Critical Commentary On Remains Of The Day

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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 Steven’s future will be “until his retirement three years ago, he had been a butler” the use of the slightly older butler gives us an insight into how life will be like after his trip and his life after retiring at Darlington Hall. “You’ve got to keep looking forward,” “Look at me. Been happy as a lark since the day I retired”. These turn of events also have foreshadowed what happened to his father earlier in the novel where he used to be a “great butler” but he slowly deteriorated and regretted not showing how much he loved his son, which is what is happening to Stevens “I’ve given what I had to give.” he regrets not telling Miss Kenton how he felt about her and he s made many mistakes but it seems he won’t follow the same path his father did. He learns how important human affection is “it is not such a foolish thing to engage in” and how much he has missed out because of his lack of emotions “they are laughing together merrily. It is curious how people can build such warmth among themselves so swiftly.” He missed out on a life with Miss Kenton. Symbolism of evening times connects with Stevens’ life “the evening is the most enjoyable part of the day.” “I should cease looking back so much, that I should adopt a more positive outlook and try to make the best of what remains of my day”. Evening represents his life how one part of it is gone and he can’t get it back (Miss Kenton, trusting in
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