The Ramens of the Day - Using my Noodle to Comment on Prose

The Remains of the Day Prose Commentary

"Then, as we watched, he walked very slowly up the steps. At the top, he turned and came back down, a little faster. Turning once more, my father became still again for several seconds, contemplating the steps before him. Eventually, he climbed them a second time, very deliberately. This time he continued on across the grass until he had almost reached the summerhouse, then turned and came walking slowly back, his eyes never leaving the ground. In fact, I can describe his manner at that moment no better than the way Miss Kenton puts it in her letter; it was indeed 'as though he hoped to find some precious jewel he had dropped there'." (67)

          In this passage Stevens describes the literal events but Ishiguro uses literary techniques to convey the underlying theme. With both imagery and diction tone is created and this tone impacts the reader, making the reader feel like the characters and therefore connect to the book. The imagery is that of Stevens' father who is fragile, he is becoming weak and his slow and hesitant actions impart the feeling of that fragility upon the reader. Stevens' father doesn't get help and he, although time consumingly and begrudgingly, completes the necessary actions by himself. This not only conveys tone but also characterizes Stevens' father and Stevens because the action of his father doing those things for himself it shows strength and dedication to his job and with the way Stevens approaches his father doing so shows that he shares the same values. Additionally, the diction characterizes the other employees, including Stevens. The words Ishiguro uses are hesitant or cautious in the way they convey what happened because the words give away a strict view of the situation and also reveal that no one helps Stevens' father. It reveals that they are all professional and cautious in themselves and how they deal with sensitive situations. And that reaction of the characters makes the readers also feel cautious.
        Also, the symbolism in the passage is important because the symbol of the jewel acts as a motivator for Stevens' father. The precious jewel draws his father's attention, his eyes never leaving the imaginary precious jewel. We can hypothesize about what the jewel would be, using what we know about the character. I, personally, would hypothesize that the jewel is his job because it clear from this passage that Stevens' father is very dedicated and although he weak he still wants to remain loyal to his job. The jewel just, for all the characters, is made to represent what they value most and what motivates them to continue on with their duties.