Category: Claude Mckay

According to Cary D. Wintz, Harlem Rennaisance was a literary movement whose practical and chronological limits are difficult to be defined. The Harlem era symbolized that black people were freed from slavery. They could fight for their way of life. They have an opportunity to get the education also because in the past, they got oppresion, slavery and many others that is considered as inhumane behavior. Claude McKay was one of American literary in Harlem era. He expressed the voice of the blacks’ minorites. He lived in era when the discrimination of race still existed. However, the slavery had been removed after civil war had done in 1865, the black people still considered as lower class in the society at that time. His background as black people surely influenced his literature work that talked about unfairness race. One of his works was Enslaved. The poem talks about the black people that got oppression by white people because they thought that they were superior and black people were behind them and the hope of black people to get their freedom for their life both in their birth place or in other place.

“Oh whenI think of my long-sufferinh race, For weary cennturies despised, oppressed, Enslaved and lynched, denied a human place In the great life line of the Christian West”

Those lines express what the black people feel for long time about the white people treatment to them. They were not treated well by white people in words despised, oppresed, enslaved and lynchied. White people’s religion was considered as the most true and the best religion than other and the black people’s religion deserve to be discarded in words denied a human place. In the great life line of the Christian West.

“And in the Black Land disinherited, Robbed in the ancient country of its birth”, those lines talk that in their hometown, Africa, their liberties was taken, they did not have anything, inspite of in their birthplace. All things were dominated by white people then the black people only became their slave, served them by what they should have like natural resource that should be had by black people become being had by white people. Then, black people become slave, take the resource and give it to the white people. Finally, they did not get something balance with something they give to white people or it can be their way of life that was powered by white people. They should do and should not do everything what white people commanded. It was the colonialism that was done by white people.

‘My heart grows sick with hate, becomes as lead, For this my race that has no home on earth’, those lines show the hatred feeling of the writer to white people. They take black people home, so the black people do not have any safe place for living. Then, when the black people were displaced from their hometown and lived in another place, they did not have any peacefulness there. They got more suffering by white people, that is why the writter says that his race has no home on earth.

‘Then from the dark depths of my soul i cry

To the Avenging angel to consume

The white man’s world of wonders utterly’:

The writter shows his sadness from his heart about the treatment that black people were got. He also revealed that he wanted to avenge The white man’s world of wonders utterly. It can represent as the injustice treatment or the policy of white people to the black people. he wanted to fight the white people by removing the policy of white people made that degrade the black people, so that they will not act arbitrarily toward to the black people

Let it be swallowed up in earth’s vast womb

Or upward roll as sacrificial smoke

To liberate my people from its yoke!

The writter revealed his hope for his race, The writter wanted the oppresion toward to the black people could be dissapear in words swallowed up in the earth’s vast womb, or upward roll as sacrificial smoke with the result that the black people would get their freedom and could life with peaceful feeling, did not afraid of their status of life that always got oppresion and could live together with other races.

All in all, this poem is about the feeling of being discriminated of their race for long time, the colonialism that was done by white people to the black people, the hatred feeling of discrimination, the hope for having safe place to live, the desire to fight the discrimination and the hope of black people that wants a freedom, the same treatment as human, and the justice for their life. This poem shows to us the struggle of the writter, Claud McKay to get the justice for his race that got discrimination through the poem he published that contains the voice of black people and this poem also describes how the black people life before they get the freedom for their life.

In the poem “We Must Die” written by Claude Mckay, the deeper meaning behind his word choice and structure of sentences is presented starting from the beginning of the poem. What stuck out in this poem was the eeriness of the words and the images that linger in your head when you try to comprehend what the author is trying to say using symbolism and metaphors. Throughout the poem Claude Mckay reveals the theme of mortality and begins to expand on the idea of the human being by using lines in the poem to reveal his feelings.

