Pardeep Kaur A Family Supper Essay

The ending of "Family Supper" remains indefinite. A family seems to be having a peaceful dinner but is that really the reality? Could the family be a eating the deadly fish, Fugu? Many questions remain unanswered for readers to form their own perspective. Kazua Ishiguro indicates a negative ending through the various use of symbols and allusions, diction, and archetypes. These literary devices convey that was father was not simply "sharing a meal" with his family but using the deadly fish planning to kill his children as well as himself. In the "Family Supper", Ishiguro indicates a pessimistic ending through many symbols and allusions. The title of the story itself is very symbolic, forming ideas of a last supper. "I came nearer and saw it was a plastic model of a battleship, the kind constructed by children(251)." This line symbolizes the father in the story who is injured, unemployed, and widowed. This suggests an alternative loss or even suicide that may occur. "Did he tell you about old Watanabe(250)?" Watanabe is a universal figure who was a business owner with the father. Both dealt with loss and have too much time on their hands hinting destruction. Another symbol of a negative ending is Fugu which is the only fish mentioned in the story that can give death by choice or accident. Ishiguro uses allusion to describe the father. According to the son, his father "...resembled Chou En-lai..." who was a Chinese dictator. The motive behind this character is to show a disturbed relationship between the father and son. "The sound of locusts came in from the garden(254)", is an allusion from the bible referring to the plague which represents damage. Ishiguro signifies a gloomy ending through a variety of symbols and allusions.