orginally

Question 1

we came from our own country

Answer 1

plural pronouns suggests shared experience, (assonance) definite sense of belonging to and possession of a particular place

Question 2

red room

Answer 2

alliteration & metaphor - childlike view of train carriage (connotations of anger)

Question 3

which fell through the fields, our mother singing

Answer 3

speed conveyed through personification, lack of control made evident

-mother optimistic

Question 4

our fathers name to the turn of the wheels

Answer 4

ambiguous- prayer? is he alive ? is he missing ?

Question 5

my brothers cried, one of them bawling. Home

Answer 5

converts strength of feelings. The repetition and capitalisation of the word home reinforced the misery and overwhelming sense of loss and separation that she associates with this time

Question 6

Home, as the miles rushed back to the city

Answer 6

speed conveyed through personification, lack of control made evident

Question 7

the street, the house, the vacant rooms.

Answer 7

list conveys how much has been left behind

Question 8

at the eyes of a blind toy, holding its paw

Answer 8

transferred epithet- heading into unknown (anxiety)

Question 9

all childhood is an emigration. some are slow,
leaving you standing, resigned, up an avenue
where no one you know stays. others are sudden
your accent wrong. Corners which seem fimiliar

Answer 9

literal & metaphorical journey. childhood is synonymous with change and transition

slow idea of change in the first sentence followed by short, abrupt sentence emphasising the impact when change is unexpected

Question 10

leading to unimagined, pebble-dashes estates, big boys

eating worms and shouting words toy don’t understand

Answer 10

sense of confusion - not fitting in

Question 11

my parents anxiety stirred like a loose tooth

Answer 11

conveys irritation. a loose tooth is something which can not be ignored

Question 12

in my head. i want our own country. i said

Answer 12

links to theme of identity

Question 13

but then you forget, or don’t recall, or change

Answer 13

but - conjunction indicates a change in direction

second person ‘you’ emphasise the fragile nature of childhood memories

Question 14

and, seeing your brother swallow a slug, feel only

Answer 14

brothers now fit in- echoes the behaviour of the ‘big boys’ in the previous stanza

Question 15

a skelf of shame. i remember my tongue

Answer 15

the poets scottish dialect is still with her (even if hidden under surface)

Question 16

shedding its skin like a snake, my voice

Answer 16

highlights idea of change- leaving the old behind and adapting to the new

Question 17

in the classroom sounding just like the red. do i only think

i lost a river, culture, speech, sense of first place and the right place ? Now where do you come from

Answer 17

enjambment - list/question highlights loss

Question 18

strangers ask. Originally? And i hesitate.

Answer 18

two very different questions abrupt final sentence highlights the poets uncertainty about her identity