In lines 1 and 2 Claude Mckay writes that, “If we must die, let it not be like hogs Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot”, and these lines convey the importance of dignity in people’s lives and how special it is to us and no matter how we live our lives in the end to show compassion to everyone. The real world definition of dignity is the quality in being worthy of honor and or respect. In the previous lines he is asking for respect in the timing of our deaths to be treated as equals to have the same opportunities as everyone else and not to be subjected as caged animals. The author writes in line 5 “If we must die, O let us nobly die” expanding on the idea that when the time comes for us to pass on we ask to be remembered by only the good things and to not be belittled in wake of our death. He wants the readers to understand that there is more to life than meets the eye, with experiences and opportunities. These first couple sentences in the poem portray such mortality and explain that people have to overcome obstacles and get to a place in life where they are able to thrive and be happy because not everything lasts forever. Death is inevitable and so all one can do is live their lives to the fullest extent.

The key points in this text are revealed through the tone and emotion behind the authors words, connecting to the reader and developing special connections between the poem and the audience. Mckay uses figurative language such as metaphors and compares objects to provide clarity to the similar meanings. The author also uses symbolism to try and get you to paint a picture in your mind of what you think he is talking about. The author writes in line 9 “O kinsmen! We must meet the common foe!” kinsmen is a person of close relations and this line is saying that everyone must come together to find a common enemy and figure out how to resolve their conflicts. Claude Mckay writes in line 10 and 11 “ though far outnumbered let us show us brave, and for their thousand blows deal one deathblow!” these two lines show that people are willing to give their all in order to thrive and become the best they can possibly be.

Claude Mckay reveals the theme of mortality and expands off this idea throughout the poem making comparisons and connecting ideas together to make the point clear. Humans are not objects and they should be treated with respect, the text gives off a hint of segregation and racial superiority. This poem was written in the 1920s which was during the Harlem Renaissance and African Americans had to deal with hardships and had to learn how to surpass all the bad things as the laws and acts were being passed. The social aspect during this time was expression and creativity and providing a positive self image for the race, however in the poem you can begin to see the deterioration in freedom. Mckay gives the poem a meaning of having to overcome obstacles in your life and be able to work harder and harder everyday because nothing is ever just handed to you. The author somewhat hints at the time period through his word choice which is somewhat relic at points, he also hints that the poem could have a hidden meaning with the racism that was going on at this time. Throughout the poem the author sprinkles different meanings within the poem but ties them all back together with a common theme and is able to describe what he was thinking as he wrote this. The author writes this rhetorical question “What though before us lies the open grave?” meaning that as you are living your life it may all of the sudden abruptly end without any warning.

Ending the poem Claude Mckay writes in lines 13 and 14 “ Like men we will face the murderous, cowardly pack, pressed to the wall, dying but fighting back!”, the sense of morbidity in these two lines is chilling. Humans are willing to sacrifice all they have for something they believe in, something they have worked so hard for. The two previous lines bring to mind a society with all the stress, judgment and the criticism we face on a daily basis as we try and fight back to be happy. The author transmits these ideas throughout the story, connecting points while using figurative language.

The poem “If we must die” written by Claude Mckay shows the themes of the acknowledgment of mortality and the overcoming of obstacles, he exhibits these all throughout the poem and connects with the reader. Using metaphors and symbolism you are able to interpret in your own way what he is trying to say by imagining the things people have to endure on a day-to- day basis. The connection between society and the racial time period was somewhat apparent as you kept reading, all humans want to do in life is be accepted and loved. In the poem it talks about death quite a lot and how people want to be remembered by the good times and to pass on knowing they lived their lives to the fullest. No one can avoid death, its bound to happen at some point so why not make the most of it while there is still time, live happily and freely on your own terms.

Claude McKay`s ‘If We Must Die’ is another example of a poem that criticizes racial injustice and gives a voice to those black people who are marginalized by systematic racism. McKay is famously known for his poetry in support of the Black community as he committed himself to fight against racial injustice, and this poem in particular displays the complexities of resistance and racial injustice. He produced his poetry during the Harlem Renaissance period, this period was categorized by an increase in African American literature and art. The sonnet was repurposed in this era to push the reader to think about how language manipulates and to express feelings of outrage and trauma towards social injustices. Thus, using the sonnet to resist controlled formal constraints. Poems during this period closely linked order, control, and violence. McKay made use of the sonnet form as a call to arms, meter, and rhymes for solidarity to resistance and to display the horrible treatment of black Americans by white Americans.

