Family Supper

• Exposition Quote

  “My father a formidable looking man with a large stony jaw and furious black eyebrows“
• Exposition Statement 


  In the exposition, the narrator describes his father as stoic and conventionally masculine it is evident he is critical of these traits embedding- his vivid memory of his father‘s appearance from his childhood.
• Exposition AO1

  Emotional gap and resentment, formal, menacing, caricature of a cartoon villain, awe, distance, not warm or nurturing image, severe, disciplinaria.
• Exposition AO2


  Cold, unemotional adjective ‘stony’- geological imagery, rock like, face carved from a cold stone rock, hidden depths of a cave

  Menacing personification ‘furious’ eyebrows- life and intent of their own

  The whole quote- threading/ villainous visual imagery

  conjuring up a memory of father from childhood establishes they have never had a close relationship
• Exposition AO3


  Japanese working fathers/ long hours/ rarely present/ not hands on parents/ product of time/ adopted the role of a formal and sever parental figure
• Exposition Pepper Quote 


  ‘perhaps I should have been a more attentive father’- recognition partly responsible for distance
• Mid-point Quote 


  ‘a man of principle and honour’
• Exposition 


  Who- the father about Wantanbe

  What- killing of family and self

  When- present
• Mid-point Statement 


  The writer uses Wantanbe’s honour suicide to contrast the son’s modernity with the father
• Mid-point AO1

  Father is changing attitude; horrifically killed himself – family; Watanabe’s pride, identity and self-esteem rested on his professional competency and success; respect of suicide; perpetuates idea of shame; failure; toxic masculinity
• Midpoint AO2

  Dynamic character – shifts from traditional understanding of honour suicide to a more modern interpretation OR he declarative tone; abstract nouns
• Mid-point AO3

  His traditional view descends from Samurai culture was glorified ‘seppuku’; Japan has the highest suicide rate for a developed nation in the world(2017); difficult to shake off the inherited tradition and view of honour

  WI- the writer uses the sons progressive values to trigger a change in the fathers attitude to stoicism, self sacrifice and focused on career
• Mid-point Pepper Quote 


  ‘took his whole family with him’
• Denouement Quote 


  ‘We fell silent once more‘
• Denouement Statement 


  In the denouement, the silent motif is repeatedly used to reinforce the lack of communication; father and son are still restrained and isolated
• Denouement AO1


  Lack of conversation, no bond, lack of empathy, distract, suspicion, unspoken disappointment, tragedy, fear, an expressible guilt, inability to communicate, absence of mother is audible
• Denouement AO2


  Echoes, continue from start to end(a lot) Motif reinforces lack of communication between father and son,

  Clipped sentences, son was hit for chattering,

  Domestic setting contrast situation/relationship between father and son. Home=warm cosy
• Denouement Pepper Quote 


  ‘Just fish‘-stichomythia, awkwardness