Similes In If We Must Die By Claude Mckay

During the Harlem Renaissance, many African Americans struggled through a shifting period in time from slavery to equality. Some African Americans expressed their feelings at that time through poetry such as “Yet Do I Marvel” written by Countee Cullen and “If We Must Die” by Claude McKay. In “Yet Do I Marvel” Cullen writes about how the struggles he is facing relate to God and how he is being punished. McKay’s poem is slightly different; he emphasizes the idea of dying an honorable death for his freedom. These two poems are classic examples of how some African Americans felt during the Harlem Renaissance.

Again in the fifth line he requests that “If we must die, O let us nobly die,/ So that our precious blood may not be shed/ In vain” (5-7). He reasons that if there is to be bloodshed regardless, then the blood ought not to be shed without a fight. They should not lose their “precious blood” without any significance or effect, and not in an irreverent manner. If they succeed in avoidance of such vain, then McKay claims that “even the monsters we defy/ Shall be constrained to honor us through dead!” (7-8) McKay knows that upon a proud death, even those they fought will be compelled to acknowledge their bravery and pride. By referring to the enemy as “monsters,” McKay makes it increasingly difficult to not follow him. There is no pity or compromising with monsters and every man, woman, and child has his or her own image of a monster. Given this open description they are then free to envision the monster as they see and feel it. They can construct it based on their own fears.

To take these lines a little further, this author finds it intriguing that Mckay uses the history of America to voice his outrage at the injustice. To Americans, a rebel is a powerful figure, after all it was a group of rebels who defied the king of England in order to gain independence. Fighting against a tyrannical power to gain independence; at their very core, the ideals are the same. McKay uses Americas very history as a powerful eye opener against the injustice against the African American community, which is the same in context to the injustice America’s founding fathers faced when building this country.

Claude McKay’s poems reflect on American culture during a specific time in history, known as Harlem Renaissance. A time where racism was predominately a way of living for many, this was a beneficial time in history for African Americans. Bringing blacks together in a new movement that had not been present in America. Development in which blacks emphasized themselves by taking on their racial identity. It was a time period in which the black community helped each other to be able to express themselves as who they truly are, creating a true African American visual doing so

McKay emphasizes that his deep hatred for the “White City” is due to the oppression he receives from white-skinned people for being African American; however this hatred is hidden from the world as he is perceived as an isolated minority in this “White City”. The intensity of McKay’s hatred is displayed in the personification of the “dark Passion that fills [his] every mood”(6). The first letter in the diction “Passion” is capitalized, thus personifying it to be representation of the

Alliteration and metaphors are two major elements of this poem. The repetition of consonant sounds and alliteration occurs throughout the poem. All of the lines strongly use the repetition of consonants and alliteration except for lines two and seven. In addition to that, the controlling figure of speech in this poem is a metaphor. It is strongly articulated in the first line, and as the one continues to read, it is amplified and extended throughout the rest of the poem. The metaphor compares mask of Line 1 to the fabricated emotive facades that African-Americans had made use of in order to avert provoking their oppressors.

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.

Diction plays a large role in in conveying deep meaning within the two poems. Both writers use figurative and emotional vocabulary throughout each line. In “I Too, Sing America”, Hughes begins the first line using a figurative metaphor, “I too am the darker brother / They send me to eat in the kitchen” (Hughes 1-2). When Hughes refers to the narrator as the darker brother, the metaphor is actually referring the the African American community, not just a singular person. The second metaphor in line 2 attributes to the social divide and mistreatment between whites and blacks. This method of writing is mirrored in McKay’s “America”, “Although she feeds me bread of bitterness / And sinks into my throat her tiger’s tooth” (McKay 1-2 ). The diction McKay chooses to use, urges readers to empathize a feeling of sorrow and animosity towards America. He does this by using words such “bitterness” and “sinks into my throat”.

