two Greek roots (νόστος = nostos = returning home, and άλγος = algos = pain/longing)

Nostalgia is the process of longing for something or someone from the past. We’ve all found ourselves in this situation. We’re usually sitting there and something reminds us of something in the past and we find ourselves that we were there again. This usually happens to me when I’m listening to a song. It’s so weird to because a certain song will come on and it just takes me back to that time when I listened to it a lot. When that happens I usually sit there remembering everything from that time and it usually brings a smile to my face. Then I just wish that I could go back to that time. There are also those times when a certain song reminds me of a friend that passed away or a memory that wasn’t the best. These nostalgic moments are ones that I could do without.

Songs aren’t the only things that put people in a nostalgic mood. It could be really anything that reminds you of a certain memory from the past. Being nostalgic is usually a good thing but it can sometimes bring back memories and a time in ones life that one would not want to remember.

Ishiguro often has nostalgic moments in the novel. He is often thinking of the passed. I think he does this because he longs for the passed. He longs for things used to be before the war. Throughout the novel he is constantly reminiscing about the passed and what seemed like a better time in his life. When his wife was still alive and so was his son. He also thinks of when he didn’t have so much controversy over his paintings. Although it was before the war so there was no need for paintings that could be viewed as propaganda. For Ishiguro it seems that being nostalgic about passed events and people is a good thing. He remembers good memories but when he comes back from them it’s a realization that it is in the passed and not the present. So although he remembers good things it could be upsetting to realize that it is in the passed.