Giuseppe - Roderick Ford
Stanza Quotation Theme Analysis Device
/Line
Title ‘Giuseppe’ Title shows breakdown of family -
it is simply ‘Giuseppe’ not ‘my
Giuseppe’.
1/1 ‘My Uncle Nephew/niece is the narrator.
Giuseppe told me’ Possessive pronoun shows how the
family is still close at this point.
Structurally, they are still on the
same line, which visually shows
closeness. At the end they will be
on separate lines.
1/ 3,4 ‘courtyard’ Sub-clauses create a cinematic
‘aquarium’ effect as it zooms into the
‘bougainvillea’ mermaid.
1/ 3 ‘aquarium’ Captured, not free
1/ 4 ‘bougainvillea’ Flower links to ‘golden crocuses’ of
The Gun. Reddish pink colour looks
like splashes of blood
1/4 ‘bougainvillea Freedom which contrasts with the
grows so well’ mermaid
1/5 ‘only captive Superlative? makes mermaid seem
mermaid’ more precious
1/6 ‘dry and dusty Consonance and internal rhyme
ground’ makes it the line sound less wet
1/7 ‘doctor, Dry humour
fishmonger’
1/ 7 ‘certain others’ Guilt and shame. Giuseppe doesn’t
want to admit who else committed
this crime
2/1 ‘She, it’ Name change like from ‘cow’ to
‘beef’. Dehumanising
2/1 ‘never learned to Suggests that she still had the
speak’ capacity to learn
2/2 ‘so they’d said’ Implies that they may be lying.
Third person plural pronouns
distance the person from the
narrator or Giuseppe. Ambiguous
as it is unclear who ‘they’ are
2/3 ‘held one of her Ambiguous - the ‘priest’ may be
hands’ holding her down, or be holding
her hand like in the Catholic
tradition. Sicily is a Catholic
country. Like in London, Ford
Stanza Quotation Theme Analysis Device
/Line
Title ‘Giuseppe’ Title shows breakdown of family -
it is simply ‘Giuseppe’ not ‘my
Giuseppe’.
1/1 ‘My Uncle Nephew/niece is the narrator.
Giuseppe told me’ Possessive pronoun shows how the
family is still close at this point.
Structurally, they are still on the
same line, which visually shows
closeness. At the end they will be
on separate lines.
1/ 3,4 ‘courtyard’ Sub-clauses create a cinematic
‘aquarium’ effect as it zooms into the
‘bougainvillea’ mermaid.
1/ 3 ‘aquarium’ Captured, not free
1/ 4 ‘bougainvillea’ Flower links to ‘golden crocuses’ of
The Gun. Reddish pink colour looks
like splashes of blood
1/4 ‘bougainvillea Freedom which contrasts with the
grows so well’ mermaid
1/5 ‘only captive Superlative? makes mermaid seem
mermaid’ more precious
1/6 ‘dry and dusty Consonance and internal rhyme
ground’ makes it the line sound less wet
1/7 ‘doctor, Dry humour
fishmonger’
1/ 7 ‘certain others’ Guilt and shame. Giuseppe doesn’t
want to admit who else committed
this crime
2/1 ‘She, it’ Name change like from ‘cow’ to
‘beef’. Dehumanising
2/1 ‘never learned to Suggests that she still had the
speak’ capacity to learn
2/2 ‘so they’d said’ Implies that they may be lying.
Third person plural pronouns
distance the person from the
narrator or Giuseppe. Ambiguous
as it is unclear who ‘they’ are
2/3 ‘held one of her Ambiguous - the ‘priest’ may be
hands’ holding her down, or be holding
her hand like in the Catholic
tradition. Sicily is a Catholic
country. Like in London, Ford
