Checking Out Me History Flashcards
Context of Checking Out Me History
Agards’ years were lived under British rule, however eventually he saw his country become independent & realised how much of his identity he was deprived of
He lived in England, and in this poem he talks about the many West Indians that lived in England, & how the country should be diversified to include their cultures
The poem focuses on cultural & racial identity - the poem is intended to be universal, meaning it reaches out and applies to all people living under oppression & being denied of their own identity
Key quotes of Checking Out Me History
Repetition of “Dem tell me” - the accusatory tone expresses the speaker’s bitterness & frustration
“What dem want to tell me” - emphasises how he was only educated on what the British system wished to share, implying that they hid a great amount of history from him & his people
Repetition of the anonymous pronoun “dem” rather than “them” suggests that the speaker feels like outsider, due to speaking differently to everyone else
“Blind me to me own identity” - how the British system tried to strip him of his own identity. The speakers ability to see their cultural heritage has been impaired.
“Bandage up me eye” - injured, painful connotations - how the speaker feels hurt by his sheltered upbringing
“De cow who jump over de moon” - use of the nursery ryhme, humorous. Stating how he finds it almost hilarious & outraging how more people know about this childish nursery rhyme than important black cultural figures.
“I carving out me identity” - the final line of the poem. Is this a warning? Will he finally make a name for himself? Implying revolution?
Structure of Checking Out Me History
There is a division between the stanzas through the use of Italics. Illustrates the separation between the history he was taught & the remaining black history he was deprived of. (The italic parts are him teaching black history to reader)
Each stanza begins with “Dem tell me” - shows the colonial control dominating his life in the same way it dominates this poem. Repetition of this phrase builds frustration, leading to “But dem never tell me” at end of each stanza.
Rhyme scheme and enjambment - ties together sections of white & black history - attempting to end segregation through literary unification.
Enjambment - overflowing sentences, implies the speaker has kept in too much anger/emotion to be constrained to a single line.
Form of Checking Out Me History
Non-standard phonetic spelling of “dem” “de” “bout” - implies narrator’s resistance & resentment towards traditions of the English language
Lack of punctuation - narrator is not conforming to classic British ideas
Rhythm sounds childish - suggesting that he was brought up to believe the false/incomplete history he was taught as a child
