Curated set · answers marked
In Beatrice Garland's poem "Kamikaze," the mother of the daughter never directly addresses the father's return. What literary technique does the mother's silence mainly illustrate?
Rationale
The poem is presented from the daughter's viewpoint, as she shares what her mother "never told" directly. This layered storytelling—where the truth is conveyed indirectly—serves as an example of indirect narration, creating both emotional and narrative distance that reflects the family's social silence regarding the father's decision.
In Beatrice Garland's poem "Kamikaze," what does the father's choice to turn his plane around and head back home ultimately cost him?
Rationale
The poem shows that the father's survival is viewed as a serious disgrace. His family — including his wife and children — along with the broader community completely ostracise him, refusing to acknowledge he exists. The daughter narrates how they "treated him as though he were dead," making his physical survival feel like a form of living death, which serves as the poem's central irony.
In Beatrice Garland's poem "Kamikaze," what does the fisherman's daughter ultimately reveal about the community's reaction to her father's choice to turn back from his suicide mission?
Rationale
The daughter describes how, after her father returned home, his family and community completely shunned him — even his own children were taught not to speak to him, and he was treated as though he no longer existed. The poem powerfully conveys that in the eyes of his society, a man who chose life over an honorable death was regarded as more dead than if he had actually died.