Checking Out Me History Flashcards
1
Q
“Dem tell me dem tell me wha dem want to tell me”
A
- repetition
- his own dialect -> showing his identity
- the white British colonised his home and taught him their culture rather than his own
2
Q
“Lord Nelson and Waterloo”
A
- they are not linked
- deliberate mistake
- shows that it is all irrelivant to him
3
Q
“Florence Nightingale and she lamp and how Robin Hood used to camp”
A
- he mixes real history with nursery rhymes to show its irrelivance
- makes her work sound unimportant and basic -> undermines her
4
Q
“But now I checking out me own history I carving out me identity”
A
- he wants to understand who he is and where he came from
- wants to know his own culture
- empathetic final word -> sums up the whole poem
5
Q
What are the key themes in Checking Out Me History?
A
- Memory
- Identity
- Power of humans
- Anger
6
Q
Who is John Agard?
A
- he is from Guyana
- moved to the Uk as an adult
- England colonised his home and imposed its values on it
7
Q
Why does Agard write in his dialect?
A
- it is the way his culture speaks
- gives a sense of his national identity
- he is rebelling against the British culture that has been forced upon him
8
Q
What form is Checking Out Me History in?
A
- dramatic monologue
- gives the speaker a voice to express his veiws
- he wants to express how he feels about what the British did to him
9
Q
What was he taught about British culture?
A
- Historical figures and events : Lord Nelson, Columbus, Nightingale, Battle of Waterloo
- Nursery Rhymes : Hey diddle diddle, ole King Cole
10
Q
Who did the British neglect to teach him about?
A
- Leaders in Carribbean Uprising (power in his culture) : Nanny of the Maroon
- Native people from his country : The Arawacks, The Caribs
