Structure

The plot in “A Family Supper” can be summarised as follows: a young man returns from America two years after his mother has died. The attitude of his father shows that the parents blamed him for leaving Japan. Now, the narrator’s sister plans to do the same thing.

The traditional elements of the plot lack in this short story. Besides the exposition, the action is very linear and lacks a rising action and a climax. Except for the conversation and the preparations for supper, nothing happens. It is only the dialogue that reveals a backstory and different aspects related to the characters and their decisions. Still, the fact that the father serves his two children fish soup might be seen as a foreshadowing element; it might suggest that the father intends to poison his family, just like his partner took his family with him when he committed suicide.

Title

The title of the short story is very simple, but it does not reveal deeper aspects of the relationship between the father and his two children. The title only depicts that readers are going to read about a family supper, probably between parents ...