Anne Tyler's dinner at Homesick is filled with the many complex characters that make up the Tull family. However, throughout the interconnected lives of siblings Ezra, Cody, and Jenny, the one key figure they are missing is their father, Beck. In Anne Tyler's novel, Beck's characteristics ultimately lead to a broken family unit. The eldest son of the Tull family, Cody, is perhaps the most misunderstood character of all. Like Beck, he can never settle into one industry and is constantly on the move for his job. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In the same way that Beck worked so hard to impress Pearl, Cody works so hard in his job to impress his father. His unconscious desire to please his father is evident when it is said: “His success had finally achieved its purpose. Was this all he had fought for: this brief moment of respect crossing his father's face? (291) Cody's dedication to his work leads to his family's inability to take root in the same way Pearl's family had been due to Beck. Cody's broken family unit is also caused by his inability to connect with his son, a trait previously seen with Beck. While Beck's poor parenting stems from his abandonment of his family, Cody's simply stems from the lack of a father figure in his life. The distant father-son relationship seen between Cody and Beck parallels the distant relationship Cody later has with his son, Luke. Ultimately, the characteristics that Cody inherits from Beck are what lead to the dysfunctional nature of the Tull family. Besides Cody, another character who inherits traits from Beck is Jenny. Like Beck, she is eager to make others happy. This is reflected in her profession as a pediatrician and her constant need to lighten the atmosphere around her. Likewise, he always shapes himself to be the person he thinks others need. This is seen in the way she tries to be a sort of mother figure to Slevin and the way she divorces as soon as her husbands seem unhappy. All of these characteristics stem from his father, Beck. His desire to please others is evident when he says, “Here is my downfall…I just can't resist a person I make happy…moving on again when she got close to me and didn't act more like this, please" (300) . Beck's inability to settle down with a lifelong partner is seen again in his daughter Jenny, who marries three times. Because of Beck and Jenny's constant need to make others happy, they both can never find true happiness for themselves. The characteristics that Jenny inherits from Beck are what prevent her from settling down with her own family. Like Cody and Jenny, Beck's other son, Ezra, also inherits some characteristics that lead to the disjointed nature of the Tull family. Throughout Ezra's childhood, Beck always had good intentions that somehow failed to achieve the desired effect. This is seen in the surprise archery set he buys for his children which results in an arrow piercing Pearl's shoulder. Although he originally purchased the archery set as a fun family activity, the incident he causes with Pearl is what ultimately leads to his decision to leave. The way Beck's good intentions always end badly is still seen in Ezra's determination to plan a nice family dinner. No matter how hard he tries, every family dinner he hosts ends in a fight..