kamikaze vs checking out me history

Power controls identity + voice

Both Agard and Garland present power not simply as control over actions, but as control over identity, voice, and whose stories are allowed to exist.

Checking out me history : “dem tell me dem tell me”

• Agard’s repetition of “dem tell me” creates a cyclical, oppressive rhythm

• reflecting how colonial narratives are repeatedly imposed

• preventing the speaker from forming an authentic sense of identity.

italics idea “Toussaint Louverture”

• The use of italics to present figures such as “Toussaint L’Ouverture”

• visually separates them from the main narrative, symbolising their historical marginalisation;

• however, this typographical shift simultaneously elevates their importance

• suggesting Agard’s active reclamation of suppressed identities.

Kamikaze: identity erasure = “as though he no longer existed”

• Garland’s simile “as though he no longer existed” conveys a form of social erasure

• where the pilot’s identity is stripped away as punishment for defying societal expectations.

• His silence is not voluntary, but enforced by a culture that equates obedience with worth.

Contrast

• Agard = reclaiming identity

• Pilot = losing identity

While Agard actively reconstructs and reclaims identity by giving voice to marginalised histories,

Garland presents the pilot as being passively erased, highlighting the devastating consequences of resisting societal power.

Structure

• Structurally, Agard’s irregular form and phonetic spelling resist imposed linguistic authority reflecting his rejection of colonial control

• whereas Garland’s use of a third-person narrative distances the pilot’s voice entirely, reinforcing his exclusion and loss of identity.

Conclusion

Ultimately, both poems suggest that power extends beyond physical control, shaping identity, voice, and memory determining not only how individuals live, but whether their stories are remembered or erased.

POWER CONTROLS IDENTITY & VOICE (MAIN IDEA)

Quotes:

• COMH: “dem tell me dem tell me”

• Kamikaze: “as though he no longer existed”

Use:

Shows identity being controlled / erased by others

ERASURE vs RECLAMATION

Quotes:

• COMH: “Toussaint L’Ouverture” (italics)

• Kamikaze: “he must have wondered which had been the better way to die”

Use:

• COMH → reclaiming identity

• Kamikaze → internal doubt after being erased

VOICE & SILENCING

Quotes:

• COMH: “bandage up me eye with me own history”

• Kamikaze: (whole poem told in third person) OR
  “he never spoke again” (implied through silence)

Use:

Both show voices being controlled — one resists, one is silenced

POWER OF SOCIETY

Quotes:

• COMH: “blind me to me own identity”

• Kamikaze: “they treated him as though he no longer existed”

Use:

Society decides worth and belonging

STRUCTURE = RESISTANCE vs ERASURE

Quotes:

• COMH: irregular form + phonetic “dem tell me”

• Kamikaze: “he must have wondered…” (distance + third person)

Use:

Form reflects control over identity