Figurative Language And Diction In 'America' By Claude Mckay

America, written was written by Claude McKay during the years of the Harlem Renaissance. Claude McKay was originally born in Jamaica, but made soon made America his home. While living in America as an African American, he had to deal with many struggles against society due to segregation and Jim Crow Laws. When writing America, McKay uses multiple literary devices to get his central message of bittersweet patriotism across. In this 14 line poem he uses devices such as metaphors, similes, personification, and imagery to get his readers to understand how he is angry with this country but he will never stop loving America.

The poem America by Claude McKay is on its surface a poem combining what America should be and what this country stands for, with what it actually is, and the attitude it projects amongst the people. Mckay uses the form of poetry to express how he, as a Jamaican immigrant, feels about America. He characterizes the bittersweet relationship between striving for the American dream, and being denied that dream due to racism. While the America we are meant to see is a beautiful land of opportunity, McKay see’s as an ugly, flawed, system that crushes the hopes and dreams of the African-American people.

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

Racial prejudice often creates a division between the racists and their victims, and thus results in isolation and alienation of the victimized racial group. During the Harlem Renaissance, discrimination and oppression against African Americans was still prevalent, despite the 1920s being a time of expression of African culture. This juxtaposing concept is analyzed through Claude McKay’s poem “The White City”, which explores the perception of an African American speaker, presumably McKay himself, who longs to be a part of the White City, while retaining a deep, inner hatred of the city. Although McKay initially demonstrates his endearment and attachment toward the city through visual imagery, he directly juxtaposes it by expressing his hatred with tenacious, despicable diction. This juxtaposition not only serves to represent the struggle of being an African American in a white supremacist city but also displays McKay’s paradox of appreciating the “White City” while feeling detached from it.

DuBois’ double-consciousness is quite simply the twoness of American Negroes. It is this sense of “always looking at one’s self through the

Langston Hughes and Claude McKay share similar qualities in their respective poems “I, Too, Sing America” written by Hughes and “America” written by McKay. These poems, though different and unique in style, share common characteristics that make each poem a classic piece of American literature. Hughes and McKay, both African American males, were very notable during the Harlem Renaissance period. Both writers express their views on their individual African Americans perceptions in America in these poems, through their use of diction, tone, theme.

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

Through his work, “Of Our Spiritual Strivings,” W.E.B. Dubois takes the reader on a journey through the typical black man’s eyes. He creates a new meaning of the African American man as he shares personal experiences and stories of the past alike. He plays upon the heart strings of every reader, no matter the race, with his literary knowledge of words, use of pathos, and stories of his past experience to pull in emotional ties to his work. The application of dualism allows the reader, who is most commonly white men, to choose a side to sympathize with, for Dubois gives the sense of double consciousness as the African and the American throughout his entire work.

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

The Harlem Renaissance was a time where creativity flourished throughout the African American community. At the time many African Americans were treated as second class citizens. The Harlem Renaissance acted as artistic and cultural outlet for the African-American community. The Harlem Renaissance, otherwise known as “The New Negro Movement” was an unexpected outburst of creative activity among African Americans In the poems Harlem by Langston Hughes, America by Claude McKay, and Incident by Countee Cullen all use frustration and hope as reoccurring themes to help empower the African-American population and realize the injustices they face day to day. The Harlem Renaissance was a period marked by great change and forever altered the

During the 1920’s a new movement began to arise. This movement known as the Harlem Renaissance expressed the new African American culture. The new African American culture was expressed through the writing of books, poetry, essays, the playing of music, and through sculptures and paintings. Three poems and their poets express the new African American culture with ease. (Jordan 848-891) The poems also express the position of themselves and other African Americans during this time. “You and Your Whole Race”, “Yet Do I Marvel”, and “The Lynching” are the three poems whose themes are the same. The poets of these poems are, as in order, Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and Claude Mckay.

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

Harlem Renaissance or the “New Negro Movement”, was an explosion of African American culture in Harlem, New York, during the 1920’s. Many artworks, music, and poetry during this time period push for racial equality, and the black community attempts to further their place in society during these times of segregation and overall prejudice. In the 1920’s and even before the 1920’s, black people in the United States faced many disadvantages that American Europeans simply did not. Not only was education segregated for black people, but it was poorly funded. In addition, expensive poll taxes which most black people could not afford, were put in place to prevent the black community from voting, thus taking away their voice. In Claude McKay’s “If We Must Die”, Claude is passionate about black self-respect, and racial equality, and he will use various literary devices to unite black people and give them strength or dignity in their race. Claude’s poem is hence a perfect example of Harlem Renaissance because he encourages his own people to assert their place in the world. McKay, the speaker of the poem, sets up his poem as a violent interaction between the African Americans and the American Europeans. McKay will use extended metaphors to personify the struggles of the collective “we” or black community during the 1920’s, which as mentioned before, was a time of racial judgment and disadvantages. The poet will also use extended metaphors to tell the reader how he feels about the

Langston Hughes was primarily an American poet and social activist who had tremendous racial pride, to say the least. He played an important role in uplifting his people, especially during the Harlem Renaissance. Hughes’ poetry and fiction portrayed the lives of working class blacks in America as well as celebrating African American culture. In his poetry, he strove to speak to, as well as for, the black masses. One of the ways that Hughes would incorporate African American culture and tradition into his poetry was by including the rhythms of black music, such as Jazz. But arguably most important are the topics and meanings that his poems tend to deal with and convey. In other words, most of his poetry has recurring themes: the themes of racial oppression, racial pride, and racial enlightenment. The intent of this paper is to analyze precisely how these themes are evident and apparent in some of his most well-known pieces. These select few poems will include “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”, “Theme for English B” and “Harlem.”

This sense of duality within this poem is the purpose behind the prose. This is representative of the duality that many people of color felt during this time period.