Characterization in What Remains of the Day What Remains of the Day is a book that believes in defining its characters with remarkable detail. Minor characters also come to life, using a variety of methods; some subtle, others more obvious. This essay will discuss the entire novel, just the first eight pages. Many novels at this point are still setting the scene but, by The Remains of the Day, many of the main characters have already been described in a fair amount of detail. Creating detailed, believable characters is usually a key factor in creating a book. success. If a story contains rich, concrete characters, readers will be able to understand and empathize with them, thus becoming more immersed in the narrative and, consequently, enjoying the book more. Of course there are exceptions; in some cases, for example, the characters are left deliberately vague in order to increase the atmosphere around them. However, The Remains of the Day is a book that believes in defining its characters down to the smallest detail. Minor characters also come to life, using a variety of methods; some subtle, others more obvious. The title of the essay, however, does not refer to the entire novel, but only to the first eight pages. Many novels would just set the scene at this point but, with The Remains of the Day, many of the main characters have already been described in a fair amount of detail. There are generally two methods of characterization. One is simply to state character traits (along the lines of “the man was arrogant and hateful” – note that this is an example and not a quote from the text), a method that Ishiguro does not use in great abundance. He he much prefers to reveal information about characters in more subtle and indirect ways, often through their actions and words. This allows readers to judge the characters partly on their own, without the writer explicitly prejudging them unique among others in the novel, in that it is written from a first-person perspective and he is the narrator. Ishiguro uses a wide variety of techniques to develop Stevens' character throughout the first eight pages having a first-person narrative is significant, it allows readers to better know and understand the character of the narrator, since the text is "written" by him.