kamikaze - beatrice garland

Question 1

Give a plot summary for Kamikaze.

Answer 1

kamikaze - beatrice garland:

• an unnamed woman’s father went on a kamikaze mission but did not complete it
• she imagines that he saw fishing boats, then thought of his own family boats and then turned around
• his wife did not speak to him when he returned, nor did his neighbours and the children learned to ignore him as well - this is why his daughter doesn’t really know what he was thinking
• she believes he may have regretted his decision after the community isolated him

Question 2

What is a kamikaze?

Answer 2

A kamikaze is a Japanese suicide mission fighter pilot in WWII. It translates to ‘divine wind’. (the poet had no direct involvement with kamikaze pilots) It was very strict in post-war Japanese society, and honour and shame was important in social interactions.

Question 3

Give six key quotes in Kamikaze.

Answer 3

kamikaze - beatrice garland:

• “a shaven head full of powerful incantations”
• “a one-way journey into history”
• boats “like a huge flag waved… in a figure of eight”
• “a tuna, a dark prince, muscular, dangerous”
• “they treated him as though he no longer existed”
• “wondered which has been the better way to die”

Question 4

Give two relevant points about structure or form in Kamikaze.

Answer 4

kamikaze - beatrice garland:

• italics (shift in voice, speaking directly to children)
• six line stanzas

Question 5

Give five key themes present in Kamikaze.

Answer 5

kamikaze - beatrice garland:

• power of humans
• power of nature
• identity
• pride and glory
• effects of conflict