A Passage to Africa Flashcards
Who wrote ‘A Passage to Africa’?
George Alagiah.
What is the purpose of this text?
Alagiah is a news reporter giving an honest account of his time reporting on war and famine in Africa. It is written to portray a human and vulnerable perspective on the desperation of the people of Somalia. It illustrates our failures as a society such as ignoring the people who are suffering.
What is the form?
Alagiah wrote a book about his experiences as a journalist. The title he has chosen is an allusion to the famous novel ‘A Passage to India’ which emphasises he is an outsider to Africa.
Analysis of the opening.
“I saw a thousand hungry, lean, scared and betrayed faces as I criss-crossed Somalia between the end of 1991 and December 1992, but there is one I will never forget.”
L:
He opens with a short sentence emphasising he was a witness to what he is telling us about. He uses imagery - a string of negative words to create a sense of the chaos he saw thus creating an image of suffering.
The triad suggests suffering and how they’re forgotten by the rest of the world.
S:
“One I will never forget” creates immense intrigue and suspense because he is mentioning a face which changed his views but does not elaborate.
“The degeneration of the human body, sucked of its natural vitality by the twin evils of hunger and disease, is a disgusting thing.” -Line 34
“We never say so in our reports”.
L:
The metaphor of twin evils and the honesty about how we and even journalists avoid talking about it shows how it is a taboo. It is used to demonstrate how poorly we react to horror.
The word “degeneration” shows the almost irreversible effect that a wartorn country can have on its people. The use of oxymoron is powerful. He describes the woman as someone who has not only lost something physically but mentally too.
S:
When telling us about the village, he starts two consecutive paragraphs with “there was.” This shows how he is being factual and telling us exactly what he saw. He then draws into this scene by repeating “to be in a feeding centre”.Moreover, it emphasises how he is stuck in the past and cannot get over what he saw, further reinforcing what an impact this had on him and his career.
“The ghoulish manner of journalists on the hunt for the most striking pictures.”
“Like a craving for a drug”
He associates journalism with savagery. The word “ghoulish” suggests that they feed off the dead- in this case, journalists feed off of new and interesting stories. The word “hunt” suggests the predatory nature of journalists.This emphasises how they are hunting and preying upon those below them and weaker (the subjects), this reveals and exposes the journalists as inhumane. Although Alagiah is a journalist himself, he criticises journalism for dehumanising in the search for the perfect picture or article. The simile used “like a craving for a drug” exposes journalists as drug addict that won’t stop until he gets their drug, even if it means doing anything for it. It emphasises the unhealthy issue of a journalist and how they get more addicted. It also shows how they are reckless and don’t care about anything until they get something that’ll stun their editors.
“Ghoulish” and “on the hunt”
This creates supernatural imagery.
The village he visits is “like a ghost-like village”
He highlights the fact that the village he visits is “like a ghost-like village”, isolated from the rest of the world. The metaphor interprets the emptiness of not only the village but the people’s hearts. The simile evokes sympathy. The fact that it is described as a ‘ghost-like village’ suggests that it is soulless and depressin, further reinforcing the irreversible impacts war have on people.
S: At first, the village is insignificant, a little hamlet in the “back of beyond” but the phrase “ghost village” reveals it is more important than first appears. It implies it is a place of death/
“The back of beyond”
“The back of beyond”- hyperbole and listing emphasise isolation.
“The shattered leg had fused into the gentle v-shape of a boomerang”, “rotting”, “smell of decaying flesh”, and “festering wound the size of my hand”
A powerful image of suffering and deformity is portrayed. “The shattered leg had fused into the gentle v-shape of a boomerang”, “rotting”, “smell of decaying flesh”, and “festering wound the size of my hand”- vivid imagery evokes a sense of revulsion. It helps the reader empathise with the writer and his views. It also acts as a contrast to the smile. The word “festering” suggests the decomposing nature of the wound. It also can be a metaphor for how the hope that the people hold is also rotting away.
He tells us what he saw - personal anecdote
“terminal hunger”
“smell of rotting leg”
“It was rotting, she was rotting.”
He gives the woman a name, enhancing and making her more human to us, while using a euphemism for death “terminal hunger” which allows us to see the human cost of the events described. This emphasises the horrors of famine and poverty, but more importantly how we and people not in that situation disregard it and shove it to the side - due to it being a taboo.
The next woman he mentions is nameless, he focuses on the overwhelming “smell of rotting leg”, on the fact that it is bent out of shape and that the wound is the size of his hand. The sensory language helps us to see what he saw. He makes the woman, and her leg one thing - “It was rotting, she was rotting.” The use of alliteration of “s” replicates the idea of someone struggling for breath and being in immense agony.
“The old and dying man who keeps his hoe next to the mat with which, one day soon, they will shroud his corpse, as if he means to go out and till the soil once all this is over.”
“The old and dying man who keeps his hoe next to the mat with which, one day soon, they will shroud his corpse, as if he means to go out and till the soil once all this is over.”- There is no more hope for the victims of the conflict(pathetic, hopeless situation). The writing style here is sarcastic and candid and has a shocking and dramatic effect on the reader.
The stranger’s smile
The stranger’s smile showed him that he has feelings and is human too. So, Alagiah wanted this to be understood by everyone. People in Somalia aren’t responsible for their own poverty however these people are still ignored. He says he has had a seminal movement (strongly influencing later developments). Showing how he has developed a new understanding of the world because of the man.
“So, my nameless friend, if you are still alive, I owe you one.”
“So, my nameless friend, if you are still alive, I owe you one.”- this brings this man to life. The direct address suggests that the man had broken through his facade as a reporter and touched his heart. The use of the word “friend” and informal language emphasises the debt to the man. The journalist from the rich west is in debt of the poor and nameless African which shows how the normal relationships are reversed.
Normal relationships are reversed.
“The journal observes, the subject is observed. The journalist is active, the subject is passive.”
“If he was embarrassed to be found weakened by hunger and ground down by conflict, how should I feel to be standing there so strong and confident?”
Usually, journalists are active and the people they report on are passive. Opposing words are used to describe them. He uses the metaphor “the tables are turned” to portray this.
The metaphor “cut to the heart of the relationship” which shows how he is wondering whether he is doing the right thing- showing him questioning his morals.
“If he was embarrassed to be found weakened by hunger and ground down by conflict, how should I feel to be standing there so strong and confident?”
