A wise man once said "There are no perfect people in the world, just perfect intentions." This statement exemplifies Pearl Tull. Pearl is the centerpiece of Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant; a novel which tells the story of her life through the eyes of the people she loved most, her children. Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, by Anne Tyler, is a bittersweet novel which demonstrates how one mother's perfect intentions became just the opposite and turned what should have been an ideal family into a group of torn-apart adults who only have a vague idea of what a family should be.
Late in her time, as her life was drawing to a close, Pearl Tull laid in her bed with her "favorite" child, Ezra, nearby. Pearl had become almost completely blind and was about to die, but while her eyes could not see her mind was sharp as a needle. Thoughts rolled in and out of her mind: what should have been, where Ezra should have gone to college, the husband she should have with her, the care her daughter Jenny should have taken about her looks, and most importantly the life she should have had. Pearl had intended nothing but the best for herself and her family but things did not seem to happen the way they "should" have. Pearl remembers when her intentions first began to sour and turn bad, "like milk left in the heat. ".
Her husband Beck, a salesman for the Tanner Corporation, had bought a bow and arrow set for the children. In his eyes this would create the opportunity for the perfect family trip that could bring the family together. The entire family went out on that Sunday, Jenny (the youngest), Ezra (the gentle one), and Cody (the oldest and most troublesome). Cody became extremely upset over Ezra doing something better, acted impulsively and caused an arrow to be shot unexpectedly, hitting his mother in the shoulder. Pearl remembered the trip clearly, as did Cody and Beck. Cody remembered, "that arrow sailing in its graceful, fluttering path.