A passage to Africa

Question 1

Message/Meaning

Answer 1

A statement on how war photography steals the dignity of those in conflicts and how taxing it is for photographers. He hopes to encourage the readers to feel sympathy for those in pain without needing to see it

Question 2

Context

Answer 2

A passage from a book by George alagaiah in the 1990’s

Question 3

‘The place that aid agencies had yet to reach’

Answer 3

Emphasises how dire these peoples situation is whilst Alagaiah can just leave , the inhabitants of the village just have to wait

Question 4

‘name less friend’

Answer 4

An oxymoron shows the photographers apathy and disconnection to his surroundings. Showing to the reader how the extent of the trauma war photographers themselves face

Question 5

‘But there is a face i will never forget’

Answer 5

Turning point of the passage, where Alagaiah gets his emotions back and realises the horrors of what he’s doing and what he is seeing.hooks the reader.

Question 6

‘Sitting rooms back home’

Answer 6

Anecdote
A criticism of the west and in particular England who view the horrors of war torn countries and do nothing to help in the comfort of their homes

Question 7

Language features

Answer 7

• Emotive language
• Listing
• Vivid imagery

Question 8

Emotive language

Answer 8

Also vivid imagery. Readers can visualise the horrors Alagaiah has seen to encourage sympathy in the readers

‘I saw a thousand lean, hungry, betrayed faces’

Question 9

’ famine away from the headlines, famine of quiet suffering and lonely death’

Answer 9

Emotive language + repetition

makes the reader feel sympathy for such a horrible, lonely existence and ultimately death

Question 10

‘abandoned by relations

Answer 10

The use of abandoned creates sympathy amongst readers for the woman and the family that left her behind.

Question 11

Tricolon

Answer 11

Creates sympathy and emphasises his realisation of the peoples suffering

‘hungry, lean, scared and betrayed faces’

Question 12

Vivid imagery

Answer 12

To evoke sympathy and horror from the reader

’ A thousand hungry,lean, scared and betrayed faces’
‘It was rotting, she was rotting’

Question 13

‘In the back of beyond’

Answer 13

Vivid imagery

Highlights how alone/forgotten the people of Gufdaduud are.

Question 14

Structure

Answer 14

Cyclic - begins and ends with impact of the smiling man
- uses anecdotes to express how indifferent we are as a people to suffering because of the media
-critical voice of media,the west and war photography
- short sentences to emphasise point

Question 15

Themes

Answer 15

• suffering
• media
  -understanding
• compassion

Question 16

‘a thousand’

Answer 16

shows reader how widespread the suffering is

Question 17

‘what might have appalled us at the start.. no longer impressed us’

Answer 17

shows the reader his gradual desensitisation to death possibly symbolic of the insatiable ruthless hunger of the west news cycle

Question 18

age of aminas daughters

Answer 18

shocks the reader that such young people are affected by this

Question 19

‘habiba had died’

Answer 19

brevity + bluntness of sentence shows the commonality of the event and the lack of empathy

Question 20

repetition

Answer 20

of ‘smile’ and ‘face’ emphasises the importance of the gestures on the man

Question 21

rhetorical questions

Answer 21

shows the writers shock at the mans smile + internal conflict