Confined in a life of Serving

"It was a fine feeling indeed to be standing up there like that, with the sound of summer all around one and a light breeze on one's face. And I believe it was then, looking on that view, that I began for the first time to adopt a frame of mind appropriate for the journey before me. For it was then that I felt the first healthy flush of anticipation for the many interesting experiences I know these days ahead hold in store for me. And indeed, it was then that I felt a new resolve not to be daunted in respect to the one professional task I have entrusted myself with on this trip; that is to say, regarding Miss Kenton and our present staffing problems" (Ishiguro 26).

The significance of this passage is to show that at this moment, Stevens is in completely new territory when really he is not that far from home. This then, goes to show how Stevens has literally lived his life in confinement. His one goal in life is to serve his employer in a graceful way, which has forced him to live in a shell.
At this moment, it also goes to show that even though Stevens is technically leaving Darlington Hall, his job will still be with him. Throughout the whole paragraph, the reader thinks this is a great come-to moment and that Stevens is finally finding joy but then he ends it with bringing up the staffing problems again. Stevens cannot nor will not escape his job. To the readers it seems to be a life in a cage, but to Stevens he is living his life and seeing just as much as others within the walls of Darlington Hall. The reader then is forced to question what the definition of confinement is and if self-willing confinement is the same thing.