A Family Supper

Before reading

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While reading

Check predictions!

After reading

A lot is left unsaid in this story; many things seem to go unspoken, which allows the reader to think about them for himself/herself. Write down the questions you would like to ask the characters in the story to clarify your doubts. Compare the questions with some of your classmates. Do you have the same list? Get into small groups and speculate on possibe answers. Finally, you can roleplay an interview with one of the characters. Example: ( for the father) Why didn't you want to reveal what kind of fish you had prepared?

After reading

MOOD

How did the story make you feel? Take a look at the feelings wheel and decide what feelings the story conveys? What topics does the story address? What ambiance is created?How would you have felt if you had been sitting around this table with the characters in the story?

After reading

Ishiguro's stories are preoccupied by memories, their potential to digress and distort, to forget and to silence, and, above all, to haunt.

about the story...What memories seemed to haunt the siblings? Do you think the main character really saw a ghost?Who/what was this ghost? about you... What role does memory play in our lives? Can we trust our memories or could they be deceiving?What special event do you remember from your childhood? What makes it so special? If the same episode from your childhood were told by different people would it be the same? 2

After reading

Do you pity the old man?How do you think he is coping with grief? Which quote would you associate with the old mans' attitude? What do you think about these quotes? Which one do you particularly like?

After reading

Ishiguro's work is often preoccupied with interiors: not simply with journeys into the mind and memory, but also with the domestic indoors. It is upon private rather than public terrain that Ishiguro's work feels most at home.

What have you noticed about the rooms/ house where the story takes place? How does the description of the rooms contribute to create the atmosphere of the story? How would you feel in such a place? what kind of rooms/ colors make you feel cheerful/ energetic/ tranquil/somber, etc?

After reading

The Japanese are deeply rooted in tradition and heritage. This story gives us an insight on some of these views. It also shows how younger generations are becoming Westernized and moving away from the traditional views. Take a look at the following slide and match the quotes with the characters. What do they show about their values? Have you perceived certain tension between the older and the new generations?

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After reading

“You don't see how it is for some parents. Not only must they lose their children, they must lose them to things they don't understand.”

"Business these days has become so different. Dealing with foreigners. Doing things their way. I don't understand how we've come to this. Neither did Watanabe."

“my mother didn’t expect me to live here for ever.”

"Despite our difference in years, my sister and I had always been close. Seeing me again seemed to make her excessively excited and for a while she did nothing but giggle nervously. But she calmed down somewhat when my father started to question her about Osaka and her university. She answered him with short formal replies"

"proud of the pure samurai blood that ran in the family."

After reading

About you... Group discussion

What traitional values/ belief are well rooted in your society? Do you think it is worth keeping certain traditions? Which ones? Why?

Some old cultural values and customs should be put aside to make way for the future and to realign and/or conform to more modern societal customs. Do you agree?

After reading

Think about your country/ family. What values/beliefs/ expectations differ from older to younger generations? Complete the chart and compare with your classmates.

1.

3.

BOTH

NEW

BOTH

OLD

After reading

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FUGU

KIMONOS

NOBEL AWARD

DESIGN

After reading

WRITING

COOKING

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RESEARCH + PRESENTATION

Choose a project bowlAsk your teacher for guidance if necessary