Checking Out Me History - John Agard Flashcards
‘dem ‘ ‘dem ‘dem’
repetition of creole dialect - he feel pride in his culture, he doesn’t want to hide anymore, he wants to be heard - creole dialect grabs our attention so its effective
‘wha dem want to tell me’
pronoun ‘dem’ and pronoun ‘me’ creates a sense of separation and power imbalance,
‘bandage up me eye with me own history’
metaphor - his lack of education about his culture is so significant that it is a physical barrier, he cannot see, he is being ‘bandaged up’
OR
could suggest that his lack of education about his own culture is causing him pain and suffering so much so that he has to be bandaged up.
‘lord nelson’ and ‘Shaka de great Zulu’ ‘Florence Nightingale’ and ‘Mary Secole’
juxtaposition of black historical references and white historical references suggests that history is very one sided also all the black historical references come after the white ones showing that white history is considered more important and significant.
song like structure
reminiscent of a nursery rhyme, showing that there is a need to educate especially young people about different cultures history
‘i carving out me identity’
verb - carving - violent implies the journey has been painful
‘dem’ ‘dem’ ‘dem’ vs ‘i’ ‘me’ ‘me’
in the beginning the speaker did not have power (repetition on dem) whereas by the end the speaker has empowered themselves (repetition of personal pronouns)
