On The Englishness In The Remains Of The Day From The Perspective Of Dual Narrative Progression

The 1989 Booker Prize-winning novel The Remains of the Day is the Nobel Laureate Kazuo Ishiguro‘s representative work.Since the publication,Ishiguro and this novel are considered both in and outside of Britain to be quintessentially ―English‖.Under the guidance of the ―dual narrative progression‖ theory put forward by the Chinese scholar Shen Dan,the present thesis attempts to analyze the inheriting,undermining and refiguring of Englishness in the novel through the discussion of its overt plot,covert progression,and their mutual subversive relationships respectively.This study points out that the interplay between overt plot and covert progression reflects the different presentation forms and standpoints of Englishness in the novel.Apart from the Introduction and Conclusion,the main body of the thesis comprises three chapters.The first chapter mainly studies the inheritance of traditional Englishness in the overt plot of the novel.The novel selects the most representative English images such as the country house,the butler,the aristocratic gentleman and the English countryside landscape.These English imagery collectively reflect the English ideal of―dignity‖ accumulated from the aristocratic tradition,as well as the conservative and restrained English behavior patterns.The second chapter focuses on the covert progression hidden behind the overt plot,and points out that the novel undermines the mythical traditional Englishness through interrogating elitism,critiquing imperial nostalgia,and contrasting England with other nations.The third chapter investigates the Englishness refiguration caused by the mutual subversion of overt plot and covert progression.At the narrative level,the subversive mode of focalization and(un)reliable narration reflect the transformation of English dignity from aristocracy to democracy;at the structural level,the subversive event structure promotes the conversion of national consciousness from static to progressive states,thus achieving the effect of refiguring Englishness.Based on the above analysis,this thesis draws a conclusion that the dual narrative progression provides a more original and multi-dimensional theoretical perspective for exploring Englishness in The Remains of the Day.The discussion of Englishness in The Remains of the Day shows that Englishness,an attribute that features rich connotations and dynamic development,is not unchangeable.Instead,it should constantly accept the severe test of the times on the basis of tradition and make changes in line with the eras.