60 pages • 2 hours read
A Family Supper
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Literary Devices
Repetition
Authors use the literary device of repetition to emphasize a point or clarify an idea. By intentionally using a word or phrase repeatedly throughout a written work, the author can draw the reader’s attention to a chosen scene and make moments in the text more memorable. Authors can use repetition in the same sentence, or they can extend and use it over the course of a single work.
Ishiguro uses repetition when the narrator echoes his father and insists that he, the narrator, “didn’t leave behind much. Just some empty rooms” in California (7). Ishiguro had used the imagery of empty rooms previously when Father showed the narrator around the large house. By drawing the reader’s attention to this moment, Ishiguro highlights the similarities between the narrator and his father. Another example of repetition is when the narrator sees the old woman ghost and says: “I couldn’t see very well. It was dark” (5). Later, when he fails to recognize his mother in a photograph, he repeats: “You see, it’s dark. I can’t see it very well” (7). The repetition draws the reader’s attention to the narrator’s inability to recognize his mother, the doppelganger of his mother’s ghost, and the looming darkness that appears to prevent the narrator from seeing anything clearly.
By using repetition, Ishiguro also draws the reader to instances of mirroring and doubleness that occurs in the text.
Dialogue
Initially used by Plato to describe Socrates’s transcribed works, the term “dialogue” is now used to refer to a character’s spoken lines in literary texts. Dialogue between characters can establish characterization, tone, or even provide necessary context and information for the reader.
“A Family Supper” is composed predominantly of dialogue between the story’s characters. Ishiguro’s focus on discussion between the characters highlights the theme of miscommunication central to the work. Unlike internal dialogue, lines spoken by characters do not provide additional details about their frame of mind. Readers must use contextual clues and pay close attention both to what is being said and what is not said. Dialogue is thus extremely important to “A Family Supper.” When the narrator finally begins speaking to his father about his absence, they do not linger on the topic. The narrator says, “Perhaps we should forget it, as you suggest,” and his father replies, “As you will. More tea?” (2). Ishiguro’s use of dialogue here tells the reader all about the dysfunctional nature of this father-son relationship. Both men are unable to talk about the things that bother them the most, and they find solace instead in inane and mundane topics.
Imagery
Authors often use the literary device of imagery to conjure a vivid picture in the mind of the reader. By using descriptive language, authors place the reader right into the middle of a scene. In doing so, authors can elicit specific emotions or feelings in response to their work.
In “A Family Supper,” Ishiguro uses imagery to balance light and dark, tension and levity. As the narrator begins to learn more about his father and Watanabe, the tension in the story steadily mounts. Ishiguro plays with the reader’s expectations, keeping them guessing about the story’s ending. Read in one light, the narrative could merely be a family drama; in another, it could be seen as horror. The titular supper scene, for example, takes place in a dramatically illuminated room: “Supper was waiting in a dimly lit room next to the kitchen. The only source of light was a big lantern that hung over the table, casting the rest of the room into shadow” (7). Ishiguro describes the room and its lighting in detail to better place the reader in the middle of the scene. As the culminating moment in the text, Ishiguro’s use of imagery forces the reader to the edge of their seat, in hopes of gaining answers to their questions.
Characterization
Characterization is a literary device used in literature to better explain and showcase the personality of a character. Characterization often occurs in stages. Like meeting a stranger for the first time, the author initially provides surface-level details, before gradually providing more hints and information about the characters’ internal struggles and motivations. Characterization is vital in literary texts as it allows readers to better understand and connect with a work.
Ishiguro uses characterization this way in “A Family Supper.” When the narrator is reunited with Kikuko, she is described as silly, giggling constantly. Soon thereafter, the narrator notices that Kikuko is uncomfortable around their father, responding to him formally. She only relaxes when she is alone with the narrator. With these small details, Ishiguro begins to paint the picture of a character who struggles with the expectations that her father has of her. Ishiguro writes: “She trod on the remains of her cigarette, then for a brief moment stood regarding it with a perplexed expression. She kicked some pine needles over it, then once more displayed her grin” (4). This small moment between the narrator and Kikuko characterizes as a young woman desperate to be herself, to be reckless and adventurous, but only in secret. Her smoking habit must be hidden, just like her wish to stay in Osaka. Through these different moments of characterization, Ishiguro allows the reader to better understand Kikuko without spelling out her internal dialogue.
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By Kazuo Ishiguro
