Kamikaze Flashcards
“Her father embarked at sunrise with a flask of water, a samurai sword”
Sibilance reflects the peace of death that the pilot is meant to feel.
Water is a symbol of purity.
“like a huge flag waved first one way then the other in a figure of eight”
The flag represents patriotism. The fish represent life and also the duty to his country.
The figure of eight shows his thoughts of living forever in death as a hero.
“the loose silver of whitebait and once a tuna, the dark prince, muscular, dangerous”
“dark prince” represents the Japanese Royal family who are “dangerous” to the samurai as they send them to their deaths.
“only we children still chattered and laughed”
Shows that the pilot’s children were happy to have him back, a natural human reaction.
“till gradually we too learned to be silent”
“gradually” shows how unnatural it was for the children to disown their father. The fact that they “learned” it emphasizes this.
“and sometimes, she said, he must have wondered which had been the better way to die”
“he must have wondered” shows that the daughter has never spoken to her father about his decision.
“the better way to die” suggests that he has died emotionally within the family, he has been permanently ostracized.
