A Quest for Closure: Stevens’s Journey in Ishiguro’s Remains of the Day Ryan Grant Haywood College

“The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination.”

Don Williams’s words of wisdom paint a vivid picture of the progress of life and the changes that occur in order to make us stronger, more durable people. In literature, Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day produces Stevens, an orderly butler whose constant mission is to serve Darlington Hall to his utmost capabilities. Stevens’s stalwart dedication to his work leaves little room for anything else. However, when the new owner of Darlington Hall, Mr. Farraday, gives Stevens the opportunity to take some time off, he decides to take a road trip through the West Country with the purpose of reconnecting with Miss Kenton. Miss Kenton, an old employee of Darlington Hall and friend of Stevens, is the source of many memories for Stevens and is very much a part of the nostalgia of Darlington Hall. As such, Stevens turns his journey into a business trip in order to see if Miss Kenton would like to take up her old position at the manor. In a quest rooted in the discovery of a new sense of “seeing” and an enlightened view of the world, Ishiguro takes the reader on a trip with Stevens as he tackles the...