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An Exploration of  the Ford Within
The Remains of  the Day

Cassidy Forbing, Ball State University

Vehicles cross borders every day, carting Vehicles cross borders every day, carting 
people and objects across time and space. people and objects across time and space. 
Vehicles also propel people across mental Vehicles also propel people across mental 
borders, taking the act of moving across borders, taking the act of moving across 
time and space and making it tangible time and space and making it tangible 
and real to those it moves. In this and real to those it moves. In this 
essay, I will investigate the prominence essay, I will investigate the prominence 
of the Ford within Kazuo Ishiguro’s of the Ford within Kazuo Ishiguro’s 
The Remains of the DayThe Remains of the Day, taking into , taking into 
consideration the previous yet minimal consideration the previous yet minimal 
scholarship already completed, and break scholarship already completed, and break 
down the symbolism of mobility and thedown the symbolism of mobility and the
lack of it, wealth and status, and lack of it, wealth and status, and 
freedom that the Ford exudes in this freedom that the Ford exudes in this 
text. In doing this, the Ford’s obvious text. In doing this, the Ford’s obvious 
prominence parallels America’s own prominence parallels America’s own 
upcoming prominence in Britain upcoming prominence in Britain 
and influences not only Stevens’s and influences not only Stevens’s 
own story, but a historic narrative as own story, but a historic narrative as 
well, as it mentally, physically, and well, as it mentally, physically, and 
metaphorically crosses borders. Looking metaphorically crosses borders. Looking 
at this specific vehicle in this specificat this specific vehicle in this specific
text can help others see the text can help others see the 

Vehicles, both in real life and in 
literature, are seen as agents to move 
people from one place to another, both 
physically and metaphorically. A vehicle 
within literature is not an uncommon 
happenstance in the 20th and 21st 
century; vehicles have become a part 
of  life, so it makes sense to include 
them in literature. It is the symbolism 
that the vehicle gives to advance the 
plot, give context, and add depth to a 
text that matters. Which brings us to 
Kazuo Ishiguro’s 1989 Man Booker 
prize-winning novel, The Remains of  the 

Day. Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of  the 

usability of writing vehicles as usability of writing vehicles as 
characters, characters that can cartcharacters, characters that can cart
people across both physical and people across both physical and 
metaphysical borders.text can help metaphysical borders.text can help 
others see the usability of writing others see the usability of writing 
vehicles as characters, characters vehicles as characters, characters 
that can cart people across both that can cart people across both 
physical and metaphysical borders.physical and metaphysical borders.



Day tells the story of  an old English butler by the name of  Stevens and his motoring 
trip across the country. He takes his new American employer, Mr. Farraday’s, Ford to 
visit his old friend, Miss Kenton. The Ford is the vehicle of  the text, bothcarting Mr. 
Stevens around the country and functioning as the vehicle that moves the plot forward. In 
a novel that is founded in British culture, why is an American vehicle, specifically a Ford, 
the vehicle used to advance the plot both physically and metaphorically? I will investigate 
the prominence of  the Ford within Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of  the Day, taking into 
consideration the previous, yet minimal, scholarship already done, and breaking down the 
symbolism of  mobility and the lack of  it, wealth and status, and freedom that the Ford 
exudes in this text. Doing this, we will see how the Ford’s obvious prominence parallels 
America’s own upcoming prominence in Britain and influences not only Stevens’s own story, 
but also a historic narrative as it mentally, physically, and metaphorically crosses borders.

