"A Family Supper"

(Não esquecer: amanhã levar para aula a obra "A Family Supper" que veio juntamente com o vosso manual "Extensive reading")


"A Family Supper" by Kazuo Ishiguro portrays the family tension that arose when the main character/protagonist/narrator goes back to Japan.

Family supper obra

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Glossary

clumsiness – mistake
leak – let liquid flow into
hazardous – dangerous
strained – worried caused by having to deal with a problem
supply – provide people with something that they need or want
jaw – the lower part of people’s face that moves when they eat
chatter – talking quickly
haunted – a haunted place is believed to be visited regularly by the spirit of a dead person
swayed – influenced
sparse – existing only in small amounts
burden – loaded; preoccupied, deeply concerned
straw – the dried stems of wheat or similar plants
mischievously – naughtily making fun of her strict father
well – a deep hole in the ground from which people take water
puff – the action of taking the smoke from a cigarette
peer – look very carefully or hard, especially because you are having difficulties in seeing
clambering – climbing slowly
giggle – a little, girlish laugh
mischievous – a bit malicious
spot – place
mesmerize – make someone feel that they must watch or listen to something or someone
startlingly – surprisingly
stark – very simple and severe in appearance
tatami – mats
scattered – thrown into
spin – turn around very quickly
chopsticks – sticks that you can use to eat food in many countries in asia
stretch out – open
yawn – open the mouth wide
locust – insect like a big grasshopper that lives mainly in africa or asia
dreary – not interesting or cheerful


The cultural context

In our global village culture can clash over differences in values, interpretations of history, who makes better cars, how best to play baseball, or even over which national leaders are the more incompetent. Some experts and scholars argue that in the future the fundamental source of international conflict will not be primarily ideological or primarily economic. The great divisions among humankind and the dominating source of conflict will be cultural.

Japanese culture

After several waves of immigration from the Asian continent and nearby Pacific islands, followed by a heavy importation of culture from Korea and China, the inhabitants of Japan experienced a long period of relative isolation from the outside world under the Tokugawa shogunate until the arrival of the "Black Ships" and the Meiji era. As a result, a culture distinctively different from other Asian cultures developed, and echoes of this persist in contemporary Japan.

For example, Japan has a shame culture (external reference standard) rather than the guilt culture (internal reference standard) that is more familiar in the West. In Japan, inter-relationships between people are heavily influenced by concepts of "honor," "obligation," and "duty" in a way that is no longer true in the more individualistic and free-wheeling West. Finally, generalized conceptions of morality and desirable behavior are relatively underdeveloped in Japan, where particular obligations to family, school, and friends tend to guide behavior.

The Japanese language has always played a significant role in Japanese culture. It reflects the harmony that is desired and respected within Japanese culture.

Although the Japanese are better known for their physical comedy outside of Japan, they have intricate humour and jokes. Because this humor relies so heavily on Japanese language, culture, religion, and ethics, it is generally considered to be very difficult to translate.