There are multiple viewpoints for every situation. Opinions made about the United States and its future are often associated with other attitudes that have once been acted out. In Arna Bontemps’ “A Black Man Talks of Reaping” and Claude McKay’s “America,” both poets show aspects of America, yet they have contrasting opinions of the situation. Still, Arna includes environmental metaphors and hyperbole to illustrate the harsh conditions African Americans have received, while McKay personifies the cruel circumstances with bold similes to suggest that he honors America for making him stronger. In Arna Bontemps’ poem, he uses environmental metaphors and hyperbole to clarify how brutal it was for African Americans to survive in America during the Harlem Renaissance. After working nightless hours reaping …show more content…
This human-like comparison proves that America not only tears down African Americans, but can provide them with a sense of urgency to fulfill their goals despite the worldwide hostility they are faced with. When persevering through adversity, McKay contests that despite America “stealing [his] breath of life, [he] will confess / [he loves] this cultured hell” (McKay 3-4). By exaggerating that America is “stealing [his] breath of life,” McKay implies that America takes away most privileges from the black community. In contrast, McKay takes all the negativity and uses it as an opportunity to soar higher than other people, showing he “[loves] this cultured hell” and uses the cynicism to his power. It is evident that McKay, in contrast to Bontemps, describes how to thrive with the horrific conditions through hyperbole and personification, contrasting Arna’s poem, which is dedicated to explaining how hard it is to live the life of an African
The two concepts are perhaps the most powerful writing of the sheer burden of African-American in our society. Ever though the story was written many decades ago, many African-American today reflect on how things haven’t changed much over time. Still today American will conceptualize what is “Black” and what is “American”.
In his poems, Langston Hughes treats racism not just a historical fact but a “fact” that is both personal and real. Hughes often wrote poems that reflect the aspirations of black poets, their desire to free themselves from the shackles of street life, poverty, and hopelessness. He also deliberately pushes for artistic independence and race pride that embody the values and aspirations of the common man. Racism is real, and the fact that many African-Americans are suffering from a feeling of extreme rejection and loneliness demonstrate this claim. The tone is optimistic but irritated. The same case can be said about Wright’s short stories. Wright’s tone is overtly irritated and miserable. But this is on the literary level. In his short stories, he portrays the African-American as a suffering individual, devoid of hope and optimism. He equates racism to oppression, arguing that the African-American experience was and is characterized by oppression, prejudice, and injustice. To a certain degree, both authors are keen to presenting the African-American experience as a painful and excruciating experience – an experience that is historically, culturally, and politically rooted. The desire to be free again, the call for redemption, and the path toward true racial justice are some of the themes in their
...xperienced about not being able to eat at the table when guests would come which refers to how White America has been treating Black America. He then comes to the conclusion that this too shall pass and believes that he will be able to overcome his oppression. McKay portrays his experiences by speaking in a more mature tone about the significant events that have occurred and tries to find a way to tolerate the oppression. He lets White America know that what they have done to Black America was wrong. He shows that even though white America has alienated African Americans and treated them with disrespect, he will not stoop to their level although he is angry about it. The writers make it clear that their poems may differ yet they hold the same meaning of that White America has wronged Black America but it shall pass and in the future they will regret their actions.
“The best of humanity 's recorded history is a creative balance between horrors endured and victories achieved, and so it was during the Harlem Renaissance" (Aberjhani). "A Black Man Talks of Reaping" and "From the Dark Tower" are poems that tugged on the heart strings of African Americans everywhere. Both poems dealt with the harsh reality of racial prejudice in America and shared the hope of overcoming it. Although the two poems "A Black Man Talks of Reaping" and "From the Dark Tower" by Arna Bontemps and Countee Cullen are different in purpose, they are similar in theme, tone, and extended metaphor.
From The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B Du bois is lauded in American history and sociology for its symbolic importance. Du Bois uses style, Tone, imagery, metaphors and similes as well as many other literary devices to discuss socially constructed and self-determined identities. Throughout this analysis I plan to discuss three chapters out of From The souls of Black Folk. Those chapters are chapter one of our spiritual striving, chapter three of Mr. Booker T. Washington and others and last chapter 14 of the sorrow songs. W.E.B Du Bois book anticipates many of the central questions of the twentieth century and makes the reader aware that current problems have their roots in the failed effort to bring equality and justice to African Americans
“The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife, – this longing to attain self-consciousness, manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost. He would not Africanize America, for America has too much to teach the world and Africa. He would not bleach his Negro soul in a flood of white Americanism, for he knows that Negro blood has a message f...