The poem itself was published in July 1919, following the ‘Red Summer’ in the United States. This was a historical period in which violence against the black community reared its head, following growing tensions between the white and black communities, founded on deep-rooted racism. It became clear that the rights of black citizens were met with fierce racism and anti-Black violence. Race riots were incited by the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan organization across America with eighty-three lynchings in 1919 alone. These brutal crimes of racist violence influenced McKay heavily and he took it upon himself to call for unity and resistance in his poem ‘If We Must Die.’

The simile in the opening of the poem is a direct appeal to his ‘kinsmen,’ to avoid ending up like hogs in a slaughterhouse:

If we must die, let it not be like hogs

Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot

While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,

Making their mock at our accursed lot.

(‘If We Must Die’ lines 1-4)

This is a powerful simile in that it directly compares the treatment of black Americans to that of hogs in a slaughterhouse, thus highlighting the brutality of their white oppressors. He is appealing to his people to not allow them to live their lives in pens, waiting to be slaughtered at any given moment. This directly alludes to the oppression and injustice they were facing at the time. It is an urgent plea to black Americans to consider ways in which they can fight back against this fate, he and the black community are not going to allow themselves to be subjected to this brutal and wicked fate, instead, they will protest and fight against it to take control of their lives and deaths. He calls for unity against the dehumanizing treatment by white supremacists. The metaphor highlights that the actions of the oppressors are animalistic and that of mad dogs, emphasizing the brutality of their actions.

Furthermore, ‘If We Must Die’ is written in a fourteen-line Shakespearean sonnet, subsequently, it is structured in the form synonymous with Shakespeare. It is written in three quatrains with one concluding couplet. In ‘If We Must Die,’ McKay uses this traditional form to draw on language and codes of honor, in order to critique the moral compass of the oppressors, questioning what moral codes they must follow to act in this way. ‘If We Must Die’ is a repeated phrase within the poem to highlight not only the inevitability of their death but the idea that McKay wants them to unify and protest to take control of their own fates and deaths. The poem’s first eight lines contain two if-then statements that highlight this inevitability of death for the Black community or ‘we,’ as McKay addresses the speaker and the listener. The next four lines are a plea for unity and action, he is emphasizing the idea that they must act in the face of this dehumanizing and brutal behavior, and he is questioning the nature of death. The concluding couplet answers this question, he defines the movement as a collective resistance. McKay ends the poem with the idea of fighting back against the animalistic oppressors as heroic and dignified. Furthermore, the rhyme scheme follows the traditional Shakespearean ABAB CDCD EFEF GG and is written in iambic pentameter, this is to mimic the sounds of marching associated with protests and resistance, further emphasizing the call to arms. McKay rhymes each last work in a sentence with the last word in every other or in the next sentence: blow and foe, brave and grave, pack and back. This is done to strongly emphasize his message to the listener.

Additionally, repetition reiterates McKay`s message of unity and protest to give the marginalized a platform against their racial injustice:

If we must die, O let us nobly die,

So that our precious blood may not be shed

In vain; then even the monsters we defy

Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!

(‘If We Must Die’ 5-8)

McKay wants his fellow African Americans to die with dignity and honor, and not like lambs to the slaughter. The phrase ‘If we must die’ is repeated but with the addition of ‘O let us nobly die,’ as he believes they will only die honorably and will be sacrificing themselves for a better future and it will not be meaningless. He is highlighting the idea that if they die, their blood will not be in vain but will secure a future where they are free. He suggests that the oppressors themselves should be in awe of their determination and should honor the sacrifices they are making. He refers to the oppressors as ‘monsters’ to highlight the brutality of the White Americans.

Symbolism within the poem is used to show the sheer violence and barbarity of the enemy. He begins by describing them as ‘mad hungry dogs’ that just mock their prey, insinuating that it was merely rising tensions in the beginning. However, he goes on to describe them as vicious and monstrous animals by the end to highlight their brutality and the violent torture African Americans have been subjected to as a result of racism. By using this symbolism, McKay is directly showing how strongly he feels towards his oppressors to elicit feelings of unity within the Black community and encourage them to protest this oppression.

