The Remains of the Day The Remains of the Day is a pretty good and educating book written by Kazuo Ishiguro. This book tell the reader a story of Mr. Stevens within a historical concept of post WW 2 period. This novel helps people understant more accurately the role that theory plays in forming and analyzing practice. Set in interwar and post-World War II Great Britain, this novel introduces the reader to a key historical period and raises a number of complex theoretical issues. It accomplishes both of these tasks, though, without subjecting the reader to staid theoretical and disciplinary debates. Particularly this novel has a strong connection with the study of the international relations. The story of Mr.
Stevens shows to some point what he was able to learn during his ventures and also what he failed to learn but should have. Some background on Ishiguros novel may help explain why it is an excellent choice for the international relations study. The novel poses as the memoirs of an elderly British butler, Mr. Stevens, who is taking a motoring journey across England to visit the former housekeeper of his staff. Through the nostalgic reminiscing of this character, the reader slowly comes to realize that Stevens has served in the household of an important aristocrat, Lord Darlington, a figure who played – in the fictional world of the novel – a major role in formulating the British policy of appeasement towards the Nazis. This Darlington, in the post-war period in which the novel is set, was publicly excoriated for these unofficial diplomatic activities, and has recently died.
The Essay on Difficult for the reader to feel much affection for the protagonist
It is difficult for the reader to feel much affection for the protagonist in Wolff’s memoir. Do you agree? This Boy’s Life, set in America in the 1950’s, is a compelling memoir by Tobias Wolff, whom recreates the frustrations and cruelties faced throughout his adolescence, as he fights for identity and self-respect. During this period of time, America underwent major changes in the political ...
As Stevens travels across the country, he wrestles with the guilt he feels over his own role in helping Darlington undertake his diplomatic activities, and tries to reconcile his portrait of Darlington as benevolent employer with the postwar public vilifications of his character. Interwoven with these political and historical themes in the novel is Stevenss parallel attempt to understand how he and Darlingtons former housekeeper, Miss Kenton, never were able to act upon the strong romantic feelings they had for each other. Two particular features of the novel demonstrate some important lessons about the relationship between theory and practice: the character of Lord Darlington, and Stevens encounter with an outspoken democrat, Harry Smith, in a small English village in which he stops for a night. The most relevant feature of the character of Darlington is his role as a facilitator of interaction between Nazi foreign policy officials, including the German Ambassador to Great Britain, Joachim von Ribbentrop, and selected members of the British government and aristocracy. Although Darlington had been a member of the Foreign Office (Ishiguro 1989, 72) – a common employment for young upper class males in Great Britain and elsewhere – his role as mediator between the British and German governments during the 1930s was unofficial. A second feature of the novel is that it provides some important insights into the value-laden character of theory.
This is especially true when Stevens, the narrator, recounts his journey to a small village some twenty years after the events of the interwar period. Mistaken for a member of the nobility, Stevens finds himself the subject of a political discussion prompted by Harry Smith, one of the members of the village. Smith argues that political participation must play a role in the life of every person. Expounding on the theme of dignity, a word Stevens had used to describe excellence in the performance of his job, Smith argues that the word could rightfully be used to explain the importance of a democratic system: Dignitys something every man and woman in this country can strive for and get (186).
The Essay on Theories of Political Power
In the world of today, there are four main theories of political power. Each one is a specific belief of who actually controls the government. They are the Marxist Theories, The Power Elite, the Bureaucratic Theory, and the Pluralist Theory. In the first theory, the Marxist Theory, it is believed that the large corporations control or influence what happens in the government. This ideology is ...
He argues that World War II was fought to preserve this dignity and democratic freedom. Stevens, encouraged by his experiences as a butler at a manor where he witnessed the wisest of political figures debating the great issues of the day, believes that Smith is incorrect to argue that ordinary people can successfully engage in politics.
Hence, the novel teaches two important lessons about the potential conflict between theory and practice.(5) The first lesson is that theory is not used by practitioners as if it were chosen from a menu of options; actors develop what we see as theories in their daily interactions with others in the political realm, and their habits and practices are informed by multiple sources in their personal and public lives. Subsequently, theory constitutes a useful tool for interpreting the moves of individual actors in international relations. The second lesson is that theory construction is not an amoral exercise in observation and hypothesis testing – it involves a series of contextualized political and moral choices about the best ways in which to conduct politics, even on the international level. Stevens takes great pride in his ability to contribute to the success of his employers diplomatic activities. He repeatedly emphasizes to his staff that What happens in this house … may have considerable repercussions, and that History could well be made under this roof (Ishiguro 1989, 62, 77).
Yet, in the course of successfully discharging his duties, Stevens must sacrifice his personal life.
On two separate occasions he must ignore the two most important people in his life, his father and Miss Kenton, for the sake of world events. As his father lays dying, Stevens refuses to relinquish his role as the guarantor of comfort in the house, treating the foot sores of a French diplomat instead of going to his fathers bedside. The novel reveals both the positive and negative elements of this aspect of diplomacy. Stevens stresses that the best diplomacy takes place in the privacy and calm of the great houses of this country (115).
Yet, the book also demonstrates how class- and gender-based conceptions of diplomacy tend to remove it from the democratic norms of governance. During one late-night informal diplomatic session, for example, two high-level British officials, guests of Lord Darlington, call Stevens into the room and prod him mercilessly for his opinion upon issues like the gold standard. As Stevens gently deflects their questions, humiliated but unwilling to remove himself from the room, the gentlemen triumphantly proclaim the faults of democracy, a system which would place legislative power in the hands of untutored servants like Stevens.
The Essay on On Social Theory In Social Work
We know where we have been, where we are now and where we need to go – but how do we get there? A map. Theory is a map. It notes any number of known landmarks (previously achieved or applied solutions) and obstacles (issues or problems) and gives us direction so that we are able to navigate intelligently and arrive safely (minimal discomfort to all) at our destination (desired outcome/s). ...
Moreover, the novel addresses rather directly the gendered discourse of diplomacy. As Stevens observes the attempts of the participants in the international conference hosted at Darlington Hall to maintain an informal and friendly atmosphere, he points out that the drawing room is a rather feminine room crammed full of so many stern dark-jacketed gentlemen (92).
As the gendered terms of this contrast indicate, diplomacy is a practice in which men engage in order to protect successfully their nations interests, a practice that does not coexist well with feminine concerns – despite the fact that those concerns underlay much of the successful conduct of that diplomacy.
Bibliography:
Kazuo Ishiguro, Remains of the Day, Birmingham: Palace Print, 1989.
