If We Must Die By Claude Mckay Analysis

1039 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Poems written during the Harlem Renaissance

Claude McKay During the Harlem Renaissance, African American poets expressed their need for equality and their struggle in America so far. Poets attempted to act like a match that would start the fire and hunger for equality. Poets like Claude McKay would help other African Americans realize how American mistreated them. African Americans thought that America would help bring them freedom, but McKay woke them from the dream that many had. McKay did not just tear people from the precious dreams they had he also tried to call people to action to gain equality. Claude McKay is known for expressing the African American struggle in America and acts as a voice of action. Claude McKay is a well known poet from Jamaica during the Harlem Renaissance, McKay expresses his enemy as a pack of dogs stating that they are “mad and hungry dogs”. He also states that the pack of dogs mock their prey. The dogs are supposed to represent the white men and how they treated African Americans at the time. The poem is simply stating let us (African Americans) die in peace and do not push us to death or torture us. This poem acts as call to action for African Americans to rise up and not let the whites treat them like this. In two lines in the poem McKay states, “If we must die, let it not be like hogs” “If we must die, O let us nobly die,”. McKay is trying to emphasize to African Americans to not let these white men who think they are above everyone else kill them mentally and physically. He is also to trying to emphasize to not let the white men kill them in their foolish ways, and to take a stand fight for equality so they will die nobly. Wagner discusses again how McKay’s poem can rally African Americans together, “[With the publication of “If We Must Die” McKay became] the incarnation of the new spirit and the spokesman for a whole people at last resolved to witness no longer, in registration and submissiveness, the massacre of its own brothers at the hands of the enraged white mob, but to return blow for blow and , if necessary, to die” (Wagner). The poem paints a picture of battle scene where a captain or a general is trying to rally his troops up. It is trying to get their blood pumping and get them ready to fight a battle whether it be verbally or

Show More
Related

  • Claude McKay & Jean Toomer

    692 Words  | 2 Pages

    By 1921, McKay had become the associate editor of a magazine called, The Liberator, a socialist magazine of art and literature. In 1922, Harcourt, Brace and Company published a collection of seven poems called, Harlem Shadows. This made him receive the status of being the first significant black poet. Even though he was considered an African-American icon, McKay said he still considered himse...

    Read More

  • We Wear the Mastk by Paul Lawrence Dunbar

    768 Words  | 2 Pages

    The poem “If We Must Die”, by Claude McKay, very different from Durbar’s poem, “We Wear the Mask”. The voice in this poem has strong and demanding tone. This poem was written for a black movement. ...

    Read More

  • America, by Claude McKay

    1105 Words  | 3 Pages

    Though dealing with the situation is difficult, the poem goes on to express that going through this ordeal has only strengthened the resolve of the African American community. Lines 4-9 of this poem speak to toughness and resolve of the African American community in the fight to gain equality. McKay even goes as far ...

    Read More

  • Claude McKay's Prominent Position in the Harlem Renaissance

    914 Words  | 2 Pages

    Claude McKay real name is Festus Claudius McKay was an important person in the Harlem Renaissance, a prominent literary movement of the 1920s. His poems are traditional in technique and on the sentimental side in subject and tone.1

    Read More

  • If We Must Die By Claude Mckay Essay

    797 Words  | 2 Pages

    The 1900’s were a rough time for African Americans. Racism and slavery were what ruled the minds of people at that time. As racism is still a big problem in our world today, many can agree that it has improved tremendously. In the poem If We Must Die by Claude Mckay, the poet is overall describing the struggle of an African American man and his mistreatment because of his color. He is describing how the African American men want to die with pride and dignity. The speaker of the poem may not be Claude Mckay, but Claude is an African American man so he has the ability to relate to the speaker in his poem. The speaker’s attitude and tone towards the situation in the poem is anger and motivation. He is angry that African Americans are being treated so poorly, yet he is very motivated to make sure him and other African Americans at least try and fight back and make sure they all die with dignity. The poem also includes many literary techniques that contribute to the meaning.

    Read More

  • Essay Comparing Langston Hughes And Mckay

    1213 Words  | 3 Pages

    Both Langston Hughes and Claude McKay are important poets of the American literature as they have represented the conflicts and struggle of the people. Their flair of writings clearly involves the self-identity and the cultural identity of the individuals in a proper manner (McKay, 19-22). In "Harlem", there is a clear illustration of the deferred dream. It is the nature of the normal individual to desire about something. Even every individual wants that one day their dream will be true.

    Read More

  • Mckay Use Of Figurative Language In The Harlem Dancer

    394 Words  | 1 Pages

    McKay’s use of figurative language in order to address the hard truths between the relationships between Blacks and whites in America did not stop in “The Harlem Dancer”. McKay’s candid and widely popular poem “If We Must Die”, utilized metaphors with a powerful tone and inspiring mood. The use of metaphors begin in the first line of the poem when McKay states “If we must die—let it not be like hogs” (McKay). For much of American History, African Americans have been called, treated, and hunted like animals. McKay’s use of this metaphor creates a call to action that tells readers that if African Americans are going to be killed, let it be in a noble fashion for the good of their race. McKay continues his use of metaphors when he states “ While

    Read More

  • Individuation In James's As The Atonement With The Father

    2008 Words  | 5 Pages

    In other words, McKay stated that the little girls were forced into prostitution. Then in “America” he stated that “Although she feeds me bread of bitterness /And sinks into my throat her tiger’s tooth” (1-2). The ‘she’ in line one refers to America and indicates that the speaker isn’t being treated kindly. Finally, in “If We Must Die” he asked that his people pull themselves up so that “If we must die, let it not be like hogs / Hunted and Penned in an inglorious spot” (1-2).

