At the center of every family lies problems. Ann Tyler's "Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant," told from the points of view of three children, Cody, Ezra, and Jenny, and their mother, Pearl, is about how growing up in a dysfunctional family affected all of members of the family. Pearl, Cody and Jenny's troubled past complicates their relationship as a family.
Pearl is so busy coping with her own problems that she becomes blind to the impact of her own role in her children's life. Pearl is an independent woman who "didn't allow any tears" (pg. 14). She holds herself in high esteem and takes pride in doing everything herself. She is mentally unstable and "often lost her temper" then "slapped the nearest cheek" (pg. 14). She abuses her children physically and emotionally. In addition, she is a rigid perfectionist, so she "felt an indulgent kind of scorn for her children" (pg. 16). She is never pleased with any of her or her children's accomplishments. Pearl actually wants help but does not let anyone because she has "been continually on the edge; she'd felt too burdened, too much alone" (pg. 19). Her pride does not allow any outside help. If you do not make the time to work on creating the life you want, you are going to eventually be forced to spend a lot of time dealing with a life you do not want. Pearl struggles to maintain her own problems, causing her to be blind to the problems that she is initiating.
Cody, due to Pearl's desertion, is obsessed with beating Ezra at everything. He is a troublemaker. Even Pearl says, "Why are you so obstinate?" (pg. 19). He is selfish and impatient and the lack of affection from his mother causes him to hate his home. He is jealous of Ezra and "hated the radiant, grave expression that Ezra wore sometimes" (pg. 61). He does not like being compared to Ezra. In addition, he knows that Ezra is Pearl's favorite and that "everything I've ever wanted, Ezra got it" (pg.
