Eng426 20th century english literature

Self-Assessment Exercise
Narrate four stories told by Stevens and discuss their functions in the novel.

4.0 CONCLUSION

The novel to a great extent shows the changes that have taken place in the mid-twentieth century English society. As a butler, he struggles to cope with the informal way Mr Farriday interacts with him. Stevens’ problem is his inability to adapt to some of these changes. Since most part of the narrative deals with the past, the novel also shows how the past shapes the present and the importance of balancing efficiency with practicability.

5.0 SUMMARY

In this Unit you have been introduced to Kazuo Ishiguro and his novel The Remains of the Day. A synopsis of the novel was done and the themes and postmodernist techniques in the novel were discussed.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

Discuss Stevens’ professionalism and its connection to the regrets he has towards the end of the novel.

7.0 REFERENCES/ FURTHER READING

Barth, J. (1996). “The Literature of Replenishment” in Essentials of the Theory of Fiction, eds Michael J. Hoffman and Patrick D. Murphy, 2nd edition. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Ishiguro, K. (1989).The Remains of the Day. London: Faber and Faber.
Lyotard, J. F. (1984). The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. Geoff Bennington and Brian Massumi (Trans.), Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Malpas, S. (2005). The Postmodern: The New Critical Idiom. New York: Routledge.
Marcus, A. (2006). “Kazuo Ishiguro’s The remains of the day: the discourse of self- deception”. Journal of literature and the history of ideas. Vol. 4:1, pp 129-150.
Marshall, P. J. (1996).The Cambridge Illustrated History of the British Empire.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.