Transcript What Do I Remember of the Evacuation?

What Do I Remember
of the Evacuation?
By Joy Kogawa
Presented by: Arnelle & Edward
Subject matter &
Purpose
• The poem is about a 6-year-old Japanese girl, who’s family
alongside herself were unwillingly forced out of their
Vancouver home to live in concentration camps in British
Columbia, due to the affects of war. The subject matter is
evident when the persona explains the events of the time
period when this happened to her.
• The purpose of the poem is to portray what the young
Japanese children who were affected by the war, went
through and thought about after being taken out of their
lives; literally. The purpose is portrayed in this quote,
“Families were made to move in two hours Abandoning
everything, leaving pets And possessions at gun point”
(Kogawa, 90). The persona represents the many children
who felt inferior to the “ruling” white race in Canada.
Theme
• The theme is, The affects of war and
racism. The theme is conveyed throughout
the story, by the way the persona
continually explains what she went through
and how she felt. This quote delineates
how she was treated due to her race. “And
Tim flew the Union Jack when the war was
over but Lorraine and her friends spat on
us anyway” (Kogawa, 90).
Persona & Tone
• The persona of the poem is a 6-year-old
Japanese girl. It is given in the quote,
“And I remember the mountains I was six
years old…” (Kogawa, 90).
• The tone of the persona is reflective,
because throughout the poem the persona
innocently reiterates what happened to
her during that malicious time.
Sound Devices
• End Rhyme: “And I prayed to God who
loves All the children in his sight
That I might be white” (Kogawa, 91).
• This end rhyme is significant because, it
portrays how the persona felt excluded in
God’s eyes since she was not white; hence
she prayed to be white so he could care
for her too. This expands on the concept
of racism within the poem.
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Literary Devices
Personification: “And I remember how careful my parents were
Not to bruise us with bitterness” (Kogawa, 90). This literary
device is significant because it explains how careful the Japanese
parents were, in order to protect their children from realizing the
reality of the tragedy. They tried to help their children maintain
their ages, by not feeding them destructive information.
Allusion: “Six years old and I swear I saw a giant Gulliver of
Gulliver’s Travels scanning the horizon” (Kogawa, 90). The allusion
is significant because it portrays how the little girl felt smaller
then all those of the white race. It is proven because Gulliver was
a giant in the story Gulliver’s Travels, therefore if she said
Gulliver was scanning the horizon, she is figuratively saying she
felt like the white people were overshadowing her family and
herself. This quote emphasizes the concept of racism, once again.