Contemporary Fiction (Lecture)

Reading 1. Linda Hutcheon.

Historialgraphic metafiction reflects history from the 20
th
century.
Historialgraphic
o Fiction serves as alternatives history. (Not part of the official history)
o If you do not have fiction how else would you hear the history? Related to actual
historical evidence and challenge the official history by real people (experience
of labour workers).
o How novel reflects the history
Metafiction
o Devices of postmodern literature.
o Self-reflexive identify irony, ambiguity, silence, playfulness. Ask questions
about the novel. (Your entire reality is fictional). Get readers to ask fundamental
questions to the novel Technical.
o The function of the novel tell you what the story is.
As you know to show you that youre part of the group.

Ludic because it challenges by undo-ing. Not coherent.

First person narrator suspicious. To challenge the real history.

I. Remains of the day
o Gaps in his story and unreliability.
o Butler still a servant despite his importance.
o Focuses on the lives of the English family that inhabits the mansion that are rich enough
to afford a butler.
o Butlers are stereotyped as a perfect servant/person.
o Challenges the everyday stereotyped/tradition of the butler.
o Reconciled by their jobs till it becomes their identity. only there to serve.
Pg. 19. To be great is to be plain/not great at all (contradictory).
Pg. 29. Dignity no emotion. Sees nothing as something. Cannot have feelings.
Lies to deceive himself so that he can wake up with a smile. Audience in mind Ms. Kenton
because he likes her.
Loss dignified position in serving a dignified aristocrat and now serves an American
businessman. Loss the love of Ms. Kenton and decides to get her back so that is life would be
meaningful.
1956 Suez Canal Crisis end of the British imperialism and mark the end of the butlers era.
- Mr Farraday (American) replaces Lord Darlington (British).
- British greatness irony because it was the end of the empire for the
British.
- Ambiguity about Mr. Farraday
- How a Man is slowly being reduced and his hope with Ms Kenton to
come back is gone.

- The quality of a butler went down when the Britains regime
deteriorated as well. (dying institution)
1920-1930 Peaceman years. Lord Darlington helps the German.
Lord Darlington/Steven
World War

Histographic element end of the British empire.

Lord Darlington sells the butler off with the house to Mr Farraday. No such thing as cultural
exclusivity.
Mr. Farraday banters with Steven who doesnt know how to respond (culture shifted)
dont know how to respond to him.
The Remains of the Day scattered bits that amount to nothing much or its the days where it
is the best time and you can enjoy yourself (pg 165).

Page 67
Does not allow to be familiar with the father, hence the third person view towards him.
Professional relationship between the both of them. Ambiguity to be emotionless.
haunts him because he failed to say goodbye to him. Showed no emotion when it was
appropriate to do so.

Significant emotional gap where the proper emotion that should be showed at a particular time
was repressed to be a good butler.

(Tutorial)
Traditional stories Narrator is the point of view. (first I, second you, third he/she).
Linear.
there is a sense of an ending
Postmodern literature
not conventional
ambiguity (non-closure note in the end)
give a different perspective of official history fundamental to different
aspects

Selective memory Stevens, gaps appear more and more. Flaws/gaps in his memory.
Intertextuality discourse based on other discourses. Japanese culture and the butler are
similar by their loyalty, respectfulness and emotionless. Reference to other text of the authors
identity.

Question the ethical values of the novel. The ethical dilemma that is to be questioned from the
book.

Formal aspects.
Title (The Remains of the Day), Dates (July 1956 Suez Canal), closure,

No definite answer but invalid/valid answers.

Disgrace Apartheid
The War Second World war
Beloved Slavery
The New York Trilogy post modernism