Kamikaze - ‘Like a huge flsg waved one way then the other in a figure of eight.’

1A

Here, the choice of a flag as a simile for the ways the ‘dark shoals of fishes swim, links heavily to the reasons the pilot committed to this mission - a symbol of national identity and honour.

1B

The pilot’s inner conflict is shown by the flag waving in alternate directions.

1C

This shows his moral dilemma and inner turmoil.

1D

However, here it could be used to stop something, similar to the pilots decision to turn back from his kamikaze mission.

2A

Furthermore, the reference to the ‘flag’ links to the ‘incantations’ and ‘samurai sword’ from stanza 1.

2B

It symbolises the patriotic propaganda pilots were subjected to during WW2.

2C

Pilots were told it was the highest honour to die for your country, and the fact that the pilot cannot shake the image of this, despite viewing the beauty of nature below, shows how deeply these ideas were ingrained.

2D

The figure of eight is the symbol of inifinty.

2E

This connotes a repetitive cycle; the pilot is perhaps trapped in his own destiny, just like a fish caught in a net.

2F

Whatever he chooses is inevitably the wrong choice.

3A

The poem is set in a time of conflict; however, the real conflict is between the rules of social honour in Japanese culture and the will to survive and return to a family.

3B

Here, we see the pilots inner conflict as he has to decide between these things himself, questioning his own identity.

3C

The conflict is particularly profound because there appears to be no right answer and the pilot dies, one way or another, in the eyes of his family, if not in body.

3D

Garland very much individualises the experience of war here.

3E

It shows the personal impact of war on families as well as the futility of war, as there is never a right decision in these difficult circumstances.