Compare Kamikaze and Remains: Grade 9 Thesis & Quotes (AQA)

Quick Comparison Grid (The “Ninja Cheat Sheet”)

1. The Nature of the “Haunting”: Social vs. Psychological

Kamikaze:

• The haunting is social and external. The pilot is treated “as though he no longer existed.” His family creates a “silent” barrier around him, effectively killing his identity while his body lives.
• The third-person narrative (told by his daughter) emphasizes his isolation—he is so excluded that he doesn’t even get to speak his own story.
• Elite Link: The “incantations” of the state are replaced by the “learned” silence of his children, showing how shame is a weapon used by society to “bury” those who fail its code of honour.

Remains:

• The haunting is internal and psychological. The looter is “dug in behind enemy lines” inside the soldier’s own mind. He cannot escape the memory through sleep or “flush” it out with drugs.
• The first-person narrative creates a claustrophobic sense of intimacy—we are trapped inside the soldier’s head as he relives the “dozen rounds” over and over.
• Elite Link: The “blood-shadow” on the street is a physical manifestation of the mental stain that the soldier cannot scrub away, showing that guilt is a permanent “remains” of the war.

Explore: Both poets show that the soldier is “haunted,” but while the pilot is haunted by what he didn’t do (die), the soldier in Remains is haunted by what he did do (kill).

2. The Conflict of Duty: Ideology vs. Reality

Kamikaze:

• The pilot is caught between the “powerful incantations” of nationalistic duty and the sensory beauty of the natural world (the “silver” fish and “pearl-grey” pebbles).
• His decision to turn back is a rejection of a “shaven head” ideology in favour of a “muscular, dangerous” reality of life.
• Elite Link: The irony is that by choosing life, he enters a “better way to die”—a slow, agonizing social death that is more painful than the “divine wind” of the kamikaze.

Remains:

• The soldier is caught between the “casual” duty of his job (“all of the same mind”) and the moral weight of the individual act (“I see every round as it rips through his life”).
• He tries to use colloquial language (“tossed out,” “carted off”) to minimize the event, but the reality of the “blood” eventually overwhelms his professional defenses.
• Elite Link: The shift from “we” (collective responsibility) to “I” (individual guilt) shows the collapse of the military “clockwork” when faced with the reality of a human life.

Explore: Both poets explore the moment where military expectation crashes into human instinct, leaving the individual broken by the impact.

3. Structure: The Flight Path vs. The Flashback

Kamikaze:

• The regular six-line stanzas mirror the rigid, disciplined expectations of the pilot’s culture.
• However, the heavy enjambment (the poem is mostly one long sentence) reflects the pilot’s “inner” wandering and his eventual deviation from his “flight path.”
• Elite Link: The lack of the pilot’s voice in the structure reinforces his erasure—he is a passenger in his own life story, just as he was a passenger in the plane.

Remains:

• The free verse and enjambment mimic the rambling, fragmented nature of a confession. The poem feels “unfiltered” and raw, like a therapy session.
• The final couplet acts as a structural “trap”—the poem stops rambling and forces the soldier (and the reader) to stare at his “bloody hands.”
• Elite Link: The use of caesura (“Then I’m home on leave. But I blink—”) creates a sudden, jarring jump that reflects the intrusive nature of a PTSD flashback.

Explore: Garland uses structure to enact the pilot’s exclusion, while Armitage uses structure to enact the soldier’s trauma—both use form to show that the war is never “over.”

Context Comparison (AO3 Power Move)

Elite Insight: Garland’s pilot is a ghost to others, while Armitage’s soldier is a ghost to himself. Both poets argue that war creates “remains” that cannot be buried by medals or “incantations.”

Exam Sentence Starters

1. “While Garland explores the external, social erasure of a pilot who defies a nationalistic death-cult, Armitage depicts the internal, psychological erosion of a soldier haunted by guilt…”
2. “Both poets utilize the metaphor of the ‘ghost’ to describe the survivor: in Kamikaze, the pilot is a ghost to his family, whereas in Remains, the looter is a ghost in the soldier’s mind…”
3. “The ‘powerful incantations’ in Kamikaze serve as a chilling parallel to the ‘probably armed, possibly not’ mantra in Remains, as both represent the state’s attempt to justify the unjustifiable…”
4. “Garland’s use of third-person narration reinforces the pilot’s exclusion, while Armitage’s shift from ‘we’ to ‘I’ enacts the soldier’s transition from professional duty to personal trauma…”
5. “Contextually, the ‘Bushido’ code of WWII Japan parallels the ‘moral injury’ of modern warfare, as both poets challenge the ‘official’ narratives that ignore the human cost of survival…”

FAQs

What is the best poem to compare with Kamikaze?

Remains is excellent for the aftermath of war. You can also compare it to Checking Out Me History for identity and silencing, or Poppies for the family’s perspective.

What is the best poem to compare with Remains?

Kamikaze is perfect for guilt and social death. Alternatively, compare it to Exposure for the “pity” of war, or War Photographer for the guilt of the witness.

What is the best theme linking Kamikaze and Remains?

The Psychological and Social Aftermath of Conflict—specifically, how soldiers are haunted by their choices and how society treats those who return from war.

What quotes should I compare between Kamikaze and Remains?

• “They treated him as though he no longer existed” (Kamikaze) vs. “He’s here in my head” (Remains)—the external vs. internal haunting.
• “Powerful incantations” (Kamikaze) vs. “Probably armed, possibly not” (Remains)—the lies told to justify violence.
• “Which had been the better way to die” (Kamikaze) vs. “His bloody life in my bloody hands” (Remains)—the realization that survival is its own kind of death.

How do I compare structure in Kamikaze and Remains?

Garland uses regular stanzas and enjambment to reflect social containment and inner deviation. Armitage uses free verse and a final couplet to reflect the rambling nature of trauma and the inescapable “trap” of guilt. Both use form to show the “remains” of war.

What is a Grade 9 thesis for Kamikaze vs. Remains?

“While Garland explores the external, social erasure of a pilot who defies a nationalistic death-cult, Armitage depicts the internal, psychological erosion of a soldier haunted by a singular act of state-sanctioned violence.”

Read Next

• Kamikaze Revision Sheet
• Remains Revision Sheet
• Power & Conflict Comparisons Hub