Regrets in The Remains of the Day
“...For a great many people, the evening is the most enjoyable part of the day. Perhaps, then, there is something to his advice that 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. After all, what can we ever gain in forever looking back and blaming ourselves if our lives have not turned out quite as we might have wished? The hard reality is, surely, that for the likes of you and I, there is little choice other than to leave our fate, ultimately, in the hands of those great gentlemen at the hub of this world who employ our services. What is the point in worrying oneself too much about what one could or could not have done to control the course one’s life took? Surely it is enough that the likes of you and I at least try to make our small contribution count for something true and worthy. And if some of us are prepared to sacrifice much in life in order to pursue such aspirations, surely that is in itself, whatever the outcome, cause for pride and contentment.” (Ishiguro, 244)
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro is a compelling tale of the model English butler who believes that he has served humanity by devoting his life to the service of a “great” man, Lord Darlington. It is that quest for Dignity and self-rule that entails him to challenge his own faith in the man that he served and the meaning of his own insular life. This tale (journey) is captured by the profound control of the language, which include the use of irony, allegory, and questions, all, clearly portrayed in the passage.
At the end of his three decades of service at Darlington Hall, Stevens (butler) begins a solitary motor trip through which he embarks on a harrowing journey through his own memory. It is on this journey, a motif which is used as a deceptive structural device, that Stevens begins to first question his Lord’s greatness and the meaning of his service. The farther Stevens travels from Darlington Hall, it seems, the closer he comes to fully understanding his life, then sets in the regrets. Upon arriving to the conclusion of Stevens’ journey, literal as well as meaningful, does one encounter the passage by Ishiguro, which ties up the all the loose ends and completes Mr. Stevens life chapter labeled “Past Regrets.”
In the passage Mr. ...
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...a lesson. Mr. Stevens as a matter of fact should give up dwelling on what happened in the past and should move on and enjoy the latter years of his life. Ishiguro also relates to the elite class as being the hub of the world. Without a hub there would be no wheel hence without the elite there is no world. A statement, which Stevens recognizes to be totally false. There are also questions/messages embedded in the passage. Stevens himself posses there is no reason in crying over spilled milk and blaming ourselves for unaccomplished wishes, and worrying about how one could have changed the course of their life. These messages directly reflect the mood of Stevens as he looked back upon his service and life. One should move on look forward to evening and make best of what remains of the day. The tone of the passage seems to be more of optimism as it acknowledges the beginning of a new chapter with the coming of the evening. A lesson to be learned is that do not get caught up in formalities, one should always follow and pursue his/her desire, and opinion. Forget your past and live for tomorrow.
Bibliography:
Ishiguro, Kazuo. The Remains of The Day. New York: Vintage Books, 1988.
William Manchester, the author, wanted us to comprehend that it is goal-oriented people such as Desiderius Erasmus who doubtlessly have all the capacity to alter the world. As Erasmus once said, “There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are those who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other”. If people do not have faith in themselves and work hard towards their goals, then they will never reach said desired goals and continuously remorse the days that they did not take advantage of.
Many individuals strive to be the best and thrive in this world inhabited by seven billion people, by taking control over their own destiny. However, success requires a sacrifice of personal desires and ambitions at times which not a lot amongst us are willing to give. It is sooner or later that the temporary reformation fails and their true self resurfaces where they are back at where they began. A lot of us are unwillingly left to deal and live with these unfortunate circumstances. The impact that these events leave upon us is very significant and sometimes temporary. The poem, "The tent delivery woman's ride" by Wilmer Mills, and my own experience explains that the significant events negatively effect an individual's ability to determine
Stillinger, Jack, Deidre Lynch, Stephen Greenblatt, and M H. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: Volume D. New York, N.Y: W.W. Norton & Co, 2006. Print.
Some battles are more important than other’s like the one the character endures eternally. British literature as a whole pertains a lot of literary elements. But within these stories the most prominent is identity. A soul searching journey for one’s identity can begin at any stage of one’s life. The universal, time-transcendent idea of identity within British Literature attests to the human need for self knowledge, as it can be seen in the novels in Frankenstein, Beowulf, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
Out of the multiple wars, the first battle was fought completely in Sicily in 263 BCE. Since the Romans were the higher in rank fighters they took the ground battle and carried on to prevail until 256 BCE. After the success over Carthage, the Romans started to surround Greek cities that were working with the Carthaginians. The Romans terminated these cities, which caused them to harden their resistance. Rome became fully aware that in order to beat Carthaginians they would need to build an armada and so in 261 BCE they began building. To counter the Romans inexperience at sea they used a corvus. With the gadget the Romans could attach their ships to the enemies ships and come abroad. This made the battle at sea also ...