This image is the author’s perspective on the treatment of “his people” in not only his hometown of Harlem, but also in his own homeland, the country in which he lives. The author’s dream of racial equality is portrayed as a “raisin in the sun,” which “stinks like rotten meat” (Hughes 506). Because Hughes presents such a blatantly honest and dark point of view such as this, it is apparent that the author’s goal is to ensure that the reader is compelled to face the issues and tragedies that are occurring in their country, compelled enough to take action. This method may have been quite effective in exposing the plight of African-Americans to Caucasians. It can be easily seen that Hughes chooses a non-violent and, almost passive method of evoking a change. While Hughes appears to be much less than proud of his homeland, it is apparent that he hopes for a future when he may feel equal to his fellow citizens, which is the basis of the “dream” that has been
This poem is written from the perspective of an African-American from a foreign country, who has come to America for the promise of equality, only to find out that at this time equality for blacks does not exist. It is written for fellow black men, in an effort to make them understand that the American dream is not something to abandon hope in, but something to fight for. The struggle of putting up with the racist mistreatment is evident even in the first four lines:
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.
By addressing the struggles of the African American community during this time, the author was able to express his desire for the change of racial inequality through a tone that can be described as both frustration and disappointment. Hughes illustrates this tone of voice by using vivid imagery to describe the potential outcomes of deferred dreams. When the author states, “Does it dry up like a rain in the sun? Or fester like a sore– And then run? (Hughes lines 2-5),” he uses unpleasant descriptions to bring emphasis to his sense of frustration.
Using his signature style as well as vivid imagery and metaphor, Hughes addresses the harm that comes when the dream of racial equality continues to be deferred, as well as the negative effects that accompany shattered dreams of any kind. The imagery of a “raisin in the sun” represents the withered dreams, and metaphors such as “sore” and “rotten meat” capture the feelings of stagnancy in the fight for racial equality (1,2,4). Another intriguing aspect of Harlem is the interrogative nature of the poem. By asking repeated questions about the deferred dreams, Hughes invites readers into a conversation while also expressing the feelings of frustration and disillusionment that African Americans experienced as their dreams of equality and progression were in gridlock. Ending the poem with the question “Or does it explode?”
He believes that the difficulty that people face in America is what makes the nation extraordinary. He believes that it gives America its meaning. Although America is a civilized and developed country, it presents many difficulties to its citizens/ In the beginning of the poem, Mckay writes, “Stealing my breath of life, I will confess/ I love this cultured hell that tests my youth” (3-4).
” Langston’s sorrow fueled his expression, which powerfully and poignantly portrayed the injustices levied against blacks in the past and present, as well as the future he and all African Americans dreamed of (Royster). Across many works, Hughe’s lyricism details the subjugation of slavery, and the pretenses of America that kept blacks in seemingly perpetual bondage. “Share-Croppers” compares the herding of cattle to the work exploitation of African Americans. It subliminally contrasts slavery to the slave labor Negroes remained subjected to after abolition (Royster). He details the unchanging economic landscape for African Americans, perpetually condemned to work for the white man rather than themselves.
12 Million Black Voices by Richard Wright is a photo and text book which poetically tells the tale of African Americans from the time they were taken from Africa to the time things started to improve for them in a 149 page reflection. Using interchanging series of texts and photographs, Richard Wright encompasses the voices of 12 Million African-Americans, and tells of their sufferings, their fears, the phases through which they have gone and their hopes. In this book, most of the photos used were from the FSA: Farm Security Administration and a few others not from them. They were selected to complement and show the points of the text. The African-Americans in the photos were depicted with dignity. In their eyes, even though clearly victims, exists strengths and hopes for the future. The photos indicated that they could and did create their own culture both in the past and present. From the same photos plus the texts, it could be gathered that they have done things to improve their lives of their own despite the many odds against them. The photographs showed their lives, their suffering, and their journey for better lives, their happy moments, and the places that were of importance to them. Despite the importance of the photographs they were not as effective as the text in showing the African-American lives and how the things happening in them had affected them, more specifically their complex feelings. 12 Million Black Voices by Richard Wright represents the voice of African-Americans from their point of view of their long journey from Africa to America, and from there through their search for equality, the scars and prints of where they come from, their children born during these struggles, their journeys, their loss, and plight...
Over the course of the century chronicling the helm of slavery, the emancipation, and the push for civil, equal, and human rights, black literary scholars have pressed to have their voice heard in the midst a country that would dare classify a black as a second class citizen. Often, literary modes of communication were employed to accomplish just that. Black scholars used the often little education they received to produce a body of works that would seek to beckon the cause of freedom and help blacks tarry through the cruelties, inadequacies, and inconveniences of their oppressed condition. To capture the black experience in America was one of the sole aims of black literature. However, we as scholars of these bodies of works today are often unsure as to whether or not we can indeed coin the phrase “Black Literature” or, in this case, “Black poetry”. Is there such a thing? If so, how do we define the term, and what body of writing can we use to determine the validity of the definition. Such is the aim of this essay because we can indeed call a poem “Black”. We can define “Black poetry” as a body of writing written by an African-American in the United States that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of an experience or set of experiences inextricably linked to black people, characterizes a furious call or pursuit of freedom, and attempts to capture the black condition in a language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm. An examination of several works of poetry by various Black scholars should suffice to prove that the definition does hold and that “Black Poetry” is a term that we can use.