Remains of the Day II

The only reason I continue reading this book is because I want to know whether or not Miss Kenton returns (probably not… hence the title and cover) and how the conversation goes; oh and because it’s a grade. Stevens is such a monotone character; I bet he never heard of an exclamation point. The only parts that I find intriguing are when he writes about Miss Kenton and their encounters. Mr. Stevens denies working for Lord Darlington… do I sense some regretful or shamefully emotions creeping up on Stevens? My, my, this book may have some nice twists after all!To answer to Danny’s question about whether or not Stevens is a reliable character (and to agree with Dario): I do see Stevens as a trustworthy narrator. Perhaps he is a little sketchy-sketchy just because he does seem to have zero emotion (you can never trust a guy with no emotion… my momma told me), and when he’s explaining an event that has happened that may change our view of him, he gets into these extra (very extra) long explanations as to why he was motivated to do this, or why he did that the way he did, and his explanations somehow evolve into this completely different topic altogether. Because he goes to lengths to hide or explain simple emotions and desires it makes me believe that he’s hiding more than just simple emotions, and therefore cannot be trusted. But… the most powerful leaders of the country trusted him in the Darlington Mansion. They told secrets in front of him, and even to this day he does not give away their identity. If Darlington confided in him about decisions that would affect the country and he still hasn’t told the audience about all of them, I would consider this to be a very honest and reliable man. One event that completely made me not like Stevens as a character was when his father died and the attitudes he took towards him. Not only did he neglect his father in the last minutes of his life, but he seemed more interested in the lives of strangers! I was disappointed with Stevens decisions to let his father die while he was filling drinks to people that did not care for him. On the other hand, he can now live up to his father’s expectations; nothing can stand in the way (no circumstances or emotions) of him being the great butler he always strived to be. On page 139, Stevens says, “But perhaps one should not be looking to the past so much. After all, I still have before me many more years of service I am required to give… It is essential, then, to keep one’s attention focused on the present” which is completely contrary to what he does! This brings me to believe that Mr. Stevens is regretting a thing or two in his past—after reading this, I got the sense that his “secret” (as I put it) is not small, but a secret that is taking over his life. He keeps looking back and reminiscing on the better days he seemed to have. Which by the way, gets me thinking that because he thinks of Miss Kenton so much, maybe he has intense feelings for her… finally, I’m getting some emotion here! =)