Originally

Question 1

All childhood is an immigration

Answer 1

Metaphor ~ gives ideas of a journey and moving on. Relates to different changes, stages and milestones of growing up.

Question 2

The street, the house, the vacant rooms

Answer 2

List ~ conveys how much she is leaving behind, how much she’ll miss.

Vacant ~ empty, isolated, lonely > reflects her feelings.

Question 3

My parents’ anxiety stirred like a loose tooth

Answer 3

Simile ~ conveys the idea of something irritating and niggling, it’s always in the back of their heads. It’s not always visible to see, but is present in their feelings.

Question 4

I want our own country

Answer 4

Direct speech ~ indicated by italics. It relates to the opening line, emphasising the ideas of belonging and origins.

Question 5

Where do you come from? … Originally?

Answer 5

Questions ~ two very different questions. > is where you come from your original home? Conveys she is still always seen as the outsider.

Question 6

Skelf of shame

Answer 6

Word choice ~ ‘skelf’ - use of Scottish dialect, shows her origins as she is still acting Scottish. Just as a skelf is something that is under your skin, so to her Scottish origins as something that remains with her.