    Read More

  • Comparing Poems 'If We Must Die And Langston Hughes' Poems

    412 Words  | 1 Pages

    Although many African Americans can easily lose their identity due to the oppression they face, the tone in Claude McKay’s and Langston Hughes’ poems show that fighting back for equality will allow them to maintain their identity. In McKay’s poem “If We Must Die,” he talks about the issue of lynching. African Americans were being lynched for no reason without getting a say in what happened. In response he says, “Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack, / Pressed to the wall dying, but fighting back!” (McKay). Although the white Americans were trying to put them down, they are refusing to leave without a fight. McKay uses the word “we” to emphasize that this is a problem for many African Americans. He is speaking to the

    Read More

  • Diction In If We Must Die By Claude Mckay

    1013 Words  | 3 Pages

    Despite some of the archaic language, McKay’s overall diction and word choice is meant to inspire readers, not obscure the message he is attempting to convey. Additionally, he repeats the phrase, “If we must die –” twice throughout the poem. Not only does the reiteration of these words heighten his message, but the hyphen after the clause serves as a dramatic pause for the audience. These pauses ultimately create drama, emphasize the feelings evoked, and add further meaning by forcing the audience to momentarily stop and ponder on what they just read. Overall, McKay’s efficiently employs his straightforward diction and literary techniques to assist and reinforce his message of

    Read More

  • The Life and Times of Claude McKay

    2791 Words  | 6 Pages

    Every literary period can be defined by a group of writers. For the Harlem Renaissance, which was an extraordinary eruption of creativity among Black Americans in all fields of art, Claude McKay was the leader. Claude McKay was a major asset to the Harlem Renaissance with his contributions of such great pieces of writings such as “If We Must Die” and “The Lynching.” McKay wrote in many different styles. His work which vary from “dialect verse celebrating peasant life in Jamaica, to militant poems challenging white authority in the United States, to philosophically ambitious novels about the effort of blacks to cope in western society” (“Claude McKay” 1375) displays the depth of this great writer. The main ideals of this poet were to raise social issues and to inspire his people. McKay used his writing as an outlet for his feelings of distrust toward those who he believed oppressed his people. In many ways McKay’s writing affected his life, but in even more ways McKay’s life affected his writing. The writings of Claude McKay were constantly changing throughout his life and caused him to be the most dynamic poet of the Harlem Renaissance.

    Read More

  • The Harlem Renaissance: An Analysis

    911 Words  | 2 Pages

    With so much violence going on down on earth or hell as it would seem through the black mans eyes it seems as if it was finally a peaceful time for these black people after being killed, finally being able to escape from all the torture going on. Then McKay goes on to describe how the community viewed the lynching. He gives a chilling image of children dancing around the lynched man. He writes, “And little lads, lynchers that were to be/ Danced round the dreadful thing in fiendish glee.” (13-14) Thinking about this makes you just realize how sick and cruel people were towards someone just because the color of their skin. Claude McKay shows us racism in very graphic and powerful imagery to make the message clear how unfair these people were being treated throughout many works of his literature.

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Claude Mckay's If We Must Die

    675 Words  | 2 Pages

    To analyze a poem like Claude McKay’s “If We Must Die”, one must first understand the context of the writing. At the time it was created, the Red Summer of 1919 was occurring. This was a revitalization of anti-racial feelings that swept across the United States, and the time period was characterized by an increase in hate crimes against African American communities. The casualties included dozens dead, hundreds of injuries, and the burning of over a thousand houses owned by blacks. Claude McKay, being a militant civil rights supporter, used this poem to encourage the black community to retaliate against these attacks.

    Read More

  • Postcolonialism

    1313 Words  | 3 Pages

    In “America,” McKay has done just this. He openly and honestly writes of his struggles, of the struggles faced by most blacks during this time. He depicts the double consciousness and in-between that he experiences being a hyphenated American. He is also not afraid to stand back, to use America’s strength to give him the power to fight against this hate. Although the poem ends on a more melancholy note, with the future of America looking bleak, McKay shows that, even then, there is still a small hope for the future.

    Read More

  • Modern Poetry

    1297 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...f the “Black Logos.” While not necessarily being religious, he makes reference to God, Heaven, and the Star of Bethlehem. In addition to this characteristic, McKay also expresses the complexity of being Black in a White world by using intense imagery such as, “eyes of steely blue” (in reference to eyes of a white women), and “little lads, lynchers that were to be.” He refers to the White people as Fate for the Black people and yet, contradicts God as both White people and Black people. He says that while White people think they are a high and mighty God, Blacks truly are God because just as Jesus was persecuted as a minority, so are the African-American people. This poem, in addition to many other poems by Claude McKay, truly gives voice to the emotions and difficulties of an African-American poet during the times of slavery up to the end of the Harlem Renaissance.

    Read More

More about If We Must Die By Claude Mckay Analysis

Open Document