No Problem

Question 1

‘I am not de problem’

Answer 1

• I - personal experiences
• refrain - reaffirms that the victims of racism are not to blame
• phonetic spelling - represents Caribbean accent starting to challenge this stereotype
• Confrontational tone - sets up to interrogate the stereotypes

Question 2

But I bear the brunt / Of silly playground taunts

Answer 2

• references school - racist discrimination faced in school
• imagery - childish nature of these stunts

Question 3

I am a born academic /…/ Now I am branded athletic

Answer 3

• branded - permanence and lack of power
• academic - smart and intelligent
• academic - school teachers have labelled him based on racist stereotypes and therefore his true potential has been overlooked

Question 4

I can teach yu of Timbuktu, I can do more dan dance

Answer 4

• Timbuktu - centre of education in Africa, considered mystery in colonial imagination therefore he is suggesting that contrary to their beliefs he has the knowledge
• The line suggests that the speaker has been restricted stereotypes which he has had to overcome

Question 5

Yu put me in a pigeonhole / But I a versatile

Answer 5

• pigeonhole - metaphor, restricted to a stereotype, not treated with the dignity that is normally awarded to humans
• versatile - the speaker is resilient and won’t let racism get them down

Question 6

‘Black is not de problem’

Answer 6

• black - symbolises an ‘othered’ group therefore showing that these experiences are not confined one person
• shift in tone - personal —> wider national issue

Question 7

Mother country get it right

Answer 7

• Asserts that this country is his home and that he grew up here and has just as much right to live here as anyone else
• Shared background - ignorance
• Imperative - fed up, tired of the comments

Question 8

Sum of me best friends are white

Answer 8

• humorous end to the poem after it explores some dark and heavy experiences that the speaker has faced and therefore shows his resilience

Question 9

Half rhyme scheme

Answer 9

Shows disconnect between himself and others caused by the racism he has had to face repeatedly

Question 10

Two stanzas

Answer 10

Another link back to how disconnected he feels from others. Form mirrors content.