In conclusion, Claude McKay`s ‘If We Must Die’ uses his poems to give successful voices to those Black Americans marginalized by systematic racism and racial injustice, who otherwise would have remained voiceless.

The poem The White House written by Claude Mckay focuses on the hardships that black citizens have to face within the American culture. Mckay’s poem presents a poetic voice demonstrating the bitterness and suppressed anger that is being exposed to society. This limits the opportunities that African Americans have against political rights as they are being shunned against their race by the caucasian community. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how exclusion and degradation cause a psychological impact on those who were second-class citizens. Three components that are shown within the play include a sense of belonging, white power, and determinism. Throughout the play, it shows how the narrator is affected by discrimination, and how he proves his relevance and desire to reach the top of the social hierarchy.

To begin with, Mckay’s poem highlights how black culture struggles to face the adversity of pleasing people within the US. Circumstances of them not being able to “fit in” often leads to negative outcomes such as not having equal rights as white people do. For example, in the first line of the poem, the narrator states “Your door is shut against my tightened face, And I am sharp as steel with discontent;” (Mckay 1-2). This indicates that the narrator is trying his best to conform to the white culture, but is being rejected for just wanting to have equal rights. This also shows that he feels a sense of helplessness because black people will always be seen as an inferior race. The sense of belonging plays a major role in one’s life as it can make a person question who they are, along with the fact some individuals find a sense of comfort in belonging to a certain social group. The second example of belonging would be when Mckay states’

“Oh, I must keep my heart inviolate Against the potent poison of your hate.” (Mckay 14). This shows that black people were victims of whites and that he uses imagery to compare poison to black people who are being killed physically, politically, and socially as well. As a result, an individual who is constantly being reminded that they are not good enough within their society

Another factor that is portrayed in the poem is the power that white individuals hold over the black community. Mckay targets the idea of how he believes that white people are known to be superior, and they often segregate blacks away from them. The power that whites have often made them feel in control and accountable for other people to behave a certain way. For example, the poem states; “A chafing savage, down the decent street; Where boldly shines your shuttered door of glass” (Mckay 7-8). This quotation indicates the narrator’s anger due to America being built solely just to benefit white culture, as they believed that black people were primitive and barbaric. Mckay also uses the approach of sarcasm within this stanza to confess his hatred for the whites, as they think black people are ruining the streets within their society. Another example of power being shown within the poem is, “The pavement slabs burn loose beneath my feet, And passion rends my vitals as I pass” (Mckay 5-6). This illustrates the White House is a place of unjust laws that were made against black people. It is a place strictly where the whites felt safe, self freedom, and find refuge while keeping the black culture isolated. Although this allows us to understand that an individual may feel disconnected within their community it can also cause them to feel a sense of neglect from social norms, based on who they are and what their social class may be.

Oppression is found all over the world in today’s day and age. It is the root cause of many of the world’s fundamental, ongoing conflicts. There are many definitions of oppression, but all of them are saying the same thing in essence. Oppression is “the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner” and “the feeling of being heavily burdened, mentally or physically, by troubles, adverse conditions, anxiety, etc.” It can be based on many factors such as an individual’s race, ethnicity, sexuality, physical appearance, and age. It takes place in society and is often imposed upon a certain group by another group or in some cases, the government.

