Kazuo Ishiguro v. Helena Maria Viramontes

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Mell Colvin Professor Wahlstrom ENG 102 Moths Come When Family Supper Sits Out Too Long Family is the most important and turbulent relationship in human existence. Because of genetic similarity and society, you automatically love your family regardless of its antics or the way it behaves. But sometimes, because outside society, genetics and personality affects the way a person views the world, families are not a cohesive unit. In “A Family Supper” by Kazuo Ishiguro and “The Moths” by Helena Maria Viramontes, families that do not work cohesively have issues. Though these stories are very different, there are some similarities that are inescapable because of the family friction in both stories. Both stories have to do with the death of a family member, and how the characters handle that death. In “A Family Supper,” a man returns home after running away with his “true love.” His father has lost his business, and his has mother died. He only finds out that she committed suicide after he returns home. He is completely matter-of-fact about the situation surrounding his mother’s death, and he gives her an excuse. Instead of explaining that she was depressed about her life and her son’s estrangement, he states: “Apparently, my mother had always refused to eat fugu, but on this particular occasion she had made an exception, having been invited by an old schoolfriend whom she was anxious not to offend.” He gives his mother a reason for death, as opposed to the real reason. The young girl in “The Moths” refuses to accept the death of her grandmother as well, but for different reasons. Her family is cruel to her, and she is an outcast. She fights with her sisters who call her “bull hands” and are very mean. She deals with it by fighting, and her parents do not support her. Her only solace is “Mama Luna,” her abuelita, or grandmother. When the young girl in

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