[ SECRET POST #2786 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2786 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.


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02.
[Legend of Korra]


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03.
[Digger]


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04.
[Transformers: Animated]


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05.
[World of Warcraft, Warlords of Draenor]


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06.
[Marvel]


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07.
[Benedict Cumberbatch]


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08.
[Orange is the New Black]


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09.
[Hemlock Grove]


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10.
[Hardy Boys]


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11.
[The Remains of the Day]










Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 033 secrets from Secret Submission Post #398.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 1 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

Re: OP:

[(Anonymous)]

So, a few things that I want to contribute because no one has brought it up yet.

The book takes place in the 50's after two World Wars, a time when the greatness of the British Empire is in tatters. The peerage system had broken down partially because Britain lost so much but also because power shifted to the US and the USSR. So, Stevens is collateral damage. After serving a great man for so many years, he's effectively sold as part of the house to an American--a man who represents the new rich. Someone who may have worked his way to the top, but he had no pedigree to speak of. Stevens is a relic of the glory years.

Britain historically had class strata, something that Mr. Farraday doesn't understand (and neither do most Americans). People were defined by their jobs. To lose your job was to lose a piece of yourself. And by occupying the job of butler, there was a very strict code of conduct and etiquette. It's not that he's teaching himself humor necessarily. It's banter that he had to learn because he never needed that skill as a butler, and banter means being overly familiar with his employer--an very big no-no. This new employer insists on him acting in what was historically an inappropriate manner for a servant to relate to the master. Perhaps Stevens might get close to the spectrum, but if I had to choose something, I'd choose obsessive compulsion first long before anything else.

Believe it or not, a good context for this story is Downtown Abbey. Every time anyone asks me about the show, I tell them it's Remains of the Day in slow motion. And it really is because you get to see everyone become forgotten antiques.

Just like Stevens.

Re: OP:

[(Anonymous)]

This, OP. Definitely pay attention to this. It's impossible to separate literature like The Remains of the Day from the culture/time period, because it drastically affects how a reader interprets the book. Without that cultural context, then yes, the modern frame of reference becomes very tumblresque, i.e. Aspergers and asexual. But that's a complete and total misread.

The movie Gosford Park is another good example of this upstairs/downstairs mentality. It's extremely British and extremely specific to that era, and it's very foreign to Americans. We do have a class system... but not like that. It's hard for us to contemplete just how rigid the class system was, how much of Stevens' job would've been about strict expectations of his behavior and the duties he performed. ALL the roles that were "in service" (working on the staff of a large household) were brutally regimented. This concept of social skills and humor you have are modern expectations that didn't apply to the time period. It's not to say that people didn't have those things, they were just... not what you're thinking. Butlers don't have time for the lulz, it's not part of the job and they don't get much personal time by our standards.

It's actually quite remiss of your teacher not to provide more context for this novel.