The Harlem Renaissance was a time period in the early 1930’s in which the arts flourished in the African American community. One influential poet is the Jamaican immigrant, Claude McKay. After the Red Summer of 1919, in which the Klu Klux Klan executed numerous hate crimes, Claude McKay published his response in “The Liberator”, a well-known anti-slavery newspaper, entitled “If We Must Die”. Claude McKay utilized point of view, tone, rhyme scheme, and figures of speech within “If We Must Die’ in order to urge the African American community to fight back against the racial inequality. Claude utilizes first person point of view in order to create a sense of unity. The African American community had been in turmoil following the Red Summer of …show more content…
The author is trying to inspire some kind of rebellion or response to the injustices they have been facing in the United States. Claude creates a persuasive tone when he writes, “If we must die” (McKay 1). McKay repeats this line twice in addition to entitling the poem this making it a significant line. By saying the audience of his poem is going to die, he creates a more solemn tone. This tone is developed through the battle McKay has created within this poem between good and evil. As the poem progresses, the tone changes from a solemn vibe to a more resilient mannerism. This new valiance is demonstrated when McKay writes, “And for their thousand blows deal one deathblow!” (12). In the previous line, Claude creates this new tone of bravery and rebellion by saying he knows they will not prevail in their war but he would would like to put up a good fight. He wants to fight back and not give up in the injustices they have been fighting for too long. This line really develops the need to fight back since this poem was published in response to injustice as demonstrated by Heather Hathaway when she writes, “Published at the height of the Red Summer of 1919 (KKK), when violent riots resulted in hundreds of deaths and the destruction of property throughout the United States” (Hathaway 1). This solemn tone is in response to these hate crimes throughout the divided United States. The country was in disarray and McKay felt the appropriate response was to fight back to the injustice. Another example of McKay’s solemn tone is when he writes, “Making their mock at our accursed lot” (McKay 4). Within this line, McKay says that him and his people are being mocked while their luck is down which is rude and should not be allowed to continue. Thenceforth, McKay is attempting to illicit a response from his audience through the solemn yet rebellious tone throughout “If We Must
Originally referred to as the “New Negro Movement”, the Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement during the early twentieth century. It was started by the Great Migration of blacks to the North during World War I. This period resulted in many people coming forth and contributing their talents to the world, inspiring many. One of the poets of this time, Jessie Redmon Fauset, was one of those who wrote about the life of blacks and life in general during this time period. She used her good and bad past experiences as influences for her works.
A short, fat man who owns a little band of sheep on the flats at
Thirteen days is a historical account of the Cuban Missile Crisis. It is told from the perspective of Robert F. Kennedy, senator and brother to President John F. Kennedy. It is an account of the thirteen days in October of 1962. It lasted from the 16th to the 28th. During this time many crucial events in United States.
Michael MacDonald’S All Souls is a heart wrenching insider account of growing up in Old Country housing projects located in the south of Boston, also known as Southie to the locals. The memoir takes the reader deep inside the world of Southie through the eyes of MacDonald. MacDonald was one of 11 children to grow up and deal with the many tribulations of Southie, Boston. Southie is characterized by high levels of crime, racism, and violence; all things that fall under the category of social problem. Social problems can be defined as “societal induced conditions that harms any segment of the population. Social problems are also related to acts and conditions that violate the norms and values found in society” (Long). The social problems that are present in Southie are the very reasons why the living conditions are so bad as well as why Southie is considered one of the poorest towns in Boston. Macdonald’s along with his family have to overcome the presence of crime, racism, and violence in order to survive in the town they consider the best place in the world.
Times were looking up for African Americans, their new freedom gave them the option to go down a road of either criminal actions or to make something out of themselves. But the presence of racism and hatred was still very much so alive, Klu Klux Klan, although not as strong as they were after the Civil War was still present. Laws like Jim Crow laws and “separate but equal” came into play and continued to show how racism was alive. Besides these actors of racism, blacks still started gaining a major roll in American society.
Reunion, by John Cheever, is a story told through the eyes of a young boy, Charlie, who is recalling a meeting with his father who he hasn’t seen for more than three years. It is set in New York where Charlie’s father lives. He meets up with his father during a stop over between trains.
...for equal rights. In some poems McKay even called for violent acts to change the laws, however, as an educated man, reason prevailed. As result he adopted religion, and his poetry, like himself became conflicted. Out of this confliction came some of the most powerful African American poetry in history. Claude McKay poured his soul onto to paper, and as a result, it seeps in to all who read it.
