to thinking about a different life, a better life you might have had. For instance, I get to thinking about a life I may have had with you, Mr. Stevens. And I suppose that's when I get angry about some trivial little thing and leave. But each time I do, I realize before long—my rightful place is with my husband. After all, there's no turning back the clock now. One can't be forever dwelling on what might have been." This was a huge blow to Mr. Stevens. For the first time he had said that he wanted to breakdown and cry. He realized that greatness wasn’t everything. He wanted to just be happy. Although Mr. Stevens did not get Miss Kenton to come back, he found a new meaning to life and learned a lot about himself during this journey of a lifetime.

The purpose of adding a journey like the one in “The Remains of the Day” is to show that everyone has goals that they want to achieve. No matter what trip is taken, there is always a desired point. It can be considered as a quest of some sort. Although the times will get rough, it is the challenges that will make the people stronger. Mr. Stevens did not think of it as him going on a quest, but at the end of the novel he learned that there is much more to life than what is shown looking through the windows from the insides of Darlington Hall. The element of a quest, as shown in “How to Read Literature Like a Professor,” establishes a more meaningful task of finding self-knowledge rather than just taking a trip for a set reason. A meaningful quest often makes the ending that much more worth it. The characters grow as time goes on, and purpose of adding it makes it that much more clear.