Point of View

The whole story is told in the first person, with Christopher Banks as the narrator. This perspective is critical, because Ishiguro's intention is to show the unreliability of memory and the misperceptions of self. There are several times in the book when Christopher is annoyed, because someone from his past describes him as being other than whom he remembers himself to be. Christopher perceives himself to be one who, for the most part, has been able to keep up a good front, always maintaining respectability. This is challenged by people making off-hand remarks. He is immediately offended by them and explains it away as being a product of the other person's need to protect their self-image.

It does become apparent, however, that Christopher does in fact lose his demeanor from time to time. The first person narrative allows the reader to know only as much as...