Kamikaze Quotes Flashcards
‘embarked at sunrise’
Japan is known as the land of the rising sun, embark means to get on but also to begin something - he is beginning a new chapter of his life - both choices lead to a type of death
‘shaven head full of powerful incantations’
under the spell of patriotism and propaganda, not making his own decisions - his decision would be to keep living
‘One-way journey into history’
painful irony to his search for remembrance sought death to be remembered and immortalised by respect
‘Bunting on a green-blue translucent sea’
celebrating the honour he will bring to his community, connotations of peace and tranquility in the colour imager, doesn’t want to deny himself - nor those he will kill - beauty of nature and life, associating nature with precious possessions
‘Figure of eight’
symbol of infinity, this may be used to imply the eternal nature of nature - continue indefinitely - nature is infinite in comparison to the transience of humanity and life is brief and precious, war and honour will be forgotten - nature will remain and is more powerful than mankind
‘Shoals of fishes flashing silver as their bellies swivelled towards the sun’
implies a sense of grace and peacefulness, as well as suggesting an elegant and graceful tone, also works to increase the pace to make the poem sound more emotional
‘Waiting on the shore’
how leaving the family in order to provide for them was something required by every generation just in different capacities, the father feels a responsibility to return to them, this is a selfless reason to return, rather than just a fear of death
‘Cairns of peal’
stacks of pebbles that mark graves, shows the father is starting to consider the consequences of death
‘A tuna, the dark prince, muscular, dangerous.’
Imbalance of power between humanity and nature, metaphor of importance and significant deserving of respect and honour, first punctuation in the poem signal it’s deserving of notice
‘Nor did she meet his eyes’
doesn’t want to see the person he has become - ashamed, impact of conflict is ongoing, painful to give up her husband but has no choice because her culture demands it
‘To live as though he had never returned’
by living he traded this for being forgotten and ignored, told by a daughter who never knew him, suggests the father physically survives but dead to the community and society he returned to
‘Which had been the better way to die’
implies that soldiers are controlled by indoctrination and propaganda, and used as tools of the government
