Aunt Julia flashcards
“Aunt Julia Spoke Gaelic”
MacCaig is speaking about his past memories of Aunt Julia.
“I could not understand her”
MacCaig did not understand Aunt Julia when she spent Gaelic so there was a language barrier.
“She wore men’s boots”
Aunt Julia didn’t care what she looked like/wore. She was a very practical woman and made do with what she’s got.
“Strong foot”
MacCaig was fascinated by how evolved her feet were. Her feet have developed to how she lived.
“Hers was the only house”
Aunt Julia lived alone so she could of possibly been widowed. This implies she is very independent.
“In absolute darkness”
He was not use to the complete darkness because where he lives in a city there is always something going on.
“Crickets being friendly”
There’s a sense of innocence because he thinks the crickets are churping away at him but they’re actually calling for to mate.
“Keeper of three penny bits in a teapot”
AJ made do with what she had so instead of a piggy bank she used a teapot. This tells us she is also careful and good with saving.
“With a seagull’s voice”
This metaphor is describing how Aunt Julia sounded and how you can’t understand what it’s saying.
He describes AJ’s voice like a seagulls because they’re very loud and exuberant like she was and can’t fully understand what she is saying.
“So many questions unanswered”
This emphasises his sadness and anger and he is talking about the questions he would have asked AJ but she passed away so he was to late. He regrets not learning Gaelic quicker and now unable to ask AJ all the questions he wanted to.
