Characters
Next, we will help you characterize the narrator and Juzo Tamaoki from “Tea with the Birds” by Joanne Harris.
The narrator
The narrator of the short story is also its main character. According to her outer characterisation, she is an unnamed woman who lives alone and works as a waitress, after having spent two years in a psychiatric ward. She is also ethnically different from her neighbours, but we do not know her ethnicity: “Wrong face, wrong clothes, wrong voice. I'm a completely different race from my neighbours...” (ll. 12-13); “A Mr Juzo Tamaoki, the name on the letterbox said; another foreigner...” (ll. 34-35)
Inner characterisation
The narrator’s inner characterisation is centred on her development from a socially-isolated person to someone willing to try and connect with others.
In the beginning of the story, her perspective on her neighbours tells us that she is critical of the lack of community spirit and that she feels rejected and isolated on her street: “…no-one really seems to know anybody else. It's one of those places; busy without being comfortable; crowded without being friendly.” (ll. 3-5); “…and the worst crime of all is to be an outsider. I should know; I'm one myself. Wrong face, wrong clothes, wrong voice. I'm a completely different race from my neighbours, and it makes them suspicious…” (ll. 10-13)
However, the narrator does not do much to integrate in the community either. She refuses to babysit for a neighbour or to socialise with the neighbours: “I gained the reputation of being 'snobby' - possibly because I refused to babysit the child of a neighbour I barely knew - and after a few half-hearted attempts to breach my defences, they left me in peace.” (ll. 31-33)
The fact that the narrator spent two years in a psychiatric ward and still relies on her therapist’s advice suggests that she had some significant psychological issues: “At first its coldness suited me. Two years in a psychiatric hospital had given me a fierce need for privacy, for silence.” (ll. 21-22); “Some evenings I did voluntary work for the Samaritans. It was rather dull work; I only persevered because my therapist recommended it.” (ll. 24-25)
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Juzo Tamaoki
Juzo Tamaoki is a secondary character in the short story, relevant for the way the narrator relates to him. His outer characterisation tells us that he is a Japanese man, working in the restaurant industry, who speaks very little English: “Someone told me he was a vegetable chef in a restaurant in Stanbury, though no-one seemed to know for sure. He never spoke to anyone.” (ll. 52-53)
Parts of his physical portrait are also conveyed, such as his smile, small height, and ageless appearance: “this man who might have been any age: small, neat” (ll. 43-44).
Inner characterisation
His inner characterisation is reflected in his behaviour and his attitude towards the narrator.
His attitude towards the narrator is always polite, and she considers him an ideal neighbour because he keeps to himself: “When I met him on the landing he would nod and smile, drawing back against the wall so that I could pass.” (ll. 53-55)
The narrator appreciates his regular schedule and the fact that he is a man who prefers silence and does not disturb her in any way.
When the car delivering him vegetables every morning begins to disturb the narrator, the man does not understand the narrator’s complaints and continues to smile politely. This is because he cannot understand English: “I tried to discover its counterpart in Mr Tamaoki's mild dark eyes as we passed each other on the stairs, but he was impassive.” (ll. 85-86);
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