A grade 9 answer comparing Kamikaze by Beatrice Garland and Exposure by Wilfred Owen for AQA GCSE English Literature.
This is not guaranteed a full mark answer as it is written by a student but has grade 9 ideas, context, interpretations, which may help as a source for knowing what a grade 9 ess...
In the poems ‘Kamikaze’ and ‘Exposure’, both poets portray the nihilism of war through a perspective
of a soldier who suffers the consequences of war, therefore criticising propaganda, as well as the
importance of memory. Garland explores the internal conflicts of cultural expectations that celebrate
patriotism driven by propaganda, and how this damages interpersonal relationships which is carried
through generations. Owen intends to expose the realities of war against public perceptions of war
which are disillusioned by patriotism.
In Kamikaze, Garland presents the nihilism of war through natural imagery at the beginning of the
poem. This is shown in “her father embarked at sunrise, with a flask of water and a samurai sword”.
The ‘sunrise’ is symbolic of the Japanese flag, showing he is sacrificing himself for his country as
Japanese suicide pilots committed self-sacrifice by crashing their planes into enemy warships in
WW2, establishing the theme of patriotism. This tradition of honour by self-sacrifice stemmed from
the ‘samurai’ warrior tradition. Alternatively, this could be an ironic allusion which subverts the idea
of sunrise giving way to new life, perhaps suggesting that it is unnatural to die in this way, thus
simultaneously evaporates the theme of patriotism because it foreshadows the pilot defying his
country. This is further shown through the use of sibilance ‘as’ sound showing that under the
bravery, he is scared. Similarly in ‘Exposure’, Owen also uses natural imagery at the start of his poem
to show the destructiveness and futility of war in “Our brains ache, in the merciless iced east winds
that knive us”. The personification of war being an enemy emphasizes the conditions suffered in war
were more destructive than the enemy, also shown by sibilance and monosyllabic phrasing which
mirrors the weather’s harshness. The use of the collective pronoun “our” suggests a collective,
universal pain all soldiers suffer as Owen ‘exposes’ that war doesn’t cause pride: but a constant
mental and physical suffering shown by “ache”. Owen uses overarching structure of 8 stanzas each 4
lines long, symbolising organisation – the public perception of war which is structured, and in order
due to propaganda on British society however this is undermined by the stumbling rhymes such as
“silent” and “salient” and enjambment which mirrors war being directionless and utter chaos
contrasted with how propaganda presents it.
Both poems portray the power of memory on soldiers in war due to the distance of war. In
‘Kamikaze’ Garland, the speaker (the kamikaze pilot's granddaughter) imagines her grandfather's
flashbacks on his childhood, making him reject nationalism and choose life. She imagines fish
(important in Japanese culture), from his childhood- Tuna being a “dark prince” is symbolic as
“prince” is a reference to Japanese rulers of the time who were “dark” suggesting evil and
misconduct of those rulers who betrayed him and nearly led him to his death, thus he is ostracised
from society. The repetition of ‘silver’ is a symbol of sacrifice and treachery in Christian tradition as
Judas was paid in silver to help betray Jesus, again emphasizing he has been betrayed by the
Japanese government as he is stripped of his right to have a relationship with his family. In a corrupt
society, nationalism triumphs over personal relationships- “my mother never spoke again”.This could
also suggest his innocence and past memories (symbolised by the fish)have been exploited by these
rulers as his life in adulthood has only had a purpose to die. In ‘Exposure’ the idea of memory is
established as he has flashbacks of home due to the hallucinatory state of hypothermia, he imagines
‘glozed with crusted dark-red jewels’ suggesting how precious it is, but also how unattainable it is as
he believes he cannot go home unless he is dead, suggested by “our ghosts drag home”.
Alternatively, this may be a metaphor for the soldier's frozen blood, contrasted with warm “fires”
people comfortably sit back on oblivious to the true realities of war. Furthermore, when they do go
home, they are ostracised- “shutters, doors, all closed” reinforcing the detachment between war and
home also suggested in Kamikaze by the third person narrative where the pilot's voice is never
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