Sharon Omoniyi Mr. Mennenoh English III Honors 24 April 2024 Through Thick And Thin Tragedies creep through history in differing cultures with the intent to teach valuable lessons. These events help individuals find their strength in a multitude of ways. Whether through persistent denial of reality or endless grieving, they learn to embrace solidarity within themselves. Two writers, Claude McKay during the Harlem Renaissance and Anne Bradstreet from the Puritan era, use traditional poetic forms to speak about topics varying from societal injustice to the struggle between faith and faith. In “Upon The Burning Of Our House,” during the 1600s, Bradstreet is in bed with her family and awakened by a loud noise in the dead of night. Unknown to her, …show more content…
He warns that the road ahead for Black Americans is grim as racism leaves a devastating impact on one’s sense of self. McKay highlights that they lose a vital connection to their cultural heritage because they are forced to repress their identity. At the same time, Bradstreet focuses on the physical aspect of her loss by mourning the destruction of her home. Listing the prized things being taken away from her, she emphasizes the value of it to her. The house, serving as her symbol of societal stability, makes her realize that she is focused on worldly things instead of finding that sense of security in her faith. Although both writers go through their loss differently as characters, they face adversities similarly. A prominent similarity between the two poems is that they utilize dramatic tone shifts. McKay begins his poem with a sense of admiration for the country but then transitions to a critical tone, expressing that “time’s unerring hand/ [will] [make] priceless treasures [sink] in the sand” (McKay 12-13). Conveying the country as a land of beauty and then having to live with the reality of the hypocrisy of oppression reflects his frustration with
In this poem, there is a young woman and her loving mother discussing their heritage through their matrilineal side. The poem itself begins with what she will inherit from each family member starting with her mother. After discussing what she will inherit from each of her family members, the final lines of the poem reflect back to her mother in which she gave her advice on constantly moving and never having a home to call hers. For example, the woman describes how her father will give her “his brown eyes” (Line 7) and how her mother advised her to eat raw deer (Line 40). Perhaps the reader is suggesting that she is the only survivor of a tragedy and it is her heritage that keeps her going to keep safe. In the first two lines of the poem, she explains how the young woman will be taking the lines of her mother’s (Lines 1-2). This demonstrates further that she is physically worried about her features and emotionally worried about taking on the lineage of her heritage. Later, she remembered the years of when her mother baked the most wonderful food and did not want to forget the “smell of baking bread [that warmed] fined hairs in my nostrils” (Lines 3-4). Perhaps the young woman implies that she is restrained through her heritage to effectively move forward and become who she would like to be. When reading this poem, Native American heritage is an apparent theme through the lifestyle examples, the fact lineage is passed through woman, and problems Native Americans had faced while trying to be conquested by Americans. Overall, this poem portrays a confined, young woman trying to overcome her current obstacles in life by accepting her heritage and pursuing through her
The Influence of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois on the Writings from the Harlem Renaissance
...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.
“It was a time when the Negro was in vogue” (“Harlem Renaissance” Dispute). This ironic comment by one of the period’s leading writers, Charles Chesnutt, evokes the irony and mystery of the Harlem Renaissance. Between the end of World War I and the beginning of the Great Depression, African American musicians, writers, and performers dominated the American cultural scene. Another name for the period, the “Jazz Age,” reflects the cultural importance of African American culture at this historical moment. The roots of this era were in the Great Migration, the movement of millions of African Americans from a condition of near slavery in the agricultural South to the industrial North. This migration was accomplished only with strong determination
R: Comprone, Raphael. 2005. Poetry, Desire, And Fantasy in the Harlem Renaissance. University Press of America 2005
The Harlem renaissance occurred during the 1920’s at the same time as World War I. “Meanwhile, it’s important to note that cultural developments during this decade was The Lost Generation of writers after the war--called the Jazz Age witnessed a flowering of African-American music, as well as art and literature in the Harlem Renaissance. Influenced by radio, "talking" pictures, advertising and the rise of professional sports, society became dominated by a mass culture. By the end of the decade, the U.S. was headed for troubled times. The stock market crash of 1929 and the ensuing Great Depression ultimately shattered the carefree mood of the 1920s.” (http://hngraphical.proquest.com.ezproxy.aacc.edu/hnweb/hnpl/do/subtopic?topic=86564).
