KAMIKAZE

• ~KAMIKAZE~ (BEATRICE GARLAND)

  Ideasssssss

  The power of society to indoctrinate the individual with concepts of honour, shame and patriotism (both soldiers and family). Show how when the individual goes against these concepts , we are left vulnerable and isolated.

  Garland is showing us how the military is suing propaganda and deceit to get the soldiers to agree to these suicide missions. She sees them as futilely they are a complete waste of life. This is because she's implying that once the soldiers lose their lives, they are forgotten by everyone and their sacrifice is meaningless.
• FORM


  Enjambment shows how he is isolated from family/society and a continuous mental torment and guilt of having cowered away.

  The poem is written in free verse. Garland does this in order to create a sense of chaos- she is showing us that the lack of purpose could represent futility and lack of purpose as to why these soldiers are losing their lives (there is a lack of direction which would be created through rhyme).
• IMAGERY 1

  "Her father embarked at sunrise ... a shaven head full of powerful incantations"

  "embarked" - typical associations to a new beginning and a new sense of adventure. But Garland uses this to show how this is not a new beginning for the soldier, this is supposed to be the end of his life.

  The reason why Garland could be using this positive sounding phrasing, is to expose how the military use propaganda to make the soldiers believe like these missions are the start of their legacy and their respect.
• CONTINUED...

  "powerful incantations" - reiterates the control / the manipulation of the military. -> spells, suggests he is being controlled by ideas of honour in death, patriotism and shame.
• IMAGERY 2

  "Had enough fuel for a one way journey into history"

  "one way journey" - symbolises how the soldiers fate was to complete the mission and die. The sense of inevitability comes through the fact that this is a "one way journey". Garland implicitly shows us the pressure of having to uphold the Bushido code - there shouldn't be anyone who backs out of the mission.

  "Into history" - reiterates how the military lie to soldiers by promising them that they will be remembered for years to come and that their bravery will be honoured by many.
• IMAGERY 3

  "little fishing boats strung out like bunting"

  Garland uses a simile to compare the boats to something beautiful.

  "Bunting" - typically used as decoration during a celebration - and it is beautiful to look at.

  The beauty of the boats is important as it makes the soldier realise that there is more to live for than honour and respect. It gives him a flashback to when he was younger which reiterates that he doesn't want to die.

  The fact that she has the soldier realise that there is more in life worth living for, reiterates her opinions that these kamikaze missions are futile.
• LANGUAGE

  "we took learned to be silent, to live as though he had never returned"

  "he must have wondered which had been the better way to die"

  lexical field of death - both never returned and die makes us think of a permanent loss of life. -> Exploring a metaphorical death as the father did in fact make it back home to his family.

  Garland is purposefully using language relating to death in order to show us how the speaker feels worthless and as though they have no value because he did not go through with the mission.
• CONTINUED...

  Garland shows us how the father has now lost his identity because he no longer feels as though he belongs anywhere due to being disowned by his own family. She shows us that this is all a result of the military.
• STRUCTURE


  Stanza 1-5 -> written in third person from an unknown speaker.

  Stanza 6 -> written from the perspective of the soldiers daughter. Stanza 7 -> third person.

  The third person narrative reiterates the distance between the soldier and his family as it reiterates how they have disowned him due to him turning around.
• CONTINUED...

  [Start of the poem is him preparing to die for ideas of patriotism and honour, at the end he weighs up "which had been better way to die"- shows his death is certain (either physical or metaphorical where his family disown him), due to the power of society to control the individual through values such as patriotism and shame.]