The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro is a fictional novel about regrets and missed opportunities. This book is Ishiguro's third published novel and was awarded the Man Booker Prize for fiction in 1989. The Remains of the Day uses several literary techniques such as tone, flashback, symbolism and foreshadowing to emphasize the central themes of dignity, regret and loyalty. The plot mainly revolves around human weaknesses and mistakes of evaluation. What remains of the day is the first-person narrative of an English butler named Stevens on a 6-day trip to the English countryside. Stevens could be considered the “perfect” butler thanks to his serious personality, work ethic exemplary and strong sense of loyalty. Stevens has worked as a butler at Darlington Hall for 34 years and was encouraged by his current employer, Mr Farraday, to join the trip. During his journey, Stevens recalls and reflects on his past experiences working under his former employer Lord Darlington. Stevens greatly reveres Lord Darlington as a great and distinguished gentleman. However, as he continues to reflect on his time under Lord Darlington, Stevens begins to have doubts about Lord Darlington's greatness. Stevens also recalls his affair with a former housekeeper at Darlington Hall, Miss Kenton. During his journey, Stevens visits Miss Kenton with the hope of convincing her to return to Darlington Hall, only to find that she has already moved on with her life. After realizing the mistakes he made in the past, Stevens vows to make the most of the time he has left with his new employer, Mr. Farraday. The novel has seven chapters, in diary form, each representing a day or part of a day during Steven's journey. Stevens is constantly at the center of ideas. Overall, the various literary devices such as tone, foreshadowing, flashbacks, and symbolism effectively emphasize the main themes of the novel. What remains of the day is the sad story of a man who thought he was doing the right thing in his life only to later realize that he was wrong. Despite being a sad story, the novel ends in a slightly optimistic way. As Stevens sits on a dock contemplating his mistakes, he vows to learn to "joke" to get closer to his current employer, Mr. Farraday. Even though Stevens has made mistakes in the past, he accepts those mistakes and hopes to make the best of what's left of the day. Works Cited Ishiguro, Kazuo. The remains of the day. Vintage International [iTunes e-book edition]. New York: VintageSparkNotes editors. “SparkNote on What Remains of the Day.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. nd. Network. August 22. 2011.