A Family Supper

“A Family Supper”

• Genre: Fiction; contemporary short story
• Originally Published: 1983
• Reading Level/Interest: Grades 9-12; college/adult
• Structure/Length: Approx. 9 pages
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: An unnamed, young male protagonist returns to his homeland, Japan, and struggles to communicate with his sister and father while they are all still grieving the recent loss of his mother.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Suicide; death of a parent; familicide

Kazuo Ishiguro, Author

• Bio: Born in Nagasaki, Japan, in 1954; moved to Britain at age 5; began publishing short stories in small literary magazines; has written 8 novels and had work translated in over 50 languages; has had 2 novels adapted for film; received a knighthood in 2018 for Services to Literature
• Other Works: An Artist of the Floating World (1986); The Remains of the Day (1989); When We Were Orphans (2000); Never Let Me Go (2005)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• Loss and Death
• Gender Roles
• Expectations Versus Reality

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Gain an understanding of social and cultural contexts regarding familial conflict and traditional Japanese family structures.
• Analyze the deeper meaning of the text through prompts and activities that connect to or address the text’s themes of Loss and Death, Gender Roles, and Expectations Versus Reality.