13.1.1
Summary & Structure
Summary and key Ideas in Kamikaze
Summary and key Ideas in Kamikaze
In Beatrice Garland's Kamikaze, the speaker describes her father, a Kamikaze pilot, heading out one day on a suicide mission but then turning back.
Context
Context
- Kamikaze pilots were Japanese pilots that were expected to fly into their enemy to destroy them, killing themselves in the process.
- It was part of their duty to their country and to turn back on a mission would have brought shame to your family and community.
Nature
Nature
- Through the description of the fish, sea, shore and pebbles, the poet explores ideas about the beauty of nature and its effects on humans.
Duty and community
Duty and community
- The poem explores the pilot’s ostracisation (isolation) from his community because of failing to do what was seen as his duty.
- His own wife, neighbours and eventually children refuse to acknowledge him and act as though he is not there.
- The power and influence of community values is a key theme.
- The speaker seems to have a mix of emotions about her father, for example, pride, shame, regret.
- At the end of the poem, the speaker questions whether the treatment he received when he returned home was a worse “death” than dying on the mission.
Memory and childhood
Memory and childhood
- The power of memory and the allure of childhood are key themes in the poem.
- The poet presents memories of childhood as something that lures the pilot back from his mission and triggers his change of heart.
Duty and life
Duty and life
- The poet explores the tension or conflict between the expectations of the pilot’s community and family, and his appreciation of the value of life.
Structure and Form - Conflicting Emotions
Structure and Form - Conflicting Emotions
Garland uses the structure and form of Kamikaze to mirror the mixed emotions of the speaker and the plot. These are the different structural techniques Garland uses to do so:
Narrative shift
Narrative shift
- The move from third-person narrator to the first person (from the point of view of the daughter) in the last two stanzas of the poem reveals the inner thoughts and feelings of the pilot’s daughter.
- It reveals her conflicting emotions about the way her father was treated.
- The shift is also marked using italics as if to emphasise the importance of the speaker’s words and the significance of what she is saying.
Caesura (break in the line) and aside
Caesura (break in the line) and aside
- The caesura, which signifies the aside (“but half way there, she thought, recounting it later to her children”) marks the daughter’s moment of contemplation.
- An aside is where words are spoken to the audience but not heard by the characters in the poem.
- This moment also mirror’s the pilot’s hesitation.
1Ozymandias - Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)
2London - William Blake (1757-1827)
3Storm on the Island - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)
3.1Storm on the Island Analysis
4Exposure - Wilfred Owen (1893-1918)
5War Photographer - Carol Ann Duffy (born 1955)
5.1War Photographer Analysis
6My Last Duchess - Robert Browning (1812-1889)
7The Prelude - William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
7.1Extract from The Prelude Analysis
8Charge of the Light Brigade - Alfred Tennyson
9Bayonet Charge - Ted Hughes (1930-1998)
10Poppies - Jane Weir (Born 1963)
11Tissue - Imtiaz Dharker (Born 1954)
12The Emigree - Carol Rumens (Born 1944)
13Kamikaze - Beatrice Garland (Born 1938)
14Checking Out Me History - John Agard (Born 1949)
14.1Checking Out Me History Analysis
15Remains - Simon Armitage (Born 1963)
16Grade 9 - Themes & Comparisons
16.1Grade 9 - Themes & Comparisons
Jump to other topics
1Ozymandias - Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)
2London - William Blake (1757-1827)
3Storm on the Island - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)
3.1Storm on the Island Analysis
4Exposure - Wilfred Owen (1893-1918)
5War Photographer - Carol Ann Duffy (born 1955)
5.1War Photographer Analysis
6My Last Duchess - Robert Browning (1812-1889)
7The Prelude - William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
7.1Extract from The Prelude Analysis
8Charge of the Light Brigade - Alfred Tennyson
9Bayonet Charge - Ted Hughes (1930-1998)
10Poppies - Jane Weir (Born 1963)
11Tissue - Imtiaz Dharker (Born 1954)
12The Emigree - Carol Rumens (Born 1944)
13Kamikaze - Beatrice Garland (Born 1938)
14Checking Out Me History - John Agard (Born 1949)
14.1Checking Out Me History Analysis
15Remains - Simon Armitage (Born 1963)
16Grade 9 - Themes & Comparisons
16.1Grade 9 - Themes & Comparisons
Unlock your full potential with GoStudent tutoring
Affordable 1:1 tutoring from the comfort of your home
Tutors are matched to your specific learning needs
30+ school subjects covered