® ENGLISH GCSE – Non-FICTION TEXTS
A passage to Africa
How does the writer try to create interest in this passage? You should support your
answer with close reference to the extract, including brief quotations
A passage to Africa is an autobiographical extract which illustrates that the extract
will be personal and an honest reflection of the writers experiences. The writer makes
us criticise and horrified of journalists. He describes their search for a story ‘like the
craving for a drug.’ The simile helps the writer to engage the reader as it’s something
they can relate with in the modern Westernised world. He describes the manner of
journalists to be ‘ghoulish’ denoting a sense of fantasy and ghoulishness. The fact he
likens their behaviour to ‘ghoulish’ conveys their emotionless approach to work and
how they act like zombies or a predator searching for prey and they will ‘tramp from
hut’ to hut to find it. This lack of respect and invasion of other people’s homes appals
the readers but encourages them to not only criticise reporters but also themselves.
The word ‘tramp’ indicates disrespect and establishes an aggressive atmosphere
putting the reader on edge. The writer ambiguously insinuates it’s the readers fault for
giving him a job as ‘callous’ as this as there is a distinct parallel between this situation
and an imaginary situation where if someone had crashed at the side of a road
everyone slows down to see the extent of the accident yet no one gets out to help.
This same sense of callousness and unemotional behaviour is common to everyone in
the Western world. The interest from this point stems from the fact that Alagiah has the
readers engaged and interested as he speaks directly to us.
Linking that theme of ghoulishness and ghosts Alagiah continues to explain the horrors
of his job by explaining how far he travels to ‘search for the shocking.’ The sibilance
corrupts its regular effect designed to slow the reader down as the reader just wants
to read faster to hopefully find a more positive message. Alagiah emphasises how far
away this village is that is ‘-like a ghost village.’ The hyphen adds extra tension and
slows the reader down to make sure they’re digesting everything Alagiah is throwing
at them but we are both appealed and horrified by what we make him and do and
by the fact he follows it through. The simile ‘like a ghost village’ has a couple of
possible interpretations purposely left unclear for the reader to interpret. The first
interpretation could be that there are so many deaths that the village is neatly
abandoned except for some ghosts but the other interpretation could have
connotations of internal destruction as we are unable to see ghosts just like this hidden
village; we don’t know about the village and the people there until we hear about it.
The writer also creates interest in this passage by using oxymorons such as ‘gentle V-
shape’ which is quite disturbing vivid imagery. It creates a sense of revulsion an
emphasises the ‘shattered’ leg even more. The further oxymoron between ‘gentle’
and ‘shattered’ create a further sense of pity for the reader as to the citizens of the
village it’s a ‘shattered leg’ but to the reader, who are accustomed to seeing people
in agony believe it’s just ‘gentle’. This creates a sense of tension between the reader
and the village as we get a sense that we are the puppet masters and the journalists
are our puppets. We control them because we give them the job to go out and
search for the most horrifying story. Alagiah doesn’t invite any pity or sympathy to
himself but tries to make the reader understand what their actions are doing and how
they’re dehumanising him and other TV reporters. A further sense of interest is created
®
Copyright © 2022 Revision Guru | All rights reserved
A passage to Africa
How does the writer try to create interest in this passage? You should support your
answer with close reference to the extract, including brief quotations
A passage to Africa is an autobiographical extract which illustrates that the extract
will be personal and an honest reflection of the writers experiences. The writer makes
us criticise and horrified of journalists. He describes their search for a story ‘like the
craving for a drug.’ The simile helps the writer to engage the reader as it’s something
they can relate with in the modern Westernised world. He describes the manner of
journalists to be ‘ghoulish’ denoting a sense of fantasy and ghoulishness. The fact he
likens their behaviour to ‘ghoulish’ conveys their emotionless approach to work and
how they act like zombies or a predator searching for prey and they will ‘tramp from
hut’ to hut to find it. This lack of respect and invasion of other people’s homes appals
the readers but encourages them to not only criticise reporters but also themselves.
The word ‘tramp’ indicates disrespect and establishes an aggressive atmosphere
putting the reader on edge. The writer ambiguously insinuates it’s the readers fault for
giving him a job as ‘callous’ as this as there is a distinct parallel between this situation
and an imaginary situation where if someone had crashed at the side of a road
everyone slows down to see the extent of the accident yet no one gets out to help.
This same sense of callousness and unemotional behaviour is common to everyone in
the Western world. The interest from this point stems from the fact that Alagiah has the
readers engaged and interested as he speaks directly to us.
Linking that theme of ghoulishness and ghosts Alagiah continues to explain the horrors
of his job by explaining how far he travels to ‘search for the shocking.’ The sibilance
corrupts its regular effect designed to slow the reader down as the reader just wants
to read faster to hopefully find a more positive message. Alagiah emphasises how far
away this village is that is ‘-like a ghost village.’ The hyphen adds extra tension and
slows the reader down to make sure they’re digesting everything Alagiah is throwing
at them but we are both appealed and horrified by what we make him and do and
by the fact he follows it through. The simile ‘like a ghost village’ has a couple of
possible interpretations purposely left unclear for the reader to interpret. The first
interpretation could be that there are so many deaths that the village is neatly
abandoned except for some ghosts but the other interpretation could have
connotations of internal destruction as we are unable to see ghosts just like this hidden
village; we don’t know about the village and the people there until we hear about it.
The writer also creates interest in this passage by using oxymorons such as ‘gentle V-
shape’ which is quite disturbing vivid imagery. It creates a sense of revulsion an
emphasises the ‘shattered’ leg even more. The further oxymoron between ‘gentle’
and ‘shattered’ create a further sense of pity for the reader as to the citizens of the
village it’s a ‘shattered leg’ but to the reader, who are accustomed to seeing people
in agony believe it’s just ‘gentle’. This creates a sense of tension between the reader
and the village as we get a sense that we are the puppet masters and the journalists
are our puppets. We control them because we give them the job to go out and
search for the most horrifying story. Alagiah doesn’t invite any pity or sympathy to
himself but tries to make the reader understand what their actions are doing and how
they’re dehumanising him and other TV reporters. A further sense of interest is created
®
Copyright © 2022 Revision Guru | All rights reserved
