Paragraph of Analysis

The dominance and manly image of K

K goes on to say “Mosquitos are plentiful” but then adds that he hung a dirty sick by the window to keep them at bay. This portrays a very manly image to allow his mother to understand that he is able to look after himself and transforms a negative issue into a positive one. The mosquitos are a nuisance, however, he does not want to bother and worry his mother by making her feel as though he is in discomfort.

K also uses the term ‘Pal’ as opposed to ‘friend’. This is a form of colloquialism and informality which could suggest a sense of similarity to his family, to let them know that he is still the same boy and has not changed.

When annotating the Ap10 letter, I overcame dialect levelling towards the end of the letter. K goes back to normal, informal self and speaks with less authority. “I have not received the letters yet.” this declarative may suggest that he is running out of what else to say towards the end of the letter, also taking in to consideration the fact that the communication is poor therefore he has not received hardly any letters back. Alternatively, it may imply a blunt attitude and that in fact he is feeling quite disappointed by this.

“I hope you are all in the pink and best of spirits” this is another way of saying ‘I hope you are well’ which is another phrase which is uncommon to us today but may have been used more in the time of the Second World War. “Mrs Cox whom I mentioned in my previous letter…” archaic lexis is used here, this is less likely to be used in modern day communication.