When looking at the Harlem Renaissance, readers can expect to discover many artists that pushed the exposure of Jazz, Blues, and African American literature to the American mainstream during the 1920’s – 1930’s. Langston Hughes is associated with the Harlem Renaissance for his literary works and activism. Zora Neale Hurtson, was also a writer associated with the Harlem Renaissance, her works are, to say the least are in contrast to Hughes’s work. I reason that the different styles of writing and thinking, that were contributed to the Harlem Renaissance is in regards to both author’s upbringing/childhood experiences. The two literary compositions that I will be reviewing are I, Too by Langston Hughes, (The Norton Anthology
The Harlem Renaissance influenced black African American writers tremendously. Not only did it show that they were capable of achieving great things, the Harlem Renaissance has shaped and created many pathways for people to be able to achieve something that may not have been achieved at the time.
Both authors took a leap by publishing works that criticized their oppressors, a leap that put them each in harm’s way. Each poet was able to inspire and educate in their own way, using their own personal touches; Hughes, working to inform his people and unite them against a common enemy through passionate prose, and McKay, working to ignite the passions of his audience in order to compel them to take a forceful stand. The importance of both perspectives operating in unison cannot be understated. A broader set of perspectives and beliefs about the same issue is effective in inspiring a broader, larger, and more diverse group of readers. The sad image that Hughes creates was most likely effective in reaching even the white Americans who already enjoyed their full freedom, by opening the eyes of whites and other unoppressed races to the plights of early African-Americans. In contrast, McKay’s poem was most likely more effective in rallying African-Americans specifically. The advantage of these (though not greatly) differing messages was immense, and underlines the importance of differing viewpoints, and also inspired different groups of people, in order to bring about a more rapid, and more universally agreed upon change. Against a tyrannical force such as a racist majority, these two viewpoints
In poetry, it is critical t bring out a theme. This makes the reader learn something and realize what the poet is attempting to say. A good theme can really impact the reader. Most poets use elements of poetry to do this. In Harlem, Langston Hughes uses elements of poetry to show his theme, which is when you give up on your dream, many consequences will arise. In the poem Harlem, Langston Hughes uses many elements of poetry to prove his theme, including similes, diction and personification.
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 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.
The Harlem Renaissance was the first era in American history where African Americans could freely express their cultural, social, and artistic ideas or opinions after the slavery era. In the south blacks were oppressed by whites in the south. Although the civil war had ended and the south had lost the lives of African Americans did not get better in fact conditions for African Americans got worse as a result of the Civil war. The southern slave owners were very upset about losing the war and the United States awarding the slaves freedom, which caused a spike in the violence exercised by whites in the south. The conditions in the south caused many blacks to migrate from the south to northern cities where treatment of the African American race was better and there were more job opportunities. One of the major cities blacks moved to was Harlem, New York. Blacks many of whom were glad to get away from the violence and poor treatment by the south were interested in finding things to keep their mind off the years of oppression and to celebrate their new found freedom. This thirst to express themselves and to celebrate how far they came resulted in a new form of music, Jazz and many changes to fashion, how people talk, and interact. WIth such a large popularity and demand for new forms of expression, many of the best African American musicians, scholars, and artist moved to Harlem to start a new career. Harlem became a hot bed for new styles of dancing, writing, music, and art. These forms of music and art had been practiced by some people but had not gotten a large amount of exposure because they were done by African Americans who were not respected as intellectuals or even human beings at this point in time. With the new found freedom ...
What is a dream deferred? Is it something children imagine and lose as they grow up. Do dreams ever die, as we find out, the world is it what it seems. The play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry and Harlem by Langston Hughes talk about dreams deferred. It shows a African American family struggling to make their dreams a reality. Although Walter, Ruth, Mama, and Beneatha live in the same house, their dreams are all different from each other.
Dreams are aspirations that people hope to achieve in their lifetime. They are a motive that drives lives to accomplish goals. When trying to achieve these goals, people can do anything. However, what happens when a dream is deferred? A dream cast aside can frustrate a person in the deepest way. It tends to permeate their thoughts and becomes an unshakable burden. In the poem “Harlem,” Langston Hughes, through literary technique, raises strong themes through a short amount of language.