...xperienced about not being able to eat at the table when guests would come which refers to how White America has been treating Black America. He then comes to the conclusion that this too shall pass and believes that he will be able to overcome his oppression. McKay portrays his experiences by speaking in a more mature tone about the significant events that have occurred and tries to find a way to tolerate the oppression. He lets White America know that what they have done to Black America was wrong. He shows that even though white America has alienated African Americans and treated them with disrespect, he will not stoop to their level although he is angry about it. The writers make it clear that their poems may differ yet they hold the same meaning of that White America has wronged Black America but it shall pass and in the future they will regret their actions.
2. The African American culture blossomed during the Harlem Renaissance, particularly in creative arts, and the most influential movement in African American literary history. Embracing literary, musical, theatrical, and visual arts, participants sought to reconceptualize “the Negro” apart from the white stereotypes that had influenced black peoples’ relationship to their heritage and to each other. They also sought to break free of Victorian moral values and bourgeois shame about aspects of their lives that might, as seen by whites, reinforce racist beliefs. Never dominated by a particular school of thought but rather characterized by intense debate, the movement laid the groundwork for all later African American literature and had an enormous
The author is telling the audience to fight back and if they die, they will die nobly, not in vain. It’s a battle cry, to fight for their lives. McKay has used figurative language and form to show the theme of his poem, rhythm is also important.
The Harlem Renaissance refers to a prolific period of unique works of African-American expression from about the end of World War I to the beginning of the Great Depression. Although it is most commonly associated with the literary works produced during those years, the Harlem Renaissance was much more than a literary movement; similarly, it was not simply a reaction against and criticism of racism. The Harlem Renaissance inspired, cultivated, and, most importantly, legitimated the very idea of an African-American cultural consciousness. Concerned with a wide range of issues and possessing different interpretations and solutions of these issues affecting the Black population, the writers, artists, performers and musicians of the Harlem Renaissance had one important commonality: "they dealt with Black life from a Black perspective." This included the use of Black folklore in fiction, the use of African-inspired iconography in visual arts, and the introduction of jazz to the North.[i] In order to fully understand the lasting legacies of the Harlem Renaissance, it is important to examine the key events that led to its beginnings as well as the diversity of influences that flourished during its time.
John Henry was a man who decided to work because his family was low on money. He worked as a steel driving man. That means he hammered and used a steel drill to dig into rock to make holes for explosives. These explosives blasted rock to assist in constructing railroad tunnels. The poem states that john Henry went up against a steam-powered hammer in a race and won only to die soon after.
The Harlem Renaissance inspired, and was inspired by some of the greatest poets, musicians and artists of the century. Among these great minds, were the poets Langston Hughes, and Claude McKay. Though motivated by the same hardships, people, and events, the works of both Hughes, and McKay show glaring differences in the perspectives of the authors. Upon reading “Harlem” by Hughes, the audience may easily see the author’s more peaceful call to action. In contrast, after reading “If We Must Die,” one can infer that McKay prefers to call his audience to obvious (physical) action. Langston Hughes’s poem portrays a more passive overtone, while Claude McKay’s poem is more aggressive. There are, however, a few similarities between the two works of
Before the Harlem Renaissance began he was recognized for bringing the New negro voice out in the literature. “His work ranged from vernacular verse celebrating peasant life in Jamaica to poems challenging white authority in America” (poetry foundation). His most famous work during the Harlem Renaissance would have to be “If We Must Die”, Home to Harlem, and Banjo. All of his work was done in a time where African Americans had to deal with intense racism. Claude McKay was a key figure during this time and all of his works especially his novel Banjo, “envisioned the black political identity in a global framework” (lernado-newtonic).
The first quatrain of the poem begins undermining the idea of death by personifying it. Death is personified by Donne throughout the poem as he challenges death by stating that it is not the “mighty and dreadful” aspect of life that people are afraid of, but as an escape from life where people can find peace after death because “nor yet canst thou kill me” (Donne 1100). He argues that death does not really kill those whom it thinks it kills to further beat death into humility. In the opening line of the poem he uses an apostrophe, “Death, be not proud..” to begin with a dramatic tone to argue with death as people’s adversary (Donne 1100). Death is given negative human traits, such as pride, but also inferiority and pretense.