top of page

A Family Supper by Kazuo Ishiguro: Analysis


Characterization of the narrator

  • Rebellious

  • Adventurous

  • Doesn't really care

  • Quite

  • Has a strange relationship with his father

  • Lives in California

  • His father has killed his friend and his family

  • Brought up in a different way than his daughters

  • Sister is living by old Japanese culture

  • Faces some cultural difficulties

The narrator seems to be caught in the middle somehow – describe his situation and the challenges he faces.

  • Has to live up to his Japanese culture but doesn't really want to because he has been living in the western culture.

  • Parents were having a dispute because of him moving to USA

  • His parents were disappointed in him

Go back to the opening lines: What role does fugu play in the story? What could it be a symbol of?

  • Old tradition

  • The father doesn't want to deal with change

What does the text say about Japanese norms and family values?

  • He's seen a ghost in the garden.

  • The son saw the ghost a long time ago and now he sees his mother looking like the ghost in the picture.

  • Guilt is probably nagging him

  • Tradition and family respect

  • Honour

  • Gender roles - very traditional

  • The father had to learn how to cook but he's not proud of having to learn it

  • Family expectations

  • Family is shattering - dishonourable!

  • His whole family has left him - his family has dishonoured him

  • Sister is rebellious.

  • Not around her father though

bottom of page