Mobility
 Obviously, any vehicle can be seen as a symbol of  mobility in any text. What is 
interesting about the Ford in The Remains of  the Day is that not only does the Ford physically 
move Stevens from one side of  the country to the other, but the Ford is what moves the 
plot forward, crossing borders both physically and metaphysically. Within the first short 
chapter of  The Remains of  the Day, the audience quickly learns of  the expedition that Stevens 
is about to venture onto: “An expedition, I should say, which I will undertake alone, in the 
comfort of  Mr. Farraday’s Ford...[It] will take me through much of  the finest countryside of  
England to the West Country, and may keep me away from Darlington Hall for as much as 
five or six days” (Ishiguro 3). Mr. Farraday is Stevens’s new-money and American employer. 
He is the one who encourages Stevens to go cross-country to visit his friend, offering both 
his own vehicle and even to “foot the bill for the gas” (Ishiguro 4). However, Stevens takes 
this opportunity with a grain of  salt, believing that his employer’s generosity is due to his 
American sensibilities and his failure to understand professional British standards. Chu-
chueh Cheng’s article titled “Cosmopolitan Alterity: America as the Mutual Alien of  Britain 
and Japan in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Novels” explores Ishiguro’s various novels and how America 
is the alien “other” within them all. Cheng observes that “employment under an American 
businessman unsettles Stevens’s belief  that professionalism entails absolute loyalty because 
the new situation obliges him to abandon his previous commitments” (237). Nevertheless, 
Stevens goes on his journey, crossing borders, grateful for his employer’s generosity. 
 The first day of  Stevens’s motoring trip is successful. He compares his leaving 
Darlington Hall with that of  first setting sail on a ship, feeling the unknown, fear, and 
anxiety:

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[E]ventually, the surroundings grew unrecognizable and I knew I had gone beyond 
all previous boundaries. I have heard people describe the moment, when setting sail 
in a ship, when one finally loses sight of  the land. I imagine the experience of  unease 
mixed with exhilaration often described in connection with this moment is very 
similar to what I felt in the Ford as the surroundings grew strange around me...The 
feeling swept over me that I had truly left Darlington Hall behind, and I must confess 
I did feel a slight sense of  alarm—a sense aggravated by the feeling that I was perhaps 
not on the correct road at all, but speeding off  in totally the wrong direction into 
wilderness. (Ishiguro 23-24)

Stevens’s first time in years leaving Darlington Hall is all thanks to Mr. Farraday’s Ford and 
the surrounding outdoors surprises him because he has not left that property in so long. The 
scenery is not the only thing that Stevens is shocked by, but also his own realizations about 
himself  that he has while on his trip. As Stevens motors along, the audience learns of  his 
past at Darlington Hall through his meta-thoughts over the span of  the trip. Stevens shyly 
discloses, “But I see I am becoming preoccupied with these memories and this is perhaps 
a little foolish. This present trip represents, after all, a rare opportunity for me to savour to 
the full the many splendors of  the English countryside, and I know I shall greatly regret 
it later if  I allow myself  to become unduly diverted” (Ishiguro 67). Although Stevens is 
aware of  his “foolish” memories resurfacing, he continues to spill his darkest thoughts and 
secrets with the audience. The motoring trip allows Stevens to cross boundaries within his 
own mind, exploring emotions and vulnerability like he never has before. Without going 
on this trip, Stevens would have never made revelations about his past. The Ford not only 
moves Stevens from town-to-town, but also gives Stevens the mental space to think about 
and reconsider the choices he has made in his life. By “avoiding almost entirely the major 
roads” in the Ford, Stevens also avoids the major roads he has typically taken in his thought 
process, allowing for the “backroads” of  his thoughts to flourish and give him something 
new to ponder (Ishiguro 67). On his second day of  motoring, after a little hiccup with the 
Ford, Stevens finds time to walk around the beautiful landscape of  England and confesses, 
“It is no doubt the quiet of  these surroundings that has enabled me to ponder all the more 
thoroughly these thoughts which have entered my mind over this past half-hour or so” 
(Ishiguro 121). Again, this trip has given Stevens the mental space, without the clouding 
of  morals and propriety that happens in Darlington Hall, to think over the decisions of  
his past. At the end of  the novel, and the end of  Stevens’s motoring trip, there is a new 
light in Stevens’s beliefs of  his profession and the world in general. The audience sees that 
Stevens has a new perception of  his American employer, and is even willing to practice 
the techniques of  bantering to please him. In his article titled “The End of  (Anthony) 

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Eden: Ishiguro’s The Remains of  the Day and Midcentury Anglo-American Tensions,” John 
McCombe ascertains that it is through Farraday’s classic Ford that “has finally set Stevens 
in motion, both through his brief  reunion with Miss Kenton and in his desire to think less 
about the ghosts of  the past” (96). Without the mobility that the Ford provides as a vehicle, 
Stevens would not have been able to come to these new conclusions in his life.

