The Humanity of Stevens' Character

"'The fact is, Mr Stevens, your father is entrusted with far more than a man of his age can cope with.'

'Miss Kenton, you clearly have little idea of what you are suggesting.'

'Whatever your father was once, Mr Stevens, his powers are now greatly diminished. This is what these 'trivial errors' as you call them really signify and if you do not heed them, it will not be long before your father commits an error of major proportions.'

'Miss Kenton, you are merely making yourself look foolish'" (Ishiguro 59).

This given passage has several very important features that distinguish Stevens as a character, and moreover, help drive the point that even Stevens, no matter how mechanistic, is still human. In essence, Kenton is trying to relay to point to Stevens that his father has grown old and can no longer handle the strain that Stevens has put on his father. Stevens, seems in vehement denial. It is very interesting that Stevens, who up until this point has lacked many characteristics that we attribute with humans, actually has the human characteristic of denial, and love for his father and what his father does.

Furthermore, the way that Kenton speaks is very insightful in understanding how the British culture deviates from the American culture. Kenton points out that "his powers are now greatly diminished". This is significant, because she puts the emphasis on the fact that Stevens' father's abilities are not what they used to be, whereas in America the statement may have been more akin to "he has grown old". The British don't blame the person, rather the ability, whereas the American speaking culture places the blame on the person himself.