Genre: Informative writing and not a plain autobiography. Zephaniah writes of his early years with great honesty. His writing contains reflection and much-needed information for and about dyslexics.
Voice: 1st person. The writing is often conversational and reads like a speech. Zephaniah is able to relax the formality of such writing without compromising his authority as a narrator. Direct speech is used to convey his comments in class and the insults of a teacher from 40 years previously. It certainly creates a vividness, but is it an accurate rendering of the conversations? He will use both 2nd person and 1st plural to great effect to link the reader ot his position.
Purpose: The title of the anthology in which this is published is important here. Zephaniah is writing with a clear purpose – to educate non-dyslexics and to empower dyslexics to believe in themselves. In this he challenges the single story of ‘dyslexic stupidity’.
Structure:
1: Childhood suffering and the finding of a positive in every negative situation. He explains that he bears teachers no malice and uses the introduction to present a clear picture of school in the 1960s.
2: Examples through his youth of the issues and benefits of dyslexia, leading eventually to his expulsion from school. He does not dwell on the specific details though does tell the story of his ‘revenge’ car theft. There are no details – this is not an autobiography.
3: Coping with Dyslexia in Borstal and the nature of the prison community.
4: Redemption via a girlfriend and an adult education class.
5: The message: Dyslexia is only an issue for the observer; it is a potential benefit for the dyslexic who is more creative and more imaginative as a result of the ‘condition’. He ends by throwing out a challenge to the non-dyslexics and the boot is on the other foot for once.
Zephaniah talks about his dyslexia