George Alagiah’s Passage To Africa Essay

In a passage to Africa George Alagiah conveys his feelings about journalism during the course of his stay in Somalia through the use of various different language and literary devices. In a passage to Africa George Alagiah uses powerful and emotive language to show is views about journalism. An example of this is shown in the quotation: ‘that went beyond pity and revulsion’ , ‘revulsion’ has strong connotations of horror and disease so it marked the reader sympathise with the nature of the terrible scene that Alagiah is encountering in the village which he is observing. Another quotation that shows this is: ‘normally inured to stories of suffering, accustomed to the evidence of deprivation’, this quotation shows the way that Alagiah is hardened by the experiences that he has faced through the word ‘inured’ meaning immune to in conjunction with the words ‘suffering’ and ‘deprivation’, both of which have extensive connotations of evil and terrible hardship on those that it refers to, overall showing that Alagiah was steadfast to the other horrors that were unfolding around him and that the event he had just witnessed ahs managed to break his immunity of disconnection between him and the subject of his journalism. These quotations all show that Alagiah used emotive and powerfully connotated words to show the disconnection and connections with the journalist and subject. In the text Alagiah also uses a variety of sentence structures to show his views an observational journalist. An example of this is: ‘I saw that face for only a few seconds, a fleeting meeting of eyes’, the use of the above sentence structure shows that this very brief moment had deeply impacted Alagiah’s views on the way that he considered his role as a passive observer. Another example of this is the quote: ‘normally inured to stories of suffering, accustomed to the evidence of deprivation’, the way that the sentence is structured shows that Alagiah is meaning to portray a list to show how he feels about the way that a journalist can be susceptible to becoming accustomed to the terrible scenes that are unfolding before there eyes. In ‘a passage to Africa’ Alagiah uses a range of literary devices to show how he feels about journalism. An example of his use of literary devices on the following quotation: ‘If he was embarrassed to be weakened by conflict and ground down by hunger, how should I feel standing there so strong and confident?’, this reflective anecdote shows that as Alagiah is  there he is still reflecting on the way that he is so content and nourished while the people he is standing amongst are suffering terribly. Another example of literary devices in the quotation: ‘what was it about that smile?’, this rhetorical question shows how Alagiah is inquisitive into the thinking of the people he observes. These literary devices show his beliefs about journalism through the way he writes his reports. In conclusion is a passage to Africa George Alagiah uses a variety of language, sentence structures and literary devices to show his beliefs about journalism and the re lationship between him and the people he writes about.