a passage to africa

From a passage to Africa- George Alagiah.

Message- serve Africa in some way and we should feel guilty for craving shocking photos of the war

Language

·         ‘passage to Africa’- ambiguous title, could mean anything like a journey to Africa or more likely a dedication to Africa (his purpose is to serve Africa in some way)

·         ‘hungry, lean scared and betrayed faces’- list of adjectives creates an image of suffering, links to the end when trying to make the reader feel guilt.

·         ‘but there is one I will never forget’- intrigues the reader and encourages them to read on but at same time shows he doesn’t care for any others.  Shows his profession made him sensitive.

·         ‘the back of beyond’- hyperbole shows isolation creates sympathy

·         ‘take the Badale road…approx.’- listing lack of description again shows isolation

·         ‘like a ghost village’- simile suggests its almost soulless and depressing and barely alive emphasises poverty

·         ‘ghoulish’- adverb describing his job as if they feed of dead people which they do as they get their wage from taking shocking pictures of the dead

·         ‘hunt’ and ‘tramped’- predatory language shows the profession as a predatory nature it is animal like and barbaric

·         ‘no longer impressed by us much’- apathetic shows the profession is insensitive but because the public crave this type of news

·         ‘old stuff’- dehumanizes the Somalien people as objects that become boring and old

·         ‘comfort’- contrast of the horrible conditions in Africa but points out this barbaric act is at the cost that we want this

·         ‘is like the craving for a drug’- simile shows that people always want more- adrenaline rush and people crave it always have and always will always someone to use that drug available

·         ‘enervating’ choice of language shows the life is drained away from the Somalien people through hunger

·         ‘Habiba had died’, ‘no rage, no whimpering’ - lack of emotive…