Critical Reading 3&4 Flashcards
How does the speaker describe the vehicle they are traveling in?
“In a red room”
What phrase conveys the movement of the journey?
“Which fell through the fields to the turn of the wheels”
How does the speaker’s younger self express distress during the journey?
“Bawling, Home, Home”
What does the speaker focus on in their distress?
“I stared at the eyes of a blind toy”
What metaphor does the speaker use to describe the experience of growing up?
“All childhood is an emigration”
What details highlight the difficulty of adjusting to a new environment?
“Big boys eating worms and shouting words you don’t understand.”
What phrase expresses the speaker’s longing for their past home?
“I want our own country”
How does the speaker describe the process of adapting to change?
“But then you forget”
What simile is used to describe the speaker’s changing accent?
“My tongue shedding its skin like a snake”
What small but lingering feeling of loss does the speaker describe?
“A skelf of shame.”
What three things does the speaker say they have lost?
“I lost a river, culture, speech”
What question do strangers ask that causes the speaker to reflect on their identity?
“Where do you come from?”
How does the poem end, highlighting uncertainty about identity?
“Originally? And I hesitate.”
All IMTC Quotes
“You could travel up the Blue Nile with your finger”
“Mrs Tilscher chanted the scenery. Tana. Ethiopia. Khartoum. Aswân.”
“Chalky Pyramids rubbed into dust.”
“This was better than home”
“The classroom glowed like a sweet shop.”
“Brady and Hindley faded”
“Mrs Tilscher loved you.”
“Left a good gold star by your name.”
“The inky tadpoles changed from commas into exclamation marks”
“Freed by a dunce”
“A rough boy told you how you were born.”
“You kicked him,”
“The air tasted of electricity.”
“Always untidy, hot,”
“Mrs Tilscher smiled, then turned away.”
“The heavy, sexy sky.”
“Impatient to be grown, as the sky split open into a thunderstorm.”
How does the poem describe the way children could explore geography in Mrs Tilscher’s classroom?
“You could travel up the Blue Nile with your finger”
How does Mrs Tilscher bring the world to life for her students?
“Mrs Tilscher chanted the scenery. Tana. Ethiopia. Khartoum. Aswân.”
What image suggests the fleeting mental states of the child in the poem?
“Chalky Pyramids rubbed into dust.”
How does the speaker compare the classroom to home?
“This was better than home”
What simile is used to describe the classroom’s inviting atmosphere?
“The classroom glowed like a sweet shop.”
What sinister figures fade into insignificance in the comfort of the classroom?
“Brady and Hindley faded”
How does the poem suggest Mrs Tilscher’s kindness and encouragement?
“Mrs Tilscher loved you.”
What symbol of achievement does Mrs Tilscher give her students?
“Left a good gold star by your name.”
How does the speaker describe the development of tadpoles, metaphorically linking them to growing children?
“The inky tadpoles changed from commas into exclamation marks”
Who allows the tadpoles to be released, hinting at rebellion or change?
“Freed by a dunce”
