Essay about Heritage by Countee Cullen

Cullen's poems seem to focus a lot more on the African heritage than on being an African American. His use of rhyme instead of just rhythm makes his poems flow well with his images and views. "Heritage" is clearly a poem about how African Americans should embrace their African heritage, and to remember all that African Americans had to go through to be what they are today, and to always fight to preserve their culture. Not only do African Americans need to understand their heritage but they must also show all of America that they are there and that they are Americans too. There are also African Americans who will not accept the simple fact that all are Americans, and they will still separate white from black, as is seen from the poem "Uncle Jim". " "White folks is white," says uncle Jim", show to me that not all African Americans were ready for this new awakening and new point in history, that they were so set in their ways that there was no changing them.

During the time this poem was written, racism and prejudice towards African Americans was prevalent and habituated to whites. From the first stanza alone, the tone is already set as uncharitable and

Throughout the poem, the author chooses simple diction. This makes the tone straightforward and blunt, like a black America who simply expresses himself instead of sermonizing about discrimination. Thereby, readers can accept the poem’s argument more easily. Furthermore, the author writes the poem mostly in long sentences to emphasize on short yet important sentences such as “That’s America.”, “Be we are. That’s true!”

This poem is written from the perspective of an African-American from a foreign country, who has come to America for the promise of equality,

In the poem ,“America”, Claude McKay uses figurative language and diction to create a dark tone, a powerful empowering tone, and an optimistic tone. The theme of double consciousness of African-Americans is supported in the poem and the poem itself also connects to the purpose of the Harlem Renaissance which was to fight back racial hate and stereotypes with black empowerment.

Throughout this poem Hughes has placed many symbols in the readers mind to bring the image of the African American people to thought. He reminds African American readers of their origin and what they have been through by using the

Now this story talks about the feeling’s blacks or colored and how they still remember slavery. In both poems they use some form of

Imagery within Dunbar’s work conveyed the harsh reality of African American life in America’s heritage. Dating back to when blacks forcefully came over to the United States for the purpose of manual labor, Dunbar explained the conditions in “Ode to Ethiopia.” Their duties entailed that “they tread the fields” (19) from sunrise to sunset until the worked reached an end. To pass away the time, they would sing “up to the skies in the beauty ring/and bolder grow each hour” (23-24). They would find themselves attempting to find some hope while plantation owners hollered at them if unproductive. “Very seldom has any author brought so vividly before us the black farm laborer of the plantation as he comes from the day’s toil” (Burch). Forced to brutal

All three of the poems discussed in this essay relate to the struggles suffered by African Americans in the late 18th century to the early 19th century in many different ways. They had to live under harsh

Countee Cullen and his poem “Yet Do I Marvel” talks about the relationship between God and man but the main point of the poem is his position in the world as a being black and being a black poet. His skin color is placed

In this poem, he touches on many themes. One of the main ones being mortality. Essentially, he is asking African-Americans are they willing to die for their rights. In order to encourage them, he declares that their deaths would be noble. There is a theme of warfare, as the race riots were basically a war between blacks versus whites. This contributes to the “us versus them” mentality, which then adds to the disdain amongst the two races. Honor is probably the most important theme, as it runs throughout the other major themes of the poem and is essentially the point of the poem. Even though you have already accepted your faith of dying, die with honor and meaning.

In Langston Hughes' poem, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers", he examines some of the roles that blacks have played throughout history. Ultimately, the poem asserts that in every one of these aspects the black people have been exploited and made to suffer, mostly at the hands of white people. The poem is written entirely in first person, so there is a very personal tone, even though the speaker symbolizes the entire black race. The examples of each role cited in the poem are very specific, but they allude to greater indignities, relying on the readers' general knowledge of world history. To convey the injustice that has taken place, Hughes utilizes the symbolism of the

Race plays a big part in this poem. He speaks on Harlem and its culture and this environment but also about mutual interest with people

The theme of double consciousness pervades the poetry of the Harlem Renaissance. Reasons for expressing double-consciousness stem from historical, cultural, and psychological realities facing African-Americans realities that continue to define the sociocultural landscape in the United States. In Countee Cullen's poem "Heritage," the opening line is "What is Africa to me?" The narrator ponders what it means to be of African heritage, especially given the astounding number of generations separating ancestral ties from life in twentieth century America. Moreover, slavery tore apart families and communities, rendering African identity into a fragmented entity and African-American identity even more inchoate. The Harlem Renaissance represented a revolutionary shift in the way that the sons, grandsons, daughters, and granddaughters of slaves begun to conceptualize the African-American culture. African-American identity is naturally one of double- or even multiple-consciousness, and this consciousness is conveyed throughout the literature of the Harlem Renaissance.

Within any type of literature, the use of vocabulary is extremely important and can completely change the meaning of the poem or work if the reader is not aware of the meaning of the vocabulary used. In African-American literature this is especially true. Whether it be the dialect that the work is written in or the meaning of a word such as “signifying”, it is important for the reader to fully grasp what is being communicated.