Summary Of Incident 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.

Cullen is hopeful to get to a place where people of different races will be able to look at others without prejudice and discrimination. However, the poem “Incident” is of a less positive tone. She expresses her experience in a shocked manner, saying, a boy stuck his “tongue out and, called, [her] ‘Nigger’,” (Cullen 8). She was so shocked that “From May until December; .../… of all the things that happened... /… that’s all [she could remember” in Baltimore (Cullen 10-12). At the young age that she was at, it is surprising and upsetting to her to be discriminated against for no reason.

American history is fraught with racism. Its evolution is depicted in literature through the ages, from journal entries of colonial slavery to novels about modern-day race relations. Countee Cullen was a black poet alive during the Harlem Renaissance whose poems “Tableau” and “Incident” portray racism as it was in the early 20th century. Through the use of figurative language and tone, Cullen develops in each poem themes about the effects of small actions.

The division between whites and blacks was clearly prevalent and the United States of America was a racially discriminatory society reinforced by its racist laws. Hughes took the initiative to speak his mind via poetry, resulting in his piece “I, Too”. In this poem, Hughes clearly signifies one thing: Just because his skin color is different from whites, does not mean that they get to sing the National Anthem louder. Arguing that all American citizens are the same, disregarding their skin color, Hughes applies in this poem a master-slave relationship. The assumed white master shows disrespect to his servant by sending him away whenever visitors come over, because he is ordered to eat secluded from the company. However he seems to not be faze by this and actually finds it funny, supported by “But I laugh” (5). Furthermore, not only does he find amusement in this unpleasant situation, but the isolation has a positive effect on him “And grow strong” (7), implying that even though he submits to his master, his spirit will not be diminished.

In conclusion, the poem was used as a key to unlock some of the thoughts the negro had concerning Africa. The negro in this poem was a representative of all negroes during this time; their thoughts and the their feelings toward Africa. Cullen’s usage of the literary devices allow for an effective expression of the meaning of this poem. Poems are intensified language of experience, so the devices assured the connection of the reader to the poem and the experience. This applies to many issues in society today because as beautiful as our country is there are still dark clouds that cover the very essence of what the states once stood

Countee Cullen was born on 30 March 1902, a time period in which the African Americans were fighting for equality. Cullen experienced harsh poverty as a kid; at times his mother was so broke she couldn’t even afford to buy him a boys pare of clothes. Unfortunately his mother was forced to make Cullen, where women’s clothes that didn’t fit him. The pain and struggle was expressed with much feeling through his poems. Poems like “Incident,” captured the harsh disrespect, and neglect African Americans was experiencing during this time. At the beginning of the poem he expresses he was “Heart-filled, head-filled with glee,” (Lines 1-2), at the time of the poem he was only eight and newly moved to Baltimore. He states he attempted to say hello to another white boy his age while riding his bike, the boy called him a nigger and stuck his tong out. Cullen only lived in

Oppression is at the root of many of the most serious, enduring conflicts in the world. Times were tough in America during the turn of the century. Lots of changes were occurring, and many folks had a difficult time coming to terms with them. Black Americans in particular found themselves caught in a culture that appeared somewhat better than it had been before and during the Civil War. But the fact of the matter was: things just weren't so peachy. This poem is a reaction to the racial climate of the late nineteenth century. The son of former slaves, Paul Laurence Dunbar, was born on June 27, 1872 in Dayton, Ohio to parents who had been enslaved in Kentucky before the American Civil War. At age 33, he died of tuberculosis on February 9, 1906. He was the first African-American poet to reach a wide audience, publishing verse poems and short stories before his early death. His use of both negro dialect and standard English helped to portray his cultural lifestyle, joys, and tribulations distinguishing him from other writers of the late 1800s, early 1900s. In his poem, the speaker opens the poem with the declaration that we wear masks that hide our true feelings. He goes on to emphasize the severity of the pain and suffering that these masks try to cover up. By the end we understand that all of the politeness and subdued emotions are just phony disguises of the painful truths that hide behind them. With that knowledge, he try’s to get his audience to understand his purpose in