Lack of  Mobility
 The lack of  mobility from the Ford is just as important as its mobility in The Remains 

of  the Day. Multiple times throughout the text, the Ford breaks down for various reasons, 
usually halting Stevens from continuing on his journey. The first time the audience sees an 
issue with the Ford is when Stevens is on day two of  his trip, just outside the border of  
Dorset, when he exclaims, “it was then I had become aware of  the heated smell emanating 
from the car engine. The thought that I had done some damage to my employer’s Ford was, 
of  course, most alarming and I had quickly brought the vehicle to a halt” (Ishiguro 117). 
Stevens, for fear of  breaking his employer’s prestigious Ford, pulls into the nearest house 
to see if  he can find help from the house’s owner. The man obliges to help Stevens, saying 
“‘Water, guv. You need some water in your radiator’” (Ishiguro 118). After inspecting the 
Ford, the man confides to Stevens that he thinks of  him to be one of  those “top-notch 
butlers” from one of  the “big posh houses,” mostly because of  the condition and prestige 
that the Ford gives (Ishiguro 119). The man then tells Stevens to visit a pond just outside 
where he is stationed, and this where Stevens has time for silent reflection. Without the 
Ford being out of  water, Stevens would have never obtained the opportunity to check out 
Mortimer’s Pond and allow himself  the time and space to reflect. Again, the Ford allows 
Stevens the chance to cross mental borders within himself, borders that Stevens always chose 
to keep guarded and to never be crossed.
 On the third day of  motoring, the Ford has yet another hiccup. In fear, Stevens 
prays that the Ford breaking down is not another radiator problem; however, “the Ford 
was not damaged, simply out of  fuel” (Ishiguro 161). Without any gas and with the Ford 
sitting patiently at the top of  a hill, Stevens makes his way down a hill into the village of  
Moscombe, near Tavistock, Devon and finds the Taylors. The Taylors and their guests made 
quite a scene for Stevens, regarding his position higher than it actually is. The Taylors and 
their guests tell Stevens that they are surprised and honored for someone with “the likes of  
yourself ” had come and visit their small village (Ishiguro 182). Stevens, therefore, blurs the 
border line of  what an actual gentleman is, and what one simply looks like. After spending 
some time with the Taylors and their intruding neighbors, Stevens is back on the road with 
a Dr. Carlisle to fill up his tank with gas. Stevens still fears there is some deeper trouble 

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afflicting the Ford but then his anxieties “were laid to rest when I tried the ignition and heard 
the engine come to life with a healthy murmur” (Ishiguro 211). This stop again calls Stevens 
for reflection, permitting him to turn “over certain recollections of  the past,” specifically his 
treatment towards Miss Kenton (Ishiguro 211). Although, physically, the Ford breaks down 
multiple times, there is purpose for the mishap, allowing time and space for Stevens to reflect 
upon his life. Thus, the Ford moves the plot of  The Remains of  the Day forward.

Wealth/Status
 It is evident that Mr. Farraday’s Ford in The Remains of  the Day exemplifies wealth, 
status, and class. As detailed in the previous section, various people have complimented 
Stevens vicariously through the Ford. The first instance of  this is when Stevens comes to 
his first stop at Salisbury, where “the landlady, a woman of  around forty or so, appears to 
regard [him] as a rather grand visitor on account of  Mr. Farraday’s Ford and the high quality 
of  [his] suit” (Ishiguro 26). The man who helped fix the Ford’s radiator, too, holds Stevens 
up to a high status, calling him a “posh-geezer” (Ishiguro 119). It is important to note here 
that Ishiguro has other vehicles within The Remains of  the Day, and calls them by proper 
name, too. The man who helped Stevens had a Bentley outside of  his house, a nicely-made 
British car, yet compliments Stevens on his American Ford. John McCombe ascertains 
that “the Ford has become an emblem of  social prestige as well as a measure of  America’s 
global economic predominance” (88). The Ford, an American vehicle, is the car that is being 
complimented in a way adjacent to gentility and status, even when British cars are present. 
The Ford breaks borders of  class, destigmatizing the greatness of  British products while also 
granting a servant the chance to be treated as a royal gentleman. 
 On Stevens’s third day, when he is at the Taylors’s, everyone in his general vicinity is 
in awe of  him. Not only are they honored to be housing “the likes” of  himself, but try their 
best to impress him. Everyone around the town has heard about his journey, and knows 
about the Ford being parked at the top of  the hill. In Mr. Harry Smith’s conversation with 
Stevens, he says that the Ford is an “absolute beauty” and that it “put the car Mr. Lindsay 
used to drive completely in the shade!” (Ishiguro 183). Again, the Ford is being compared to 
the other vehicles in the novel, and is always the most impressive one. Mr. Taylor, the man 
who has allowed Stevens to lodge with him says “You can tell a true gentleman from a false 
one that’s just dressed in finery. Take yourself, sir. It’s not just the cut of  your clothes, nor is 
it even the fine way you’ve got of  speaking. There’s something else that marks you out as a 
gentleman. Hard to put your fingers on, but it’s plain to see that’s got eyes” (Ishiguro 185). 
What could be the final piece that makes Stevens a gentleman, other than the Ford? His 
dress and his speech aids him to be regarded highly, but as Mr. Taylor points out, that is not 

