Kamikaze by Garland

Question 1

opening

Answer 1

‘embarked at sunrise’
-he is beginning a new chapter of his life

Question 2

shaven

Answer 2

‘a shaven head full of powerful incantations’
-He is feeling determined using the incantations to motivate himself
-is under the spell of patriotism and propaganda and Not making his own decisions as his decision would be to keep living
-may also show how he is conflicted from the start as he may have shaven his head to motivate himself

Question 3

painful irony

Answer 3

‘one way journey into history’
-Painful irony as he will literally go down in history
-sounds pleasant which creates a sense of achievement and pride

Question 4

nature

Answer 4

‘strung out like bunting on a green-blue translucent sea’
-Connotations of peace and tranquillity in the colour imagery shows he doesn’t want to deny himself – nor those he will kill – the beauty of nature and the beauty of life. -Associating nature with precious possession
-may be turning point as this has caused him to question his decision
-bunting creates image of celebration which is ironic as he is thinking this this as no one is going to celebrate his return

Question 5

infinity

Answer 5

‘figure of eight’
-Figure of eight the symbol for infinity. This may be used to imply the eternal nature of nature and how nature is infinite in comparison to the transience of humanity, and life is brief, transient and precious.
-War and honour will be forgotten – nature will remain. Nature is more powerful than mankind.

Question 6

pebbles

Answer 6

‘pearl-grey pebbles’
-Nature’s beauty is precious and valuable
-Life is valuable and sacred – shouldn’t be ended prematurely
-Nature presented as powerful
-colour imagery contrast with his dark fate to die

Question 7

tuna

Answer 7

‘a tuna, the dark prince, muscular, dangerous.’
-Imbalance of power between humanity and nature as even a kamikaze pilot (symbol of military power and determination)– the epitome of bravery – sense the danger of it
-Metaphor – it is a prince – important and significant – deserving of respect and honour (like a soldier) Emphasise its significance by using first punctuation in poem (first full stop) Signal it is deserving of notice.full stop is ironic as it should have ended in death (full stop).
-nature is powerful and dangerous

Question 8

sad

Answer 8

‘nor did she meet his eyes’
-Wouldn’t “meet his eyes” – eyes are the windows to the soul which shows the wife doesn’t want to see the person he has become
– she is ashamed of her own husband and doesn’t want to communicate with him – distance herself from him
- Thus the impact of conflict is ongoing and passed down from generation to generation.
-OR she doesn’t want to face what she is doing as she feels guilty and its painful to give up her husband but has no choice because her culture demands it.

Question 9

innocence of children

Answer 9

‘only we children still chattered and laughed’
-shows they are naturally innocent,dont understand that he disobeyed the empire

Question 10

loss of innoncees

Answer 10

‘till we too learned…to live as though he had never returned’
-innocence is gone as they learn about cultural values
-By living he traded this for being forgotten and ignored. Story is not told by historians but by a daughter who never knew him – the whole poem is speculative. -Suggests the father physically survives but dead to the community and society he returned to

Question 11

ending

Answer 11

‘he must have wondered which had been the better way to die’
-harsh reality which displays he is metaphorically dead
-lines isolated like the father
-Both options offer a kind of death and this line implies that soldiers are controlled by indoctrination and propaganda, and used as tools of the government.