Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant Essay, Research Paper

Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant

Anne Tyler

All the Tull Family is dysfunctional in their own ways. Beck, the father, deserts his family and it is tempting to believe he is the cause of all their troubles. By the end of the story, you’re not so sure. Pearl, the mother, is run ragged bringing up the children on her own but she is no saint. She resorts to abuse, which scars the children. Cody, the eldest, develops such severe hang-ups over his father’s desertion and his mother’s display of favoritism he becomes emotionally estranged from the family. Cody?s resentment of his younger brother borders on cruelty. Sister Jenny, also a victim of abuse by her mother, grows up meager and remote. Ezra, the gentlest of the three children and owner of the “Homesick Restaurant” is the most sympathetic child, there is a feeling of defeat and being upset about his whole life. There are no saints, heroes or villains in the story.

There are two scenes in the novel that are really touching. One is where Pearl in her old age relives one moment of happiness from an old diary. Another is where Beck returns for a family reunion at Ezra’s “Homesick Restaurant” on the occasion of Pearl’s funeral. The reunion is, like all of Ezra’s earlier attempts, a failure. But the author Anne Tyler seems to be saying perhaps it doesn’t matter after all.

This story leaves you to wonder what sort of family environment Tyler?s influence for this story. Why would she write about this story unless perhaps there are bibliographical references in it? These are the sorts of answers that I wish to get answered in learning more about the author.