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only it. There is something more that allows Stevens to present himself  as a higher status. It 
is the Ford that makes Stevens look like a “posh-geezer.”
 The irony, though, is that it is the American Ford that symbolizes Stevens’s status in 
this novel, yet Stevens himself  believes that Americans do not have the same genuine dignity 
as British people. Cheng speaks on how Stevens’s way of  talking about the Americans within 
the novel is in an othering way; “Whenever [Stevens] uses ‘American’ as an adjective, he 
intends it to be an antonym of  ‘English’” (232). Cheng then goes on to say, “when remarking 
that only an ‘American gentleman’ would enjoy ‘bantering’, he uses ‘American’ to stress the 
strangeness of  Americans” (233). This American otherness is visibly present throughout the 
novel and so is the assumption that America equals wealth and an up-and-coming status; 
both of  these statements ring true.
 After spending an evening at the Taylors’s, Stevens and Dr. Carlisle, who is one of  the 
more esteemed men living in Moscombe, find gas and make the trek towards the Ford at the 
top of  the hill. It would not be surprising for a small village to make a fuss over a foreign 
and seemingly new car in the 1950s in Britain, but the fact of  the matter is that everyone 
comments on the vehicle, even Dr. Carlisle. It is true that Dr. Carlisle calls Stevens’s bluff  
and recognizes him as manservant, perhaps because he is a man of  higher status himself. 
He knows the true differences between a gentleman and a servant. Everyone else, on the 
other hand, does not have that experience nor knowledge to make that distinction. Still, 
Dr. Carlisle does not blame Stevens for the name that he has seemingly made for himself, 
even when Stevens tries explaining himself: “‘Oh, no need to explain, old fellow. I can quite 
see how it happened. I mean to say, you are a pretty impressive specimen. The likes of  the 
people here, they’re bound to take you for at least a lord or a duke.’ The doctor gave a hearty 
laugh. ‘It must do one good to be mistaken for a lord every now and then’” (Ishiguro 208). 
Like the man who helped Stevens fill his radiator with water, Dr. Carlisle also owns a British 
car, this time a Rover. Again, we can see how the American Ford is the vehicle that gets 
complimented and crosses the borders of  class, wealth, and status, even though British cars 
are in production and in abundance in England. 

Freedom
 Freedom can be interpreted in various different ways, especially within The Remains of  

the Day. The Ford symbolizes freedom because it not only allows Stevens to be on the open 
road, away from Darlington Hall, but also symbolizes the freedom of  Stevens understanding 
and accepting his past. More specifically, the freedom the Ford exemplifies additionally 
underscores the prominence of  America in Britain, and overall, the world, during the time 
period The Remains of  the Day takes place. It is this point—the Ford being equal to America—

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that many scholars have written about when talking about the Ford’s prominence in The 

