Previous
Setting
Definition of Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like" or "as," but can also... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often... read full definition
Key Examples in The Remains of the Day
Day One: Evening
Explanation and Analysis—A Suit of Professionalism:
In Day One: Evening, Stevens continues to reflect on the definition of "dignity" as it relates to professional excellence. He argues that one of the most important aspects of professional dignity is the ability to inhabit the role of the butler no matter what happens. He illustrates this belief with two similes that contrast the "lesser butlers" against the "great butlers."
Lesser butlers will abandon their professional being for the private one at the least provocation. For such persons, being a butler is like playing some pantomime role; a small push, a slight stumble, and the façade will drop off to reveal the actor underneath. The great butlers […] wear their professionalism as a decent gentleman will wear his suit: he will not let ruffians or circumstance tear it off him in the public gaze; he will discard it when, and only when, he wills to do so, and this will invariably be when he is entirely alone.
Related Themes:
Day Two: Morning
Explanation and Analysis—A Precious Jewel:
In her letter to Stevens, Miss Kenton references what seems to be a small event—Stevens's father pacing outside while looking at the ground—but is, in fact, as Stevens explains afterwards, the tip of an iceberg. An excerpt from Miss Kenton's letter in Day Two: Morning briefly mentions the pacing:
Unlock with LitCharts A+If this is a painful memory, forgive me. But I will never forget that time we both watched your father walking back and forth in front of the summerhouse, looking down at the ground as though he hoped to find some precious jewel he had dropped there.
Related Themes:
