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摘要《长日留痕》这部小说描写了一位英国男管家史蒂文斯在追求成为杰出管家这一人生诉求的过程中的经历，石黑一雄在史蒂文斯的现实旅行和回忆中交错展开叙述。本文通过研究文本内容和参考相关文献，分析英国帝国文化背景，管家身份，家庭环境和主人公个人性格缺陷对史蒂文斯选择忠而放弃孝义和爱情的影响，从而论证其选择的必然性。通过该研究主要揭示人生中，应当回归自我，做一个有自我灵魂，自我意识的人。27610
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关键词 《长日留痕》 史蒂文斯 选择 必然性
毕业论文外文摘要
Title Analysis of the Inevitability of Stevens ’s Choice in The Remains of the Day
Abstract
The Remains of the Day tells a story about Stevens, who pursues to be a great butler all his life with Kazuo Ishiguro applying the method of narrating the story between Stevens’s memory and trip in reality. This paper attempts to analyze the influence of British imperialist culture, butler identity, family environment and Stevens’s characters on his indifference to his father and refusal to Miss Kenton, and then proves the inevitability of his choice. This research further aims to reveal the importance to hold self-dignity and self-consciousness in life.
Keywords The Remains of the Day Stevens choice inevitability
Table of Contents
1 Introduction 1
2 Literature Review 1
3 Influence of Imperialist Culture 2
3.1 Imperialist Superiority 2
3.2 Elitist Culture 3
4 Influence of Butler Identity 4
5 Influence of the Family 6
5.1 Lack of Family Warmth 6
5.2 Professional Education from Senior Stevens 7
6 Personal Defects 8
6.1 Lack of Basic Communication Skills 8
6.2 Self-deception 9
Conclusion 11
Acknowledgements 12
References 13
1 Introduction
Kazuo Ishiguro is a famous Japanese British writer who is known to be skillful in portrayal and story narration, usually from the first person perspective. Most of his novels use the technique of recollection including his Booker Prize-winning novel, The Remains of the Day. The novel centers on a butler named Stevens who devotes his heart and soul to his master with absolute loyalty to Lord Darlington. But devoid of emotion, Stevens suffers the loss of his father and Miss Kenton, the former housekeeper of Darlington Hall. Stevens, who pursues to be a great butler all his life, turns out to be a tragic character during this process. The story begins with Miss Kenton’s letter and is written in the form of Steven’s memory and shifts the scenes between his memory and his trip in reality. During his trip, he reflects on his relationships with his father, Miss Kenton and Lord Darlington and eventually makes up his mind to serve his new employer Mr. Farraday better. By creating the image of Stevens, Kazuo Ishiguro reflects the moribund civilization of Britain at that time as well as the tragedy of Stevens as an English butler. On the one hand, Stevens struggles to be an outstanding butler all his life, but on the other hand, he has to sacrifice emotional warmth to have his dream come true. Some scholars have analyzed the tragedy of Stevens as a butler and an imperial adherent from historical perspectives as well as his characters. This paper will focus on the factors which contribute to the inevitability of Stevens’s choice in face of his father’s death and his refusal to his lover, Miss Kenton, by analyzing the influence of imperialist culture, the English butler identity, his family’s influence and his characters. From this research, it is important to know that we should be masters of our own destiny with self-consciousness.