Remains of  the Day. 
 It is interesting to think about Stevens’s relationship to America. Though there is 
significant change in the way that Stevens views America and Americans by the end of  the 
novel, at the beginning, there is uncertainty. For instance, at the very beginning, Stevens 
cannot come to believe that Mr. Farraday would offer him his Ford to travel the country 
in, let alone “foot the bill for the gas.” Stevens, pondering Mr. Farraday’s kindness as an 
employer, tells the audience “As you might expect, I did not take Mr. Farraday’s suggestion at 
all seriously that afternoon, regarding it as just another instance of  an American gentleman’s 
unfamiliarity with what was and what was not commonly done in England” (Ishiguro 4). 
At the novel’s start, the audience learns that Stevens has a difficult relationship with his 
employer, because Stevens is not accustomed to America’s professional culture. One of  
the biggest struggles Stevens has is the idea of  bantering with his employer. This fear and 
unfamiliarity of  bantering persists throughout much of  the novel. Stevens comes back to the 
dilemma many times to enlighten his audience with new techniques that he has learned for it. 
On the third day of  his journey, Stevens makes a lodging stop outside of  Taunton, Somerset, 
and practices his bantering with the villagers he lodges with (Ishiguro 130). However, it is 
not until well into the novel where Stevens begins to accept this new professional culture 
that his American employer has bestowed upon him. The last paragraph in The Remains of  the 

Day is this:
It occurs to me, furthermore, that bantering is hardly an unreasonable duty for an 
employer to expect a professional to perform. I have of  course already devoted much 
time to develop bantering skills, but it is possible I have never previously approached 
the task with the commitment I might have done. Perhaps, then, when I return to 
Darlington Hall tomorrow—Mr. Farraday will not himself  be back for a further 
week—I will begin practicing with renewed effort. I should hope, then, that by the 
time of  my employer’s return, I shall be in a position to pleasantly surprise him. 
(Ishiguro 245)

It is a compelling choice for both Ishiguro and Stevens to end The Remains of  the Day with 
this paragraph on bantering. Other than the fact that it rounds out the novel—the beginning, 
too, mentions this issue of  bantering—this paragraph leaves the readers with one final 
call to America. Compared to the beginning, Stevens has grown and changed throughout 
his journey in the Ford across the country. Previously not understanding and resenting his 
American employer and his bantering techniques, Stevens now has a renewed effort to 
want to please and surprise his new boss. In a sense, Stevens has crossed the boundary of  
uncertainty and unfamiliarity and into an area with more vulnerability with his employer. 

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McCombe describes the comparisons of  Stevens and Britain by saying, “by the end of  the 
1950’s, a cultural (and political) détente between Britain and the US emerged, and by the end 
of  Remains, Stevens also seems to rethink his antipathy toward America (and Americans)” 
(96). Perhaps this is because Stevens has learned the new role that America is now playing 
globally and, after taking the Ford cross-country, has accepted it. Belau and Cameron, in an 
article about the uncanny dialect within The Remains of  the Day, assert that Ishiguro “shows 
how imperialism has a way of  catching up with England,” prefiguring “the Americanization 
of  British culture,” and showing how “the British are slowly becoming threatened by 
American encroachment. Stevens’s drive through England itself  is made possible by way of  
his new master’s American-made Ford automobile” (77-78). 
 In the 1950s, America began to emerge as the superstar country, superseding Britain 
for the first time ever. In an interview about The Remains of  the Day with Allan Vorda, Kazuo 
Ishiguro describes what Britain was like when he was writing this novel: “There was an 
awareness that Britain was a more international place, a more cosmopolitan place, but it 
wasn’t the center of  the world. It was kind of  a slightly peripheral, albeit still quite wealthy, 
country. It started to be aware of  its place within the context of  the whole international 
scene” (134). Even before then, when World War II was in full swing, America switched 
from global assistance to self-interest, leaving Britain to drown by herself  in the midst 
of  war. Aside from the Ford, we can see America’s self-interest peeking through in The 

