A Family Supper

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Before reading

A family supper was written in 1982. It tells the story of a family sitting down to dinner together. Prediction: What do you think the occasion is ? Who do you think are going to be sitting around the table? What do you think they will talk about? Is it going to be a happy reunion or a tense one? What food is going to be served?

Kazuo Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki, Japan. When he was five, the family moved to Guildford in Surrey, England, where his father, an oceanographer, had been invited to work at a research institute. In his youth Kazuo Ishiguro first wanted to become a musician, but he studied English and philosophy at the University of Kent and then creative writing at the University of East Anglia, where he earned a master’s degree in 1980. Since then he has worked as a writer. Kazuo Ishiguro is married and has a daughter. Memory, time and lifelong deception are central themes in Kazuo Ishiguro’s works. Growing up in a Japanese family in Great Britain has colored his thinking and perspectives. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2017.

While reading

Check predictions!

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

After reading

noun

1. 1.intense sorrow, especially caused by someone's death."she was overcome with grief"Similar:sorrowmiserysadnessanguishpaindistressagony

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?

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?

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.

After reading

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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?

After reading

"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."

“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.”

“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

After reading

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?

1

3.

1.

.

BOTH

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

Useful language: Both ...and ...are similar/ different in the way that... ...is different from/ similar to ...in the way that... Both ...are similar since... The main difference / similarity is... One difference/ similarity is ... Another difference/ similarity is... ...is ...whereas is... There are similarities and differences between...and ... One ...is that... Anoher...

After reading

OLD

NEW

BOTH

FUGU

NOBEL AWARD

KIMONOS

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DESIGN

After reading

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WRITING

Choose one activity: 1. The ending to the story seems quite open. What do you think will happen to the characters? Add some extra para graphs to the story. 2. The son goes back to California, but he feels pity for his old father. Imagine you are the son, write an e-mail to your father trying to help him cope with grief. You can even include a grief quote of your choice. Useful language: I have been thinking about.../ what about...? / Why don´t you...? I think you could/ Have you thought of...? / If you ...you will/ I have noticed that.../ If I were you.../ It is said that.../ If only.../ I wish you ... 3. Essay. Write an essay article for "Psychology Today" How to cope with grief or...How have values changed in the last decades or...What traditions/ rituals help keep family bonds

COOKING

RESEARCH + PRESENTATION

1. Find out info about a Japanese tradition you might feel curious about, for example the Samurai. Make a presentation. Include visual support. 2. Choose an Argentinian tradition and make a presentation. Find out info about it (origen, importance, symbolism) Include visual support.

After reading

Choose a project bowlAsk your teacher for guidance if necessary

Think of a recipe that has been in your family/ society for a long time and you consider worth keeping for later generations. Write it down. List the ingredients, and include the steps to prepare it and serve it. You can record yourself while doing it, or take pictures and prepare a demo to share with the class. You can also get organized with the class and your teacher and prepare the recipe in real time. If this were the case, you will need to follow the steps so that your class mates have the necessary ingredients. Ask your teacher for guidance.