Preview

Claude Mckay Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
510 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Claude Mckay Analysis
Claude Mckay was an honorable figure in the Harlem Renaissance. His books and poems tell the stories of the lives of the African Americans during the time of the Harlem Renaissance. They had a constant struggle for equality. Claude Mckay is unique in style and tone. Claude Mckay tried to guide African Americans to accept African Culture.

Claude McKay was born in Sunny Ville, Jamaica, and had a very good childhood. Claude was exposed to things that not every child would find interesting. . In 1907, he caught the attention of Walter Jekyll, who influenced him to write his poems with his jamaican background. Claude somehow got the money, and moved to Harlem, New York City in 1914. Through his work, he told the stories of the average black person around that time period.
…show more content…
“The Harlem Dancer” and “Invocation," and later used the form in writing about social and political concerns from his perspective as a black man in the United States.” He was discovered by Frank Hattis, and put some of his work in Pearson’s Magazine. McKay’s most famous poems is “To the White Fiends,” about the oppressed white person. Later, McKay became friends with Max Eastman, who was the editor of a magazine called “Liberator”. He published several poems in the Liberator, and one being one of his most famous, “If We Must Die,”.

Claude Mckay’s work influenced the Harlem Renaissance. They spoke about the cultures and life of blacks. Home to Harlem, a novel written by him, told the stories of a black soldier who left his military duties, and came back home to harlem. It gave readers an idealistic view on Harlem, strong opinions and how people viewed Harlem and African American lives. His second novel, gave more realistic stories of the blacks. Claude Mckay’s stories helped blacks fight for their equal

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    The Harlem Renaissance is remembered for many reasons. Some people remember it as the beginning to African American singers, artists, poets, and much more. Many people became popular and began their careers in this era. African Americans began to establish their rights as Citizens of the United States during this time period as well as become famous. In this essay, I will discuss how the Renaissance began, the major events and people of the Renaissance, and how the Renaissance was intertwined with Marian Anderson’s life and her career.…

    • 1341 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    Many immigrants to the United States also struggle with finding and keeping a balance of the uniqueness of their native culture while also adopting some practices of the culture of their new country. This was especially true of Claude McKay, a Jamaican born writer most known for his contributions to the Harlem Renaissance. McKay strongly identified with African Americans, but wanted an American identity all at the same time. In addition to these inner struggles, American racial attitudes of the time also had a major impact on McKay, specifically the country’s opinions toward African Americans. Overall, McKay’s assimilation into American culture was heavily affected by his race. Although McKay participated actively in the Harlem Renaissance, he never saw himself as anything more than a Caribbean…

    • 1535 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the Harlem Renaissance, many African Americans struggled through a shifting period in time from slavery to equality. Some African Americans expressed their feelings at that time through poetry such as “Yet Do I Marvel” written by Countee Cullen and “If We Must Die” by Claude McKay. In “Yet Do I Marvel” Cullen writes about how the struggles he is facing relate to God and how he is being punished. McKay’s poem is slightly different; he emphasizes the idea of dying an honorable death for his freedom. These two poems are classic examples of how some African Americans felt during the Harlem Renaissance. Both of these poems depict oppression and some form of punishment but they also have different tones and inclusion of God revealing the way they felt in this era.…

    • 1425 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Harlem Renaissance created a place for “streams of black writers, musicians, performers and film-makers, a refuge from the all racism of American society” (Stuart 40). Harlem became a place separate from society where people were free to do as they pleased which allowed for creative art in the forms of writing, poetry, paintings, and music to flourish; however it also gave life to drug use, sexual adventure, and…

    • 910 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Harlem Renaissance was a time of explosive cultural and intellectual growth in the African-American community. During this time in the 1920s and 30s, we saw not only the birth of jazz, but we also heard the voices of the African-American authors and philosophers who were taken seriously by their white contemporaries for the first time in history. In your research paper, you will be focusing on one aspect of this period. You will be responsible for writing a paper that explores the detail of your topic of choice and its contributions to the renaissance. You will share your findings with the class in a formal presentation.…

    • 677 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri on February 1, 1902 and died in New York City, New York on May 22, 1967. His father’s name was James Nathaniel and his mother’s name was Carrie Mercer Langston Hughes. His parents separated not to long after he was born. His father later moved to Cuba and later permanently lived in Mexico, where he lived the rest of his life working as an attorney and landowner. He eventually traveled to Mexico to visit his father who moved when his parents separated from each but luckily for Langston, within a few years of his visit to Mexico, he would find himself at the center of a cultural flowering in New York City's historically black neighborhood that is famously known as Harlem. Hughes's poetry…

