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COMPARISON BETWEEN THE EMIGREE AND CHECKING
OUT ME HISTORY
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In their poems, both John Agard and Carol Rumens explore the theme of pride. Throughout
Checking Out Me History, Agard makes clear he is proud of his own history and cultural
heritage by listing black historical figures that he feels are disregarded by school
curriculums, such as ‘Mary Seacole’. Agard contrasts these figures with white British
historical figures, such as ‘Florence Nightingale’, who do feature in history lessons in British
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schools. Both Mary Secole and Florence Nightingale were skilled nurses and brave women,
but Florence Nightingale is much better known by British school children. In this manner,
Agard challenges British schools for not including black historical figures within the British
curriculum. Agard also structures his poem to emphasise his point, by using a mix of tight
nursery rhyme phrases and references, to show how meaningless some school content is.
He contrasts this with free verse in italics when referencing the Black historical figures,
reflecting the freedom Agard seeks. Further to this, Agard chooses to use Caribbean dialect
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throughout his poem in order to demonstrate how proud he is of his heritage and culture.
The speaker in The Emigree is also proud. Rumens demonstrates this pride in her home
country by describing her memories of it as ‘sunlight clear’. Rumens’s use of the word
‘sunlight’ creates imagery or warmth and happiness which help the reader understand how
the speaker associates these feelings with her home. Additionally, Rumens’s use of the word
‘clear’ implies that the speaker can remember her home country well, as if she had only just
left. Rumens uses repetition of the sunlight image throughout the poem not only to
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emphasise how proud the speaker feels of her home country but also to show how her view
remains fixed, even when people tell her that the country has changed as a result of war. It
is evident in both poems that the speakers feel a sense of cultural pride that they wish to
celebrate.
Both poems explore being outsiders. In the opening line of the poem, Agard introduces his
feelings of being an outsider in Britain by writing ‘dem tell me’. Agard uses the word ‘dem’
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to refer to British schools. It is clear that he feels frustrated that British schools teach many
facts about European history but neglect black historical figures who are equally important.
Agard’s use of the words ‘dem’ and ‘me’ indicates that he feels distanced from the teachers
in British schools because they have not made him feel that his own culture and history are
valued. The repetition of the phrase ‘dem tell me’ in the opening and throughout the poem,
emphasises Agard’s anger and this feeling of distance from the school curriculum. The
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speaker in The Emigree also feels like an outsider. In the final stanza, Rumens conveys the
speaker’s feelings of isolation by writing ‘they circle me, they accuse me of being dark’.
Similarly to Agard, Rumens uses the words ‘they’ and ‘me’ to indicate that the speaker feels
separate from the people in her new country. Rumens’s use of the word ‘circled’ creates
powerful imagery of the speaker being surrounded by, rather than a part of the people in
her new city. It suggests she feels intimidated by these people. Moreover, the phrase ‘ they
accuse me of being dark’ implies that perhaps the speaker has been subjected to racist
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remarks. Through these words, Rumens explores the trials of moving to a new country and
the pain of not feeling accepted there. It is clear in both poems that the speaker does not
feel fully accepted in the country where they live.
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