A Family Supper Short Story Analysis
A Family Supper by Kazuo Ishiguro
l
Plot
“A Family Supper” tells the story of a Japanese family after World War II. The son, having lived in California for several years, returns to Tokyo to see his father and sister Kikuko. The son and the father talk about the death of his mother due to poisonous and the failure of the father’s jointly owned firm. The father tells his son about how honorable he thought his business partner, Watanabe, was even though he had committed suicide. The daughter, Kikuko, arrived at the house. While the son and daughter catch up, Kikuko tells her brother she is thinking about moving to California as well. She also informs her brother that Watanabe also killed his two daughters and wife. While talking out in the garden, the narrator thinks he sees a ghost by the well he always thought was haunted. The children went in to check on dinner, as the father shows the son around the house; the son takes note of all the empty rooms. The father mentions how he could have been a better parent, and they went back to the kitchen. While eating dinner the narrator sees a picture of the ghost he saw on the wall. The father tells him it’s a picture of his mother. The father serves his children fish, upon which the narrator questions him about the kind of fish it is, his father responds, “Just fish.” The narrator begins to contemplate how a man his father respected killed himself along with his family.
Character A round dynamic character is the narrator’s father. In the beginning of the story, the narrator tells about his strained relationship with his parents due to leaving Japan. However, at the end of the story his father seems to have no objections to his son leaving Japan and returning to America. After his wife’s death, and his daughter going to Osaka for school, he grew accustomed to living by his lonesome. The father tells his son that after the firm’s collapse he has a lot of free time on his hands. This free time probably
l
Plot
“A Family Supper” tells the story of a Japanese family after World War II. The son, having lived in California for several years, returns to Tokyo to see his father and sister Kikuko. The son and the father talk about the death of his mother due to poisonous and the failure of the father’s jointly owned firm. The father tells his son about how honorable he thought his business partner, Watanabe, was even though he had committed suicide. The daughter, Kikuko, arrived at the house. While the son and daughter catch up, Kikuko tells her brother she is thinking about moving to California as well. She also informs her brother that Watanabe also killed his two daughters and wife. While talking out in the garden, the narrator thinks he sees a ghost by the well he always thought was haunted. The children went in to check on dinner, as the father shows the son around the house; the son takes note of all the empty rooms. The father mentions how he could have been a better parent, and they went back to the kitchen. While eating dinner the narrator sees a picture of the ghost he saw on the wall. The father tells him it’s a picture of his mother. The father serves his children fish, upon which the narrator questions him about the kind of fish it is, his father responds, “Just fish.” The narrator begins to contemplate how a man his father respected killed himself along with his family.
Character A round dynamic character is the narrator’s father. In the beginning of the story, the narrator tells about his strained relationship with his parents due to leaving Japan. However, at the end of the story his father seems to have no objections to his son leaving Japan and returning to America. After his wife’s death, and his daughter going to Osaka for school, he grew accustomed to living by his lonesome. The father tells his son that after the firm’s collapse he has a lot of free time on his hands. This free time probably