A Family Supper Essay Questions

Why does the father omit the fact Watanabe killed his own family when he committed suicide?

The father's omission of the fact Watanabe killed his family during his suicide reflects the father's inclination toward repression and avoidance. Rather than discuss the event with candidness and emotional depth, the father's instinct is to avoid having to comment on the murder-suicide, thereby upholding his business partner's memory as a "man of principle and honor." The same statement would ring false if the father were to discuss openly how Watanabe poisoned his wife and daughters with gas before cutting his stomach open with a knife. The father's omission of Watanabe's crime also invites the question of whether he himself could be capable of taking his children with him were he to kill himself.

What is the significance of Ishiguro's decision to leave "A Family Supper" open-ended?

In "A Family Supper," Kazuo Ishiguro ends the story unresolved so that the reader is left with a lingering sense of uncertainty. As in life, the story provokes questions that never get answered. Instead of spoon-feeding the reader with a tidy conclusion, Ishiguro implicitly encourages the reader to consider the father's motivations; the reader must determine for themself what they believe is the most probable outcome. While it seems unlikely that the father has poisoned his children, the possibility looms ominously over the story. As a consequence, the reader comes away thinking about the characters long after they've read the last sentence.

What role does the concept of independence play in "A Family Supper"?

As one of the story's major themes, independence plays a significant role in "A Family Supper." Early in the story, the narrator hints at the rupture that led to his estrangement from his family. From context, the reader gleans that the narrator likely disappointed his traditional Japanese parents by disobeying their wishes and moving to America to live with a non-Japanese woman. The tension between independence and adherence to traditional family roles arises again when Kikuko expresses a desire to travel the States with her boyfriend when her father hopes she will move home. Because Kikuko is visibly uncomfortable in her father's domineering presence, it is unlikely she will remain faithful to him as the "good girl" he repeatedly says she is. Like the narrator, Kikuko seeks to be liberated from the confining family role her parents established for her.