Greenblatt, Stephen, and M. H. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 9th ed. Vol. A. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. Print
Milk is the first food of mammals, providing all the necessary nutrients for survival and initial growth until weaning (Velten 10). It is only a small percentage of the world’s population that actually drinks milk. Most people prefer processed dairy products, such as butter, cheese and yogurt. Cow’s milk is probably the most controversial of foods. Its qualities and associated
The Norton Anthology: English Literature. Ninth Edition. Stephen Greenblatt, eds. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2012. 2308. Print.
...thern Literary Journal. Published by: University of North Carolina Press. Vol. 4, No. 2 (spring, 1972), pp. 128-132.
Abrams, M.H. and Greenblatt, Stephen eds. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: Seventh Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2001.
mother’s milk. It a practice that has been passed down from generation to generation since the beginning of our existence. It has proven to be an efficient and healthy way to feed newborns. Several research have shown numerous benefits of breastfeeding. For example, when it comes to the comparison of breast milk and formula milk, studies have shown that formula milk can be harder for babies to digest. This is due to the fact that formula milk is created from cows and babies, stomachs have a hard time digesting and adjusting to it. In addition, the overall quality of formula milk lack the critical nutritions such as antibodies, which breast milk provides to help fight of infections and prevent diseases. As a result, the benefits of
Got milk? If you do, you are at risk of cancer, osteoporosis, calcium deficiency, diabetes, heart disease, and atherosclerosis (PCRM). You might be thinking that I have gone completely mad. Of course milk is good for health; we all grew up drinking milk. We are told by the ads, the campaigns, and the culture that milk is good for us. We learnt about the importance of drinking milk and consuming dairy products in our health education class. In fact, they are in the food pyramid! The truth is milk does harm to you body, the word “milk” isn’t as comforting as it sounds.
The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Sixth Edition Volume1. Ed. M.H.Abrams. New York: W.W.Norton and Company, Inc., 1993.
During the seventh century Prophet Muhammad ibn Abdallah spread his teachings around the Arabian Peninsula, who previously had very few feelings towards a religion or a higher power. He was born in Mecca, now the city that all Muslims must make a pilgrimage to during their lifetime. At the age of 40, he began to experience spiritual dreams and visions all pointing towards the belief that there is “only one, all-powerful God.” Because of his attempt to spread the belief system he reigned to be true, he was kicked out of his birth land and traveled to other places attempting to spread the word of Allah. After 23 years of receiving these messages from Allah he memorized and recited them which his followers wrote down and were later incorporated in the Quran, the holy book of Islam. In 622, Muhammad moved to Yathrib, there he converted the individual tribes to an integrated populace following his teachings. The impact made on these people caused Yathrib to be known as “the Prophet’s City.” Once Islam became prominent enough he was allowed back into Mecca and not only was he unbanned but he was welcomed with open arms.
ABSTRACT: In Albert Camus' 1950 play Just Assassins, terrorists are at work in nineteenth-century Russia. They kill people, and they all believe that there is a superior moral reason for doing so. But they also know that killing is wrong. In their own view, they are innocent criminals; innocent, because their action is justified, but criminals, because they kill. So tacitly they conclude that they deserve punishment that will remove the regret from their shoulders. Their execution, by the same despotic authorities they are attacking, completes their actions: regret, caused by justified killing, gets its counterpart. Regret is an interesting mental phenomenon. Some people say that feeling regret is irrational, or even that it is immoral. But surely the usual opinion is that in some situations regret is an appropriate way to react. An interesting question is what it means to say that sometimes it is 'appropriate' to feel regret. Do we have a moral obligation to feel regret sometimes? How could one have an obligation to feel anything, since, at least seemingly, feelings are not voluntary acts. If we do have a moral obligation to feel regret in some cases, does it follow that all good people are emotionally "hot," while "cool" persons, who are not able to feel deep regret, are bad?