Remains of  the Day, specifically with the American senator Lewis who visits Lord Darlington. 
Lewis tries to sabotage the dinner and the supposed interpersonal relations that Lord 
Darlington was trying to make, but comes to no avail. Being the only American in a room 
full of  Europeans, Lewis is called out for his antics, “‘My only question concerning Mr. 
Lewis is this. To what extent does his abominable behaviors exemplify the attitude of  the 
present American administration?... Such a gentleman capable of  the levels of  deceit he 
has displayed over these past days should not be relied upon to provide a truthful reply’” 
(Ishiguro 101). This quote suggests that America, in whole, is the perpetrator of  all the bad 
events happening in Europe. It also infers that most Europeans, especially in the setting 
of  such a place like Darlington Hall, have a negative association with America/Americans. 
Putting that in conversation with Tomo Hattori’s quote, “The Remains of  the Day is not so 
much about the relations between the colonizer and the colonized as much as the relations 
between different levels within the imperial social hierarchy” furthers the confusion as to if  
America is the enemy or the friend in The Remains of  the Day (277).
 Placing the question of  America as either friend or foe aside, the fact of  the 
matter still stands: America is replacing Britain in all her glory. The Ford embodies the 
impending doom over Britain that America is going to take its power away. It is always 

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in the background of  the novel. Sometimes the Ford, like America’s influence, makes a 
grand appearance, other times it sneaks into the narrative to remind you it is still there, 
still waiting, and still the first choice. Ian Davidson makes the claim that the “cultural and 
aesthetic concepts of  automobility become inextricably linked to the materiality of  the 
petroleum driven car with implications that include global territorial disputes and world 
economies as well as the ecological impact of  the production of  cars and their use” (472). 
Vehicles symbolize more than freedom; they symbolize the new-world order of  production 
and capital in the face of  freedom. The Ford within The Remains of  the Day, an ever-
present image, signifies America in the 20th century. Even Ishiguro, in his interview with 
Allan Vorda, confesses, “it has gotten to the point that some people say America culture 
is invading or taking over everywhere you go in the world” (Vorda 183). The Ford as a 
metaphor for America, symbolizing Stevens’s freedom of  being on an open road, crossing 
boundaries and borders, finally facing and accepting his past.

Conclusion
 Investigating the Ford within Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of  the Day sheds light on 
the historic cultural significance that Ford has within the world. A constant force, driving 
not only Stevens, but the plot forward, the Ford symbolizes mobility, the lack thereof, wealth 
and status, and freedom, or more synonymously, America. By reading into the text and most 
of  the instances the Ford is mentioned, we can see just how prevalent the Ford’s ability is to 
cross borders not only locationally, but also mentally for Stevens. While other scholarships 
only briefly mention the Ford within The Remains of  the Day, the vehicle deserves more credit 
in the overall reading and understanding of  text, and vehicle imagery as a whole. And maybe 
the next time you go on a vacation, one that crosses borders, you too, will be able to come 
across a mental clearing.
 

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Works Cited

Belau, Linda and Ed Cameron. “Writing in Translationese: Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains 

of  the Day and the Uncanny Dialect of  the Diasporic Writer.” Diaspora: A Journal 

of  Transnational Studies, vol. 16 no. 2, 2007, p. 67-91. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/
dsp.2007.0007.

Cheng, Chu-chueh. “Cosmopolitan Alterity: America as the Mutual Alien of  Britain and 
Japan in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Novels.” Journal of  Commonwealth Literature, vol. 45 no. 2, 
2010, p. 227-244. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021989410366892.

Davidson, Ian. “Automobility, Materiality and Don DeLillo’s ‘Cosmopolis.’” Cultural  

Geographies, vol. 19, no. 4, 2012, pp. 469–82. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/sta-
ble/44286991.

Hattori, Tomo. “China Man Autoeroticism and the Remains of  Asian America.” NOV-

EL: A Forum on Fiction, vol. 31, no. 2, 1998, pp. 215–36. JSTOR, https://doi.
org/10.2307/1346199.

Ishiguro, Kazuo. The Remains of  the Day. Vintage International, 1993. 

McCombe, John P. “The End of  (Anthony) Eden: Ishiguro’s The Remains of  the Day and 

 Midcentury Anglo-American Tensions.” Twentieth Century Literature, vol. 48, no. 1, 
2002, pp. 77–99. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3175979.

Vorda, Allan, et al. “An Interview with Kazuo Ishiguro.” Mississippi Review, vol. 20, no. 1/2,  
1991, pp. 131–54. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20134516.

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