My Polish teachers tie

" I am half Polish,they dotn know that here. My names not Polish or anything"

-Short sentence represents Carla telling us a secret but being ashamed of it

-She says her name is not Polish however we know that names are a big part of Identity

"Then my father put a stop to it"

-Short sentence shows how even back then she had no authority and still lacks some now

-The word "Father" shows distance between them

-Short sentence could symbolise the end of her dream of speaking Polish

"Excuse me I said pushing forward,excuse me,and they did"

-We can relate this back to her unimportance 

-No identity, so she could be invisble to everyone around her

-Repetition emphasies the disregard for her being

"I didnt write anything about my job. Let him think what he wanted to think,i wasnt lying"

-She doesnt want to tell him about her job as she is ashamed and she is worried he will see her in the same way as everyone else

-The defensive language suggsting she is scared and worried

-He knows even less about her than other people showing her identity disapearing even further over time.

"He sent me an English translation. This bird flew into a shaft and got lost in the tunnels underground,then it sang and sang until it died" 

-The bird could symbolise her, she could have had a chance of speaking Polish,representative of her wings however the shaft denied this (Her father).

-The singing could represent her call for help

-Translation = not the real thing so by her reading the poem and us linking it to her,it could be her fake identity (Not meant to be like this) 

"At first we wrote every week, then it was twice. I used to write a bit then make myself wait until the end of the week to send it"

-Becoming closer friends 

-Seems as if she is talking to somebody for the first time

"Mother,I have lost the words you gave me. Call the police,tell them theres a reward,ill do anything"

-The word "Mother" shows distance 

-Not even the police can help with this

-Metaphor as you cannot "lose" words

"Colleagues dont wear blue overalls and white caps and work for £3.98 an hour"

-Disregarding herself as a colleague again

-Questioning who she really is

"I could be off sick. I could swap with Jennie. She could do the teachers breaks. Or I could stay at home and saw Jade was ill"

-Looking for the easy way out

-Her true shy personality is now showing 

-Wants to isolate herself again

"It's hell for the kids, he doesnt mean to be funny but they cant keep a straight face. It's the way he talks. Phillipa had to leave the room at supper time, and I cant say I blame her"

-Hell for the kids is a similie, emphasising how funny it was

-The short sentence represent her laughing?

-"I dont blame her" laughing at him when she finds her own position a joke, contradiction

-Bullying/Prejudice 

"And his ties! Went on Valerie. You've never seen anything like them"

-Everyone sees him as funny (Prejudice is everywhere) it is inescapable 

-The words "Went on" shows the inabillity to stop talking

-Intimidating crowd

"His big bright tie blazing"

 -Alliteration

-Rouding of words symbolising fun and jokes

"He sang a song I knew. It went through me like a knife through butter"

 -Short sentence represents shock

-Similie emphasises joy and relief

-A new outgoing side of her

"A Polish song. I knew it, I knew it! I knew the words and the tune"

 - Short sentence emphasises her joy

-Repetition emphasises her relief and

"Good heavens how very remarkable. I didnt know you were Polish Mrs...er..."

-Still doesnt know her name

-Does she care?

-Things havent changed (Too late?)

"His red tie with its bold green squiggles was much too wide and bright. It was a flag from a nother country,a better country than the ones either of us lived in. I like your tie I said"

 -Proud to be Polish now?

-Accepting that people are different

Interpoerations:

* Inescapability - Within the school, both prejudice and status are inescapable.