A Passage to Africa Flashcards
How is a first-person perspective used
The use of “I” gives reliability to the account and stresses its personal quality from the start
How is note-form used
The first 2 paragraphs are written in a note style, as though extracted from field notes - adds to the sense of legitimacy of the account
How is detachment used
Alagiah sometimes adopts a journalistic tone to suggest the passive role of journalists in reporting from conflict zones - “She’d been shot in the leg…”
How is tone used
Alagiah uses an informal tone, shown by the abundant use of hyphens and colloquialisms, to present an emotional and harrowing topic in an accessible way
How are single-line paragraphs used
The isolated sentence, “And then there was the face I will never forget” emphasises the life-changing importance of the moment
How are simple sentences used
The writer uses simple sentences to state facts, such as “No rage. No whimpering” - adds to the sense of a detached report, which contrasts with his highly personal response to the man who smiles
How are rhetorical questions used (1)
Alagiah uses rhetorical questions in the second half of the article to indicate that he is reflecting on his position and thinking to date
How are rhetorical questions used (2)
He is able to describe in great detail what he witnesses in the first half of the piece, but uses the questions in the second half to suggest that his emotions are now harder to explain
How are rhetorical questions used (3)
The ultimate question in the article is how should people react to other people’s suffering
How are rhetorical questions used (4)
He therefore resolves to answer that question in his own way - by writing it down and reporting it
How is direct address used (1)
Alagiah addresses the nameless man directly in the final paragraph
How is direct address used (2)
This reminds the reader that this man was a real person who managed to bridge the divide between reporter and reported
How is direct address used (3)
It focuses the reader’s attention on a single, important individual, contrasting with the “thousand hungry, lean, scared and betrayed faces” Alagiah started with
How is direct address used (4)
By addressing him directly, Alagiah acknowledges his own part in dehumanising the people he was reporting about, as he regrets never learning the man’s name
How is imagery used (1)
The language used by Alagiah brings to life the suffering and decay experienced by the Somali people
How is imagery used (2)
“the smell of decaying flesh”, “festering wound” and “It was rotting; she was rotting”
How is imagery used (3)
This contrasts with the imagery of the smile, which is normally seen as positive
How is imagery used (4)
The village is described as “ghost-like” and journalists are described as “ghoulish” - these choices evoke a sense of death in the village and the journalists “feeding off” the dead
How are similes used
The simile “like the craving for a drug” implies the first of the media for ever-more shocking stories and footage, as the public and the reporters become increasingly immune to human suffering
How is the rule of three used (1)
Rule of three is employed to emphasise the slow, gradual “degeneration of the human body” - “that simple, frictionless, motionless deliverance”
How is emotive language used (1)
Alagiah employs strong, emotive language not only to evoke pathos in the reader, but also to highlight the realities of reporting from a conflict zone
How is emotive language used (2)
He describes his reactions being a “mixture of pity and revulsion” at the “disgusting” shutting down of the human body
How is emotive language used (3)
Alagiah describes this admission as a “taboo that has yet to be breached”, suggesting that even war reporters do not share all the horrible realities of the situations they witness and experience
