Shaymeon Robertson AP English Literature If We Must Die By: Claude McKay If We Must Die‚ by Claude McKay is a sonnet written during the Harlem Renaissance period; a period where there was a flowering of African-American literature and art‚ (1919- mid 1930s). Though the Harlem Renaissance period was a time of thriving people and culture in the African-American community‚ prejudice was still very much active; something
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Claude McKay was a Jamaican poet who created a literary movement and heavily influenced the tone for the Harlem Renaissance. In “If We Must Die”‚ he expresses how he wants to retaliate for prejudice and abuse of African-Americans within a english sonnet. McKay employs the english sonnet form to create a couplet that explains the purpose of this fight as the quatrains describe how they will fight. In the first quatrain McKay introduces the the issue; it is announced that they are being attacked.
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Abstract The following paper focuses on the two poets of the Harlem Renaissance – Claude McKay and James Weldon Johnson. Their role and importance within the literary movement is identified‚ and the major themes of their poems‚ If We Must Die and The Prodigal Son are highlighted. Harlem Renaissance Poets The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned unofficially form 1919 to the mid 1930’s. The “Negro Movement” as it was then called‚ heralded the zenith of modern African literature
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In the poem‚ “The White City‚” McKay once again utilizes the power of figurative language and descriptive imagery to illustrate the ongoing battles that African American faced during the time of racism and segregation. McKay’s title “The White City‚” symbolizes the fact that the speaker is a black man in a city full of predominantly white individuals‚ and it is because of his skin color that he is discriminated against. When the speaker says‚ “My being would be a skeleton‚ a shell‚” (Line 5) he
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more‚ all originated from this extraordinary movement. Claude McKay is one of the most legendary authors that contributed the Harlem Renaissance. McKay wrote many iconic pieces. To name a few‚ he wrote poems titled‚ “If We Must Die”‚ “Harlem Shadows”‚ and “America”. By doing the impossible and being heard when he could not speak‚ Claude McKay has used his voice for social justice and has changed the world for the better. Festus Claude McKay was born September 15‚ 1889‚ in Sunny Ville‚ Clarendon
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The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington‚ D.C.‚ the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban‚[1] and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical style. It has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams. When Thomas Jefferson moved into the house in 1801‚ he (with architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe) expanded the building outward
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prejudices every race has. Royce does not hold back when stating that every race has these prejudices. It is not just caucasians‚ African‚ Americans‚ but also Asian Americans. When reading this quote‚ I thought of W.E.B. DuBois The Souls of Black Folk and Claude McKay’s poem “America”. The Soul of Black Folk relate to the fact that these prejudices have been prolonged. “America” explains the idea that if people want change‚ you cannot fight fire with fire. Josiah Royce explains that people’s fears of different
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the ‘other’ is used by society to separate people into groups using slanted and/or biased standards. In literature‚ such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein‚ the act of ‘othering’ is used to explore ideas of class‚ gender roles‚ politics‚ self and social separation. In the novel‚ Victor Frankenstein’s creation suffers the greatest othering‚ but this condition can be applied to almost all the characters since they live outside the norm due to familial or societal problems. The monster and the other characters
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The concept of ‘other’‚ and the act of ‘othering’ is a powerful idea used in many literary texts to in order to construct meaning. The use of othering is apparent in the novel‚ Frankenstein‚ written by Mary Shelley and published in 1818. Embracing both the Romantic and Enlightenment context of its time‚ Frankenstein is a masterfully crafted novel which seamlessly explores a variety of themes and ideas. In the text Shelley uses the process of othering