Benjamin Zephaniah uses linguistic techniques and structure to show his thoughts and feelings about
dyslexia.
Zephaniah voices his frustrations with the educational system he experienced as a young person.
This is presented when Zephaniah says “There was no compassion, no understanding and no
humanity”. The triplet used emphasises his frustration and anger towards the school system.
Furthermore, the writer also repeats the word ‘no’ three times, highlighting the negativity of the
educational system. Zephaniah also made it clear that the teachers were on of the big problems with
the school system, he stated that a teacher once said “Shut up, stupid boy” when he was giving his
idea. Another teacher was also stereotyping him, not only because of his dyslexia, but racially too.
The teacher said “We can’t all be intelligent, but you’ll end up being a good sportsperson”. Not only
was he called unintelligent, but he was also racially stereotyped when the teacher thought that he
was good at sport just because he was black. Thus, Zephaniah shows his frustration towards the
educational system that he experienced as a young person through different techniques and
anecdotes.
Zephaniah strongly feels that dyslexia is not, and should not be seen as a measure of intelligence.
This is displayed when the writer says “I never thought I was that stupid. I didn’t have that struggle”.
The use of the adverb ‘never’ shows confidence in his abilities despite the challenges he faced
throughout his youth. The writer uses a positive tone to encourage others with dyslexia who are
having hardships. Later on he states to his students at Brunel University that “If you don’t have
passion, creativity, individuality, there’s no point”. He uses a triplet once again to emphasise that
these three points are and should be considered to be more important than memorizing in the
school system. This also shows that dyslexia is not much of a disability because of the fact that
dyslexia makes it harder to read, but does not affect any of the three points he listed above.
Therefore, Zephaniah shows that dyslexia is not, and should never be considered as a measure of
intelligence through many different linguistic devices such as triplets, short declarative sentences
and an encouraging tone.
Zephaniah wants the audience to see dyslexia more as an advantage than a disadvantage. This is
demonstrated when the writer says “Use it to your advantage, see the world differently”. The
encouraging tone implies that dyslexia can be used as an advantage and could be used to “see the
world differently” which exposes the creativity and differentially of dyslexic people compared to
others. The writer uses anaphora in the lines “We are the architects, we are the designers” to stress
the numerous opportunities that dyslexic people have specifically in the creative industries along
with the pronoun ‘We’ implying unity among the dyslexic communities. Thus, Zephaniah shows the
audience that dyslexia is not all disadvantages but actually gives countless advantages through
specific devices and pronouns.
Ahmed Alyasin
dyslexia.
Zephaniah voices his frustrations with the educational system he experienced as a young person.
This is presented when Zephaniah says “There was no compassion, no understanding and no
humanity”. The triplet used emphasises his frustration and anger towards the school system.
Furthermore, the writer also repeats the word ‘no’ three times, highlighting the negativity of the
educational system. Zephaniah also made it clear that the teachers were on of the big problems with
the school system, he stated that a teacher once said “Shut up, stupid boy” when he was giving his
idea. Another teacher was also stereotyping him, not only because of his dyslexia, but racially too.
The teacher said “We can’t all be intelligent, but you’ll end up being a good sportsperson”. Not only
was he called unintelligent, but he was also racially stereotyped when the teacher thought that he
was good at sport just because he was black. Thus, Zephaniah shows his frustration towards the
educational system that he experienced as a young person through different techniques and
anecdotes.
Zephaniah strongly feels that dyslexia is not, and should not be seen as a measure of intelligence.
This is displayed when the writer says “I never thought I was that stupid. I didn’t have that struggle”.
The use of the adverb ‘never’ shows confidence in his abilities despite the challenges he faced
throughout his youth. The writer uses a positive tone to encourage others with dyslexia who are
having hardships. Later on he states to his students at Brunel University that “If you don’t have
passion, creativity, individuality, there’s no point”. He uses a triplet once again to emphasise that
these three points are and should be considered to be more important than memorizing in the
school system. This also shows that dyslexia is not much of a disability because of the fact that
dyslexia makes it harder to read, but does not affect any of the three points he listed above.
Therefore, Zephaniah shows that dyslexia is not, and should never be considered as a measure of
intelligence through many different linguistic devices such as triplets, short declarative sentences
and an encouraging tone.
Zephaniah wants the audience to see dyslexia more as an advantage than a disadvantage. This is
demonstrated when the writer says “Use it to your advantage, see the world differently”. The
encouraging tone implies that dyslexia can be used as an advantage and could be used to “see the
world differently” which exposes the creativity and differentially of dyslexic people compared to
others. The writer uses anaphora in the lines “We are the architects, we are the designers” to stress
the numerous opportunities that dyslexic people have specifically in the creative industries along
with the pronoun ‘We’ implying unity among the dyslexic communities. Thus, Zephaniah shows the
audience that dyslexia is not all disadvantages but actually gives countless advantages through
specific devices and pronouns.
Ahmed Alyasin
