A Comparison of Ishiguro's and Bronte's Novel Openings and the Effect of these Choices in Establishing Contact with the Reader Anonymous 12th Grade

The openings of Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day and Brontë's Jane Eyre are both centered around introducing the main characters, Stevens and Jane, respectively. Through the first-person narration, their personalities, settings and situations are revealed. The central themes are also introduced through the beginnings of the conflicts central to the plots, which indicate where the novels are headed. Ishiguro and Brontë write over a century apart, yet the same techniques and themes reappear in both books.

The first sentence of The Remains of the Day is about undertaking an expedition. This immediately sets up the plot for the story, but more importantly the recurring theme of confinement. Stevens, a butler, has stayed within the walls of the manor, Darlington Hall, for a long time it seems, but this has been by choice, so he defends this position. He says that from the inside of the house, he is not confined because he "actually 'see'[s] more of England than most, placed as we were in houses where the greatest ladies and gentlemen of the land gathered." To him, the people that come and go allow him to see the world as they come with important matters and give him a glimpse into the affairs of the upperclass, despite his physical...