The brutal white men the even go as far as to make sure the character doesn’t put the two races on the same figurative pedestal, by fraternizing the young man by asking “you sure that about equality was a mistake?”. A second example of how white brutality is characterized and portrayed is in Claude McKay’s poem If we must die. The speaker describes the African-American people as hogs and the brutal white people of the time as vicious dogs, and in line 4, pleads for them not to begin “making their mock at [their] accursed lot” describing how horrible and miserable African-Americans of the time were. He then goes to capture the triumph and die fighting spirit in line 10, “Though far outnumbered let us show us brave.” Yet another example, representing the hardened abuse from white communities is Countee Cullen's short poem Incident. In the lines 5-8, the speaker shows that there was no mercy among white people, even to the young by saying “Now I was eight and very small/ And he was no whit bigger/ And so I smiled, but poked out/ His tongue and called me ‘Nigger’.” Aside from showing white brutality towards innocent children, the speaker also captures the long term effects of this abuse in lines 9-12 of the poem, “I saw the whole of Baltimore/ From May until December/Of all the things that happened there/That’s all that I remember.” This shows that though much can happen throughout someone’s life, the verbal and physical abuse and mocking from one group to

In the “Incident” by Countee Cullen, the theme of this poem is about an eight year old who experiences a moment of racism. Which in this case is called the “Incident”; this all happens when the child visits old Baltimore. At first she is seen excited and full of glee, due to the new environment. The child then begins to lose those current feelings, when the eight year old come across the man of Baltimore. Who keeps gazing at the young child, until the kid breaks the silence by making a simple smile.

A person being obviously different from the majority has never been a positive thing throughout most of history. Many cultures crave consistency and conformity, from post-revolutionary America, to ISIS in the Middle East. Racism and other issues of difference have shown throughout all of history and Incident by Countee Cullen is no different. In his poem, Cullen shows how deep racism can run and how bewildering and damaging it can be to the minorities that hear it.

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.

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

Incident In the poem “Incident” by Countee Cullen from the book Sound and Sense, Mathis recalls an incident of racial prejudice he had faced in his life after the first World War. Of all the terrible tragedies that happened in Baltimore during the early 1900's, this specific incident is what really hit the author. In the first stanza, the author is young and full of happiness as he arriveg to Baltimore when he is described as "heart-filled" and "head-filled with glee.

In this week’s readings one element I noticed being shared among the poems read was equality. In Walt Whitman’s “[I celebrate myself, and sing myself]” it’s written around the time of the American Civil War and during this period there were high tensions among many people concerning slavery. When Whitman writes “My tongue, every atom of my blood, form’d from this soil, this air, born here of parents from here from parents the same, and their parents the same…” (p.744), I felt Whitman broke the matter concerning slavery into a more logical way, that being regardless of the differences we may be able to see physically, inside there’s no difference to the black man or the white man because they both bleed red. When I reflect just alone in the 21st century of the stories of racism of people of color, it makes me only wonder how long can this continue. I thought it would be better but still, people have the same thinking pattern as did the people during the Civil War. Whitman’s poem is a self-love one

He never experienced a perfect world, he has always had to struggle with being colored. This struggle was originally inquisitive but now it is restless, starting to become angry. Cullen points out that God is good, although at the end of the poem he questions why he was created black. During this time period, being black was one of the biggest struggles that a person could encounter. Not only that, but a black poet was unheard of, so Cullen’s destiny seemed very hazy. He is marveling at the fact that God chose to create him this way, however, he has a hard time accepting it, just like Milton. Cullen highlights this marvel by using lists to describe the three qualities of God that affirm God’s goodness. The strong mood of religious reflection in this poem comes from the African-American community where religion and being close to God is vital. A second important theme for Cullen is his race, which is shown as the focal point and the obstacle that he faces. On the one hand, the poet's black skin is included in the same category as the “blindness of the mole” (Cullen, line 3) or the punishments of “Tantalus and Sisyphus” (Cullen, line 5 & 7). This is another example that examines God, and possibly why He made humans different races. On the other hand, the poet takes pride from his race when he acknowledges that God’s sovereign right to do as He pleases will