Racism and oppression seem to have always lingered in the West, specifically in America. The poem “America” by Claude Mckay, this poem shares the struggles of being a black man in the 1920s. This poem showed how oppression made him stronger rather than brought him down. This poem focuses on the idea of facing your difficulties and fighting through them. The poet talks about how he felt oppressed by his country “America” and how he was treated badly, but he will continue to love “her” for giving him power and strength. The author portrays his experiences around racism and how he fought through racism and stayed strong. I believe this poem is an example for other individuals that oppression takes place around the world but rather than letting it slowly kill you why not fight through it and get through them which makes you stronger? At the beginning of this poem, McKay uses an oxymoron to portray how the individual feels about America. He states, “Although she feeds me bread of bitterness”. He introduces personification as well by comparing “America” women. This clearly portrays the love and hate-relationship he has with the country. This shows the reader that even though it’s a bread of bitterness at least “America” is feeding him rather than starving him. It could be seen as the speaker is dependent on America for his bread similar to how a child depends on his mother for nourishment. But even though America is his source of life, it is still bitter. This could also portray the unjust treatment that was taking place at that time regarding equal rights for African Americans, but at that time no matter how hard they tried they would never be considered equal, they always had to work harder for what they wanted. McKay also states, “And sinks into my throat her tiger’s tooth, Stealing my breath of life, I will confess” (2-3). This shows the unfair treatment of African Americans and how it slowly started killing them. In the next few lines of the poem, McKay introduced another side that no one would have expected, “I love this cultured hell that tests my youth!”. He started with intense negative feelings towards America, he now starts to signify the positive aspects of America and how he can fight through them. Throughout this whole poem, as I said before, McKay signifies the man’s love and hate relationship with America and that even though oppression was a huge part of it he fought through it.

Claude McKay was born September 15, 1889, in Clarendon, Jamaica. His name is Festus Claudius ‘Claude’ McKay. His parents have eleven children and he was the youngest of them. At the age of ten, he started writing poetry. In 1912, he attended Tuskegee Institute and Kansas State Teachers College. McKay moved to Harlem, New York, which is when he published his first books of poetry. In 1919, he came out with his poem ‘If We Must Die’. McKay’s poem ‘Red Summer’ was created because white people were shocked when blacks started to fight back against them. This led them to go to different places across the United States. McKay became the voice of the Harlem Renaissance in 1922. Harcourt, Bruce, and Company published his book of poems. McKay was the first black writer to be published by this company. He published his first novel ‘Home of Harlem’ in 1928. McKay’s autobiography ‘A Long Way from Home’ was written in 1937. McKay became a United States citizen in 1940. In 1942, he converted to Roman Catholicism and worked with a Catholic youth organization. He died on May 22, 1948, at the age of 58 from a heart attack in Chicago, Illinois.

As for Langston Hughes, he was born on February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri and his real name is James Mercer Langston Hughes. He is an American poet and novelist. Langston and his mother moved to Cleveland after the death of his grandmother. In 1920, he graduated from Central High School in Cleveland, Ohio. After graduation, he wrote ‘The Negro Speaks of Rivers’. In 1922, he dropped out of Columbia University. He went to Paris in 1924 in search of freedom and that’s when he started writing poems. During his stay in Paris, he found a job as a busboy and dishwasher. This was the same year he met Arna Bontemps and Carl Van Vechten, who were also writers, and they formed a lifelong friendship. In 1925, he won a poetry prize. In 1926, he received a scholarship to enter Lincoln University that is in Pennsylvania. Also, in 1926, Knopf published his book of poems, ‘The Weary Blues’. He also received an award from Wither Bynner Undergraduate. He published ‘The Negro Artist and Racial Mountain’. He launched a magazine called ‘Fire!!’. His second poetry, ‘Fine Clothes to the Jews’, was published in 1927. He founded theater companies in Harlem, and that took place in 1937. In 1940, he published his autobiography ‘The Big Sea’. Langston Hughes died on May 22, 1967, at the Stuyvesant Polyclinic in New York City at the age of 65 from prostate cancer. His ashes are buried under the floor in the foyer of the Schomburg Center for Research in Harlem.

Claude McKay and Langston Hughes both were known as stars in Harlem. They influenced other African American writers. In his writings, Hughes talked about the beauty of African American culture, while McKay talked about the violence that was going on. In the 1919-1933 Harlem Renaissance they became popular poets. They both were poets who expressed emotions about black people. They have impacted my life through their work because they were great poets and novelists. They made way for African American culture. They gave African Americans a voice to speak back without being punished for speaking their minds. They both died on the same day and the same month, and that was 19 years apart from each other.