Compare Checking Out Me History and The Emigrée: Grade 9 Thesis & Quotes (AQA)

Quick Comparison Grid (The “Ninja Cheat Sheet”)

1. Memory as Resistance: “Carving” vs. “Paperweights”

Checking Out Me History:

• Agard presents memory as an active, laborious process (“I carving out me identity”). He has to dig through the “bandages” of a Eurocentric curriculum to find his own history.
• He uses light-filled imagery for his own heroes (“Toussaint, a slave / with vision,” “Mary Seacole, a healing star”) to show that his true heritage is “visionary” and illuminating.
• Elite Link: The contrast between the “cold” nursery rhymes (Dick Whittington) and the “fire” of his own history shows that memory is a source of warmth and power that the state cannot provide.

The Emigrée:

• Rumens presents memory as a solid, protective object (“The bright, filled paperweight”). It is a “clear” and “shining” version of the past that keeps the “shadow” of the present at bay.
• The speaker personifies her city (“I comb its hair and love its shining eyes”), treating her heritage as a living being that she must protect from the “tyrants” who have taken over.
• Elite Link: The repetition of “sunlight” at the end of every stanza acts as a refrain of resistance—no matter how “sick” or “dark” the city becomes in reality, the speaker’s memory of it remains “branded by an impression of sunlight.”

Explore: Both poets use light as a metaphor for their true identity, but while Agard uses it to attack a false history, Rumens uses it to defend a lost home.

2. The “Enemy”: The “Dem” vs. The “They”

Checking Out Me History:

• The enemy is institutional: “Dem” represents the British education system that “blinded” the speaker. It is a faceless, collective authority that controls what is “worth” knowing.
• The repetition of “Dem tell me” creates a sense of a monolithic power that the speaker must physically break away from to find his own voice.
• Elite Link: By refusing to use standard punctuation or grammar, Agard is literally “un-bandaging” his language from the control of the “Dem.”

The Emigrée:

• The enemy is political and social: “They” represents the new regime or the hostile society in her new home. Like Agard’s “Dem,” “They” are a faceless, threatening collective.
• The speaker is accused by “them” of being “dark” or “absent,” showing how the state tries to criminalize or erase the identity of the exile.
• Elite Link: The final line (“My shadow falls as evidence of sunlight”) is a defiant reversal—the very “shadow” (the threat/the exile) is proof that the “sunlight” (her heritage) exists.

Explore: Both poets face a faceless authority that tries to define them, but while Agard’s enemy is a teacher who hides the truth, Rumens’s enemy is a tyrant who destroys the home.

3. Structure: The Breakout vs. The Fragmented Flow

Checking Out Me History:

• The dual structure is a structural rebellion. The “Standard” stanzas are mocking and nursery-rhyme-like, while the “History” stanzas are free-verse, italicized, and rhythmic.
• The lack of punctuation represents a refusal to follow the “rules” of the English language—Agard is literally “un-bandaging” the grammar of the oppressor.
• Elite Link: The poem’s structure “breaks out” of the nursery rhyme form whenever a black hero is mentioned, showing that true history cannot be contained by the “Standard” system.

The Emigrée:

• The regular three-stanza structure suggests a sense of order and containment, but the heavy use of enjambment and caesura within the stanzas reflects the fragmented, “broken” nature of the speaker’s life.
• The lack of a regular rhyme scheme mirrors the speaker’s lack of a stable home—she is “drifting” between her memory and her reality.
• Elite Link: The final stanza is the longest (9 lines instead of 8), suggesting that the speaker is “holding on” to her memory for as long as possible, refusing to let the poem (or the sunlight) end.

Explore: Agard uses structure to enact a revolution, while Rumens uses structure to enact a preservation—both use form to show the tension between the individual and the state.

Context Comparison (AO3 Power Move)

Elite Insight: Agard’s poem is about reclaiming a history that was stolen, while Rumens’s poem is about preserving a home that was destroyed. Both argue that the individual’s “inner light” (memory/heritage) is the only thing that can survive the “darkness” of political control.

Exam Sentence Starters

1. “While Agard utilizes a vocal, rhythmic rebellion to dismantle a ‘blind’ colonial history, Rumens employs a sensory lyricism to preserve a ‘bright’ heritage against political erasure…”
2. “Both poets explore the ‘blinding’ or ‘shadowy’ nature of oppression: Agard through the metaphor of ‘bandaged’ eyes, and Rumens through the ‘shadow’ cast by the tyrants of her home city…”
3. “The ‘carving out’ of identity in Checking Out Me History parallels the ‘combing’ of the city’s hair in The Emigrée, as both poets treat their heritage as a living, physical entity that requires care and protection…”
4. “Agard’s use of non-standard Patois and free verse structure enacts his rebellion against colonial ‘rules,’ whereas Rumens’s use of enjambment within regular stanzas mirrors the fragmented life of the exile…”
5. “Contextually, Agard’s post-colonial critique of the British curriculum parallels Rumens’s exploration of modern displacement, as both poets challenge the ‘official’ narratives that marginalize individual experience…”

FAQs

What is the best poem to compare with Checking Out Me History?

The Emigrée is perfect for identity and memory. You can also compare it to London for institutional control, or Kamikaze for cultural identity.

What is the best poem to compare with The Emigrée?

Checking Out Me History is excellent for heritage and resistance. Alternatively, compare it to Kamikaze for the pain of exile, or London for the city as a place of oppression.

What is the best theme linking Checking Out Me History and The Emigrée?

Identity, Memory, and Heritage—specifically, how individuals use their “inner” version of the past to survive an “outer” world that tries to silence or change them.

What quotes should I compare between Checking Out Me History and The Emigrée?

• “Bandage up me eye” (History) vs. “Branded by an impression of sunlight” (Emigrée)—both show how the mind is permanently marked by the past, either through injury or light.
• “I carving out me identity” (History) vs. “I comb its hair and love its shining eyes” (Emigrée)—the physical, loving act of maintaining one’s heritage.
• “Dem tell me” (History) vs. “They accuse me of being dark” (Emigrée)—the feeling of being targeted by a faceless, hostile authority.

How do I compare structure in Checking Out Me History and The Emigrée?

Agard uses dual structures and a lack of punctuation to physically break the “rules” of the system he is critiquing. Rumens uses enjambment and a lack of regular rhyme to mirror the “drifting,” fragmented life of the exile. Both use form to show the tension between the individual and the state.

What is a Grade 9 thesis for Checking Out Me History vs. The Emigrée?

“While Agard utilizes a vocal, rhythmic rebellion to dismantle the ‘blind’ colonial history imposed upon him, Rumens employs a vivid, sensory lyricism to preserve a ‘bright’ personal heritage against the ‘shadow’ of political erasure.”

Read Next

• • • • • Checking Out Me History Revision Sheet
        • The Emigrée Revision Sheet
        • Power & Conflict Comparisons Hub