Analysis

Here, we present the most important elements of our analysis of “Tea with the Birds” by Joanne Harris.

The short story follows a simple plot structure: a socially secluded woman discovers the importance of socialisation through a new Japanese neighbour . The story includes the structural elements of a traditional plot: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution.

“Tea with the Birds” features two important characters, the narrator and Juzo Tamaoki. The other characters mentioned in the story (the neighbours) are only relevant for the social setting.

The physical setting is Mortimer Street and the action probably takes place around the time of publishing (2004). The social setting illustrates aspects related to neighbourly relations, gossip, isolation and alienation, and language barriers. 

We also analysed the text considering its narrator and language. The narration is explicit in terms of what the narrator sees and the action. Imagery, similes, metaphors, repetition, rhetorical questions, and symbols are used in the text with the purpose of conveying additional meanings and making the descriptive passages more vivid.

Read the full analysis in the next pages!