Kamikaze Flashcards
“Her father embarked at sunrise
with a flask of water, a samurai sword
in the cockpit, a shaven head”
- The poem is told from a daughter’s perspective, introducing the ritual her father undergoes before embarking on a suicide mission he is bound to for his country.
- The narrative perspective conveys the impact on family members, creating distance between the daughter and father.
“and enough fuel for a one-way
journey into history”
- Garland starts the line with a conjunction “and” and uses enjambment to convey both his journey and the resolve of the pilot.
- The completion of his military duty is the ultimate act of patriotism.
“he must have looked far down
at the little fishing boats”
The daughter imagines her father feeling nostalgia for home as he looks down, contrasting signs of ordinary life with the drama of his mission.
“and remembered how he
and his brothers waiting on the shore
built cairns of pearl-grey pebbles”
- Vivid childhood memories of family resurface, reminding the pilot of priorities beyond duty.
- The “cairns of pebbles” are small graves of stones, linking the theme of death.
“the loose silver of whitebait and once
a tuna, the dark prince, muscular, dangerous”
- The father’s vibrant recollections culminate in the use of powerful sea creature imagery, with the metaphor of the “dark prince” tuna and “silver” whitebait suggesting nature’s dominance and beauty.
- By linking power to nature rather than the pilot, the poet subverts ideas relating to military strength and power.
“And though he came back
my mother never spoke again
in his presence, nor did she meet his eyes”
- The dramatic family consequences of the pilot’s decision to return and not complete his mission are shown through the cold rejection of his wife, revealing the shame attached to abandoning duty.
- The poet conveys the extreme responses of some individuals when a soldier defies cultural values and duty to one’s country.
“and the neighbours too, they treated him
as though he no longer existed,
only we children still chattered and laughed”
Society’s harsh judgement of the pilot is juxtaposed with the innocence of his children, highlighting how cultural ideals of honour are learned, not innate.
“was no longer the father we loved”
The poignant simplicity of this line demonstrates that, in the eyes of his family and his culture, the pilot is now a changed and lesser man, no longer able to receive love or acceptance.
“till gradually we too learned
to be silent, to live as though
he had never returned, …”
The simplicity of language underlines the tragic nature of the children’s actions, as they copy the behaviour of their elders and disown their own father.
“And sometimes, she said, he must have wondered
which had been the better way to die.”
The poem’s powerful final lines suggest the pilot’s unresolved torment over whether sacrificing his life or his family was the greater tragedy, and the daughter’s reflection demonstrates that she, too, is left without resolution.
