The Remains of the Day is a novel by Kazuo Ishiguro told through the dairy of an English butler, James Stevens. After Stevens' new boss, Mr. Farraday, urges him to take a break and go on a road trip. While traveling, Stevens reminisces, pondering his loyalty for his former boss, Lord Darlington and his former colleague, Miss Kenton, who is now married and whom he formerly loved. Stevens reflections lead him to regret lost opportunities and consider his future with Mr. Farraday, considering loyalty, love and dignity.
The novel The Remains of the Day tells the story of Stevens an English butler who dedicates his life to the loyal service of Lord Darlington mentioned in increasing detail in flashbacks The novel begins with Stevens receiving a letter from an ex co worker called Miss Kenton describing her married life which he believes hints at her unhappy marriage The receipt of the letter allows Stevens the opportunity to revisit this once cherished relationship if only under the guise of possible re employme
In this last scene between Mr Stevens and Miss Kenton Mr Stevens makes an act of sacrifice to protect the happiness and stability of Miss Kentons life In the process of doing so he abandons his last remaining hope of ever achieving a fulfilling and wholesome life Unable and too late to express the feelings he has bottled up within him behind his prim faade Mr Stevens must forever carry the weight of his regrets until the day he dies He will never be able to fill the holes in his heart and be co
A critical commentary on The Remains of the Day The last few pages of the novel are about Mr Stevens once again reflecting on the past but also on the future and dealing with the fact that he has lost his chance with Miss Kenton Mrs Benn and there is nothing to look forward to in his future but to live his life working at Darlington hall for Lord Faraday The key theme in the last chapter is the future and how Steven will move on Ishiguro uses the foreshadowing to show how Stevens future will be
here is no way around revealing the premise of Kazuo Ishiguros new novel It is brutal especially for a writer celebrated as a poet of the unspoken But it takes a while for us to get a handle on it Since its the nature of Ishiguro narrators to postpone a full reckoning of their place in the world all we know in the early going is that we dont quite know whats going on We have inklings The novels 31 year old narrator Kathy H announces on the first page that she has worked for more than 11 years a