Kamikaze

Question 1

“Her father embarked at sunrise with a flask of water, a samurai sword”

Answer 1

• Sibilance gives a sense of peace: mimics the peace he is supposed to find in death
• “Sunrise” symbolises hope and divinity
• “Water symbolises how the pilot will spiritually purify himself (baptism)
• Medial caesura shows a clear divide between natural purity and the human construct of war
• “Flask” symbolises how, like the water, the pilot remains contained in his military duty

Question 2

“The loose silver of whitebait and once a tuna, the dark prince, muscular, dangerous.”

Answer 2

• “Loose silver” = biblical reference as Judus betrayed Jesus for 13 pieces of loose silver. The soldier is betraying his nation
• The tuna is the most powerful being in the poem: suggests that nature is more powerful than man. Did this realisation bring the man back home?
• Reinforced by the first full stop in the novel

Question 3

“He must have wandered which had been the better way to die”

Answer 3

• “Wandered” = daughter hasn’t spoken to her father about the decision
• Indifference vs hatred: Wiesel’s theory that indifference is the opposite of love

Question 4

structure and form - KAMIKAZE

Answer 4

• Strict stanzas show tight control of the military and culture on the soldiers life
• Free-verse and no rhyme scheme juxtaposes the tight control of the military with his inner conflict

Question 5

“Head full of powerful incantations”

Answer 5

• Spells cast on him by the government to control him through propoganda
• “Full” - suggests that all he has been taught is about the glory of dying in war and propoganda
• Pre-modifying adjective “powerful” shows the strength of propoganda on the country and society of the time
• Hyperbole