!Kamikaze Flashcards
1
Q
CONTEXT
A
- This poem brings to like the immense social pressure bearing on Japanese Kamikaze pilots
- They were specially trained pilots which were sent on one-way, suicide missions to attack allied war ships in WW2
- It was seen as an immense honour to serve your country in this way
2
Q
STORY OF THE POEM
A
- A kamikaze pilot is setting off on his mission
- It becomes clear that her turned around and didn’t complete his mission
- His daughter imagines that this is because he saw the beauty of nature and remembered his childhood
- The pilot is shunned when he gets home
- Even his family acted as if he wasn’t there
3
Q
KEY THEMES
A
- Power of Nature
-Effects of Conflict
- Loss and Absence
- Memory
- Identity
- Individual Experience
4
Q
FORM
A
- Mostly 3rd person (reported speech of his daughter)
- Her voice is heard directly in later stanzas
- Absence of the pilot’s voice show she has been cut off from society
- Emphasises the distance between the father and daughter
5
Q
STRUCTURE
A
- First 5 stanzas form one sentence ~ covers the pilots flight as his daughter imagines it
- End of the sentence represents the plane landing
- Final 2 stanzas deal with the consequences
6
Q
IRONY
A
- Family act as if he is dead when he returns, yet he chose not to die
7
Q
IRONY - QUOTES (2)
A
‘strung out like bunting’
‘they treated his as though he no longer existed’
8
Q
NATURAL IMAGERY
A
- Similes & metaphors
- Emphasise the beauty and power of nature on the pilot
9
Q
NATURAL IMAGERY - QUOTES (2)
A
‘sunrise’
‘green-blue translucent sea’
10
Q
DIRECT SPEECH
A
- More personal
- Emphasises the effect of the war on a specific family
11
Q
DIRECT SPEECH - QUOTES (2)
A
‘no longer the father we loves’
‘and though he came back’
12
Q
KEY QUOTES (3)
A
‘full of powerful incantations’
‘and though he came back’
‘he must have wondered which had been the better way to die’
13
Q
‘full of powerful incantations’
A
- Suggests the pilot was under a kind of spell
- Hints at the patriotic propaganda the pilots were exposed to
- They were told and convinced that it was a great honour
- They weren’t given any other options
14
Q
‘and though he came back’
A
- Direct speech
- More factual tone
- No emotion - taught not to interact with him
- Hints at her pain and empathy with him
15
Q
‘he must have wondered which was a better way to die’
A
- So ashamed that his family regard him as dead
- The Japanese propaganda has ruined their family, and probably many more
- Both conclusions end in a kind of death, which is better?
