Usage of the Outsider Theme in Claude McKay's Poetry 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. McKays's poem, "Outcast," is the most obvious example of this outsider theme. From the title to the last line there are many references to a feeling of alienation and neglect. The voice in the poem longs for "the dim regions whence my fathers came." The voice also longs for "forgotten jungle songs" and yearns to "go back to darkness and to peace." This is the voice of the African-American removed from his native country and made an outsider of his own home. Alienation is also voiced as "I may never hope for full release while to its alien gods I bend my knee." This line illustrates that the...
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...
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
During the Harlem Renaissance, both Claude McKay and Langston Hughes developed an analysis of their time period through poetry. Each writer has a different poem but allude to the same theme. The White House by Claude McKay and I, Too, Sing, America by Langston Hughes makes a relevant comparison to the racial inequality during the 1900s. Both make a point about how White America has withheld equal rights from Blacks or Black America, making it hard for them to survive. More specifically, The White House speaks about the type of oppression being experienced during racial segregation and trying to triumph over it while I, Too, Sing, America speak about what created their oppression and envisioning change in the future.
The theme of alienation has been depicted by two different characters in a resembling series of events. The two protagonists were alienated by their peers, inflicting negative consequences they must undergo. Both characters are finally pushed to alienating themselves rather than being alienated. In conclusion, the struggles both characters undergo are practically identical to one another. They have experienced alienation in such similar ways that you must ask yourself: are all those who suffer from alienation alike in more ways than one?
During this era African Americans were facing the challenges of accepting their heritage or ignoring outright to claim a different lifestyle for their day to day lives. Hughes and Cullen wrote poems that seemed to describe themselves, or African Americans, who had accepted their African Heritage and who also wanted to be a part of American heritage as well. These are some of the things they have in common, as well as what is different about them based on appearance, now I shall focus on each author individually and talk about how they are different afterwards.
In the stories “To Set Our House in Order” and “The Lamp at Noon” the authors are both able to effectively communicate that alienation is self-inflicted, while using multiple different techniques. As a result it becomes apparent that each author can take a similar approach to the alienation of a character in the story yet develop the theme in a unique way.
He is very disapproving and wants to persuade the African Americans to make a move. Claude McKay was a prominent figure during the Harlem Renaissance, so this would make it easier for him to persuade the African Americans. McKay believed that the treatment the African Americans were undergoing was utterly humiliating, and it was up to him to start a revolution. He also believed that African Americans deserved honor and respect, and this meant they should do anything to achieve their honor. Claude says, “The monsters he and his readers resist will be obliged to honor them, even though they are dead,” which suggests that McKay knew his poems would one day make a difference in the world even if it was after he died (Poetry for Students). Throughout the entire poem, McKay is encouraging his readers to make a difference and begin fighting back against the white Americans. The poem serves as a battle cry for the African Americans, so they could understand the harsh treatment they were putting up with and make a difference (Griffin). Claude McKay insisted, “Men should not be like penned-up animals that submit to their fate” (Poetry for Students). This shows that McKay thought a revolution was vital to saving the African American race. He did not believe the African Americans should put up with this unfair treatment and submit to this awful faith.
Claude McKay’s poem “White Houses” expresses the anger and frustration blacks felt about the North.
...for equal rights. In some poems McKay even called for violent acts to change the laws, however, as an educated man, reason prevailed. As result he adopted religion, and his poetry, like himself became conflicted. Out of this confliction came some of the most powerful African American poetry in history. Claude McKay poured his soul onto to paper, and as a result, it seeps in to all who read it.
As a follow up on my poetry project, I chose to select Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, and Countee Cullen. When I initially wrote on the poets, I was shocked how unaware of them I was. I discovered interesting facts about each poet. Langston Hughes Claude McKay and Countee Cullen were very inspiring during the Harlem Renaissance. I did not know who Countee Cullen was until I did my project and decided to explore his work during the 1920s. It seemed Countee Cullen and Langston Hughes were popular during this time. Langston Hughes was a leader during the Harlem Renaissance. By using poetic examples of Claude McKay, Countee Cullen, and Langston Hughes work, I will describe the feelings and representations of African American during the early 1920s.
The nature of an ideology is completely personal; one’s interpretation may vary greatly from another’s interpretation. This is demonstrated in the two poems, “America” by Claude McKay and “Let America be America Again” by Langston Hughes. Both of these poems emerge from the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, and though these two poems each describe an ideological viewpoint of America as a place and a concept, the two speakers view the subject differently from one another. Both poets employ similar sound devices, yet the tones and themes vary between the two works.
Flynn, Jullian. "Chapter 9: Claude McKay " PAL: Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide. Web. Feb. 24 2014..
Gates Jr., Henry Louis, and Nellie Y. McKay. The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton and Company , Inc. , 2004. Print.
Across the poems, Come In, In Winter In, Dust of Snow, Stopping by a Wood on a Snowy Evening, and Beech by Robert Frost all share a common theme: Man’s Isolation. While every poem is unique to their text, Frost implies that he would rather be alone, than with the crowd. Some poems portray isolation in a different way, but when you look carefully, they are saying the same thing across all works. The definition of isolation is the state of being in a place or situation that is separate than others.In general, isolation can mean plenty of things, regardless of it’s definition. The poems that all carry this theme all interpret different meanings of isolation, while still being one theme. When looking at Dust of Snow, for example, the speaker shows some sort of sadness or depression, there’s not a soul in sight.
Gates Jr, Henry Louis, and Nellie Y. McKay. "The Norton Anthology of African American Literature | W. W. Norton & Company." W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. Web. 28 Sept. 2011. .