Checking Out Me Histroy Quote Analyis Flashcards
(5 cards)
“ dem tell me dem tell me what dem tell me bandage up me eye with me own history”
- Repetition (anaphora)
-assonance (repeated vowel sound) - The rhyme is very simplistic because it’s aimed at a child and an adult audience trying to get us to educate children in a different way
- not standard English dialect choice to show his opposition”dem” which is the British society shows how he believes this protest is going to be victorious
- “me” - not saying it’s about him but saying it’s an experience is representative of any immigrant in our country from Africa and the Afro Caribbean Islands
-“ bandage up my eye” - metaphor he’s been told he was damaged and so put bandage around his eye. Nothing is wrong with his eye. His vision has been obscured. There’s a false view of history and it’s mirrored by this false treatment of his eye. - the word “me eye” also is a homophone as it sounds like my -ironic sound pointing out his identity which is being bandaged
-“History” sad his own history that’s blinded him only been given the negative side of his own history
“ Toussaint a slave with vision lick black napoleon”
- “Toussaint” - contrast with toussaint and Napoleon trying to show us the slave was more powerful than this conqueror in Europe - Napoleon was so powerful yet he couldn’t conquer the small islands Toussaint is from
The small poem is just like the small slave who over through Napoleon talking about education and how we understand history
“dem tell me about Columbus and 1492 but what happened to the Caribs and de Arrowaks too”
“Columbus” - he’s not going to be like the Europeans were in history, Columbus ’discovered’ America in 1492, although it was already populated - criticising how Europeans claiming the world although it belong to others trying to give us a sense of guilt makers recognising incredible wrongs were done we too have had our eyes bandage up because we haven’t been educated about this
“De Caribs and the arawaks too” - pointing out what we are not taught they were victims of the genocide and slaughter carbs were the origin of cannibals although there was no historic evidence that they were actually did that it was a myth but it was part of the justification for killing Caribs which is irony we still talk about it as the Caribbean but there are hardly any left
“A healing star”
- talking about Mary seacole, she went to the Crimean war (cotlb) as a nurse to help
- Metaphor wants to be like Mary Seco mythologising her she represents a larger image a star someone to guide us he wants to guide the reader to his new understanding of history
-“healing” - wants to do it through healing and not through violence- to make us better not an actual attack being much softer and gentle in his persuasion
“Star” - Zeus would take someone who he thought was amazing when they die and turn them into stars. Mary is a beacon of hope for future generations forever.
“Seacole” meaning burning coal which gives us the idea of a star
“ But now I checking out me own history I carving out me identity”
- He feels empowered by going back and seeing the real history of his ancestors he now has a new identity
“ I carving out my identity” - metaphor presenting himself as a sculpture suggesting when you carve out your identity it’s like creating your artwork. The artwork going to last and change history he’s making comments on his poem as the poem is carving out his identity there to change your view and how you look at the world.
