IGCSE English Literature Unseen Paper 0475 Paper 43 May June 23
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Course
English Literature
Institution
Fifth Year / 11th Grade
This document is an unseen practice on a boy who works overseas alone, away from his family. In the extract, it describes his moment of contemplation as he takes a break from his job. He ponders about life back home and how his family is doing. This document has a mature analysis that has developin...
The poem in the extract impactfully conveys the palpable struggle as an
immigrant and living alone in a foreign country. The poem starts off describing the
blissful setting under the dusk where the boy, Bahadour, revels gazing at the sky with his
kite flying. As the moment protrudes, the boy falls into deep contemplation and
hallucination of his dear parents that he seems to miss dearly. The poem here
powerfully conveys the value the sky and the kite holds to not only to Bahadour but to
the other boys there as well. The poet does this by delivering the impact of how the
simplest of activity such as kite-flying reminds him of the joy he was brought from back
home and the homeliness and comfort it brings to him. It also shows how this activity
allows him to escape the expectations burdened on him as an immigrant child and the
life he leads in his new country. Lastly, the poet delivers the value of the kite-flying by
insinuating the feeling of freedom but comfort it grants Bahadour as if serving him a
sense of hope in life.
By conveying how the smallest things, such as kite-flying, elates the boy, the
poet has indefinitely showed the importance of this activity to Bahadour. This shown
through symbolism in the verse “[But now, nothing is more important than his kite
working its way into the wobbly winter sky.”. The word “kite” stimulates an image of a
childhood memory, something that may appear valueless and not taken seriously,
viewed as a mere game. However, the poet states that there is “nothing more important”
than the kite itself. The image of the kite may symbolise the simplicity yet contentment
of Bahadour’s life before fleeing. This activity simply reminded him of how he was able
to enjoy his life with just a mere activity in his past in comparison to the complex life he
leads now - a life pressured into adulthood on a child. It indicates how he was able to
enjoy the little things and live every moment, as a child, each moment at a time. This
may also suggest how this may have been an activity Bahadour had done while in times
of distress back in Naples, indicating to readers how the kite brings hope and ease to
him even until now. It is a distant memory that is engraved into his mind of his home and
this tradition is all he has left from his childhood. Thus, he wishes to cherish the
moment by playing with the kite even when he’s miles apart from home.
Through his choice of literary devices of metaphor, the poet has indeed created
an important value to the kite-flying activity for the boy. In the poem, it is conspicuous
that the poet mentions this in the quote they do not pray for answer or understanding to
the sky “[B]ut because the day tenders them a coupon of release.” The word “release”
gives the idea of calmness, away from any tension or stress. Additionally, the word
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