stanza 1

• • "We came from our"
  • “We” and “our” suggest this is a shared experience for the whole Duffy family. It also suggests she is protective of her ‘own country’ which she feels like she possesses – strong attachment.
• • "red room"
  • Metaphor and alliteration
  • a child’s interpretation of a red train car as they leave Scotland. Red connotes danger– maybe highlighting her feelings about moving to a new country.
• • "fell through the fields"
  • Gives a sense of the speed at which the change happened. Falling indicates a great speed and lack of control: plummeting. The alliterative f t t f gives the sentence a quicker pace.
• • "our mother singing"
  • Insight into the joy and happiness of the parents through the word choice ‘singing’ and the bond of mother and father. The word, “our” again indicates a shared experience.
• • "My brothers cried, one of them bawling, Home, Home"
  • Her four younger brothers and herself are a sharp contrast from their parents’ happy mood. Juxtaposition of excitement (parents) and high degrees of unhappiness (children) “Bawling” is often used as a Scottish word – intense crying. Repetition sums up why they are upset and also shows how young they are.
• • "miles rushed back to the city,"
  • Personification transfers the speaker’s fear onto journey and reflects her own desire to run home.
• • "the street, the house, the vacant rooms where we didn’t live any more."
  • List effectively highlights everything they are leaving behind. It is climactic as it goes from broader to more specific and personal. The speaker is still processing that everything is ‘vacant’ and it isn’t their house any more.
• • “I stared at the eyes of a blind toy, holding its paw.”
  • Duffy is an isolated character on the journey and seeks comfort from her teddy. She is at the age where this affects her most.
  • The teddy is blind which serves to both symbolise her uncertainty and to direct the readers sympathy towards the speaker.