Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant Symbols, Allegory and Motifs

by Anne Tyler

Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant Symbols, Allegory and Motifs

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Written by sahar niaz

Beck leaving Pearl

Beck leaving Pearl is an allegory to the rate of abandonment in families during 1982. The median age of dad walk-outs during 1982 was 35.6 years old. Knowing Pearl was older in the relationship and Beck was a bit younger, it is safe to assume Beck was around the age of 35 years old as Pearl complained about her old age often.

The Homesick Restaurant

The Homesick Restaurant symbolizes the yearning for a real family feeling. Jenny, Cody, and Pearl always seem to leave the family dinners early due to some fight that manages to ruin the meal. The name of the restaurant itself is is a symbol for how the children of Pearl wish they were a proper happy family.

The Family Dinners

The Family Dinners are motifs throughout the novel because the characters never finish eating together; such events show how the family seems to constantly fall apart.

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