Claude McKay is one of the important writers that were brought into the spotlight as a result of the Harlem Renaissance. Some other very important and undisputed personalities from the Harlem Renaissance include the likes of Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes, Jean Toomer and Zora Neale Hurston. Claude McKay was often regarded as an outcast for his strong opinions against what he thought were political and social injustices. McKay brought to the Renaissance Movement the need and demand for justice for people of every color, race, gender, and sexual orientation. After reading more about Claude McKay, it became obvious that McKay was a very vocal activist that made his views public through his writing. He criticized everything he thought was wrong, including Harlem itself. He spoke about both the beautiful aspects of Harlem and the not so wonderful aspects of the neighborhood that made him a very controversial figure in American literature. He took the side of the weak when nobody else did. Although McKay was often villainized for his outspokenness; he has gone down in history as an exceptional historical figure that said what no one wanted to say and stood up for the weak and defenseless. He is an underrated social reformer. McKay’s ideas became increasingly attractive to many African American youth. Change became a possibility and hope was sparked through Claude McKay’s writings.

The Kansas City Call summed up the general mentality of African Americans during the 1920s with the statement “The New Negro does not fear the face of day.” (pg 118) Unlike the old days of slavery, African Americans had become more radical towards their oppressor and were beginning to organize as a people. Harlem Renaissance poet Claude Mckay embraced the “New Negro” archetype in his work by stating “If we must die, let it not be like hogs/ Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot….. Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack/ Pressed

Cullen utilizes imagery throughout the poem, to illuminate the racism African Americans endured and impact racism carries. The speaker in the poem is an eight year old in Baltimore. In the first stanza, Cullen describes the child as “heart-filled, head-filled with glee.” This image portrays the speaker as innocent and joyful. Then the speaker notices a boy staring at him, the speaker believes there’s little difference between them, that the kid “was no whit bigger.” The speaker gets a rude awakening after the boy “poked out his tongue.” A seemingly playful meaningless gesture is met with the boy calling the speaker “N****r.” Cullen contrasts these two experiences because it depicts how racism comes out of nowhere and effects those you wouldn’t expect. The last stanza, the speaker “saw the whole Baltimore. The image of seeing is not just visual, but a metaphor for the loss of innocence where the speaker now is exposed to the hate. Cullen masterfully uses imagery so that readers understand the incredible impact that words have, especially when used for hate.

Mckay fashions his poem the intent to specifically target each individual reader regardless of who they are, to tap into their revolutionary spirit. Mckay starts the poem with signifying that he and the reader are stuck together, surrounded by their enemy, “While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,”(3). Using careful diction, Mckay chose the word “round” to conjure up the image of the speaker and reader being comrades stuck in the same violent situation, where they are cornered forcefully by a group of aggressive, crazy people, creating a chance for them to connect and relate with each other by bonding over the feeling of struggling, versus divided on whatever stance they take on a subject. By using a second person point of view to narrate

In 1917, under the pseudonym Eli Edwards, McKay published two poems in a journal called the Seven Arts. His poetry was discovered by critic Frank Hattis, who then included some of McKay's other poems in Pearson's Magazine. McKay's most famous poems from this period was "To the White Fiend.” A few years later McKay befriended Max Eastman, editor of the magazine Liberator. McKay published more poems in Eastman's magazine, especially the "If We Must Die," which defended black rights and threatened revenge for prejudice and

Everyday when you read the colored newspaper you always seen something horrible. Everyone knew that the situation was bad but everyone was scared as well. McKay begins with "If we must die—let it not be like hogs," this is important and was very strong to them because it had a lot of meaning. It showed that they were being treated and slaughtered like animals and seen as less than a person. Another powerful thing he said was"If we must die—oh, let us nobly die." This is important because it would give people dignity and show that their life has meaning just like the rest, and that they are people just like the white men. This put many to tears and enraged others just because of how true it was. Colored people weren't the only ones who felt something for the poem, in fact McKay got it published by a white man named Max Eastman. His poem was so good that he actually had upset another author, Frank Harris, because he wasn’t the one who got to publish

Claude McKay was an important figure during the 1920's in the Harlem Rennaisance. Primarily a poet, McKay used the point of view of the outsider as a prevalent theme in his works. This is best observed in such poems as "Outcast," "America," and "The White House." In these poems, McKay portrays the African-American as the outsiderof western society and its politics and laws and at times, the very land that he is native to.