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Langston Hughes contributed a tremendous influence on black culture throughout the United States during the era known as the Harlem Renaissance. He is usually considered to be one of the most prolific and most-recognized black poets of the Harlem Renaissance. He broke through barriers that very few black artists had done before this period. Hughes was presented with a great opportunity with the rise black art during the 1920 's and by his creative style of poetry, which used black culture as its basis and still appealed to all ethnicities.…

    • 828 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Harlem Renaissance is known for many unique objectives, but one of the most important objectives that it was well known for is how many wonderful artists’ and writers came about during that time period. One of the most famous writers or what many consider a “prolific and versatile writer” (Beckman 65) was Langston Hughes. Langston Hughes was an American poet, novelist, and play writer whose African-American themes made him a primary contributor to the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s” (“Langston Hughes Bio.”). Hughes was born February 1, 1902, In Joplin Missouri and sadly died May 22, 1967. During his time he first started off writing about ordinary African Americans. He was said to be a “Major creative force in the Harlem Renaissance”…

    • 791 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Harlem Renaissance was African-American’s cultural movement that began in 1920, it was blossoming of African American culture in terms of literature and art starting in the 1920 to 1930 reflecting the growth of Black Nationalism and racial identity. Some universal themes symbolized throughout the Harlem Renaissance were the unique experience of thralldom slavery and egressing African-American folk customs on black individuality. African American population of United States highly contributed in this movement; they played a great role to support it. In fact, major contribution was made by black-owned businesses and publication of their literary works. Nevertheless, it relied on the patronization of whites.…

    • 630 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout the history of man there has existed a need to define ourselves. Often this need has driven us to a point of creation that signifies our growth as humans and enhances our ability to better understand each other. During the early part of the twentieth century the African American populace entered into such an era. The Harlem Renaissance from its beginning to end was a time of literary creativity and social awakening that forever impacted the face of our culture.…

    • 894 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Harlem Renaissance

    • 630 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Thesis: The 1920’s Harlem Renaissance was an era that provided an opportunity of literary and artistic advancement for African Americans. The movement also reached social thought of sociology, and philosophy. Writers like Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen promoted social equality through obscure themes and morals expressed in their writings. With its origins in Harlem, New York the renaissance affected the United States through literature, drama, music, visual art, and dance. At this time African Americans began to form themselves an identity and individual culture for progress.…

    • 630 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Harlem Renaissance

    • 983 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Powell’s overall thesis is, “The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural and psychological water-shed, and era in which black people were perceived as having finally liberated themselves from a past fraught with self-doubt and surrendered instead to an unprecedented optimism, a novel pride in all things black and a cultural confidence that stretched beyond the borders of Harlem to other black communities in the Western world.” Powell’s overall point in this article is the beauty of the Harlem Renaissance and the cultural influence in brought to North America, not only to African American communities but to communities of other racial ethnicities as well. The utilization of black arts (literature, visual arts, and music) brew throughout the United…

    • 983 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Harlem Renaissance

    • 1586 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Harlem Renaissance is one of the most influential movements in a minority group's history in the United States of America. The renaissance sparked an awareness of self for Black Americans in the early part of the twentieth century. It was the bringing together of black artists, politicians, musicians, writers, poets, dancers and blacks from all over the country concentrated in Harlem, New York. Harlem became the home of anybody who had dreams of being heard or expressing great talents. It also became the center for radical as well as rational thoughts on the improvement of the condition of Black Americans in society during the late 1900's on up to the 1920's.…

    • 1586 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Harlem Renaissance

    • 1061 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Throughout the history of African Americans, there have been important historical figures as well as times. Revered and inspirational leaders and eras like, Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement, Nat Turner and the slave revolt, or Huey Newton and the Black Panther Party. One such period that will always remain a significant part of black art and culture is the Harlem Renaissance. It changed the meaning of art and poetry, as it was known then. Furthermore, the Harlem Renaissance forever left a mark on the evolution of the black culture.…

    • 1061 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Langston Hughes

    • 1048 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Harlem Renaissance was a huge cultural movement for the culture of African Americans. Embracing the various aspects of art, many sought to envision what linked black peoples’ relationship to their heritage and to each other. Langston Hughes was one of the many founders of such a cultural movement. Hughes was very unique when it came to his use of jazz rhythms and dialect in portraying the life of urban blacks through his poetry, stories, and plays. By examining 2 poems by Langston Hughes, this essay will demonstrate how he criticized racism in Harlem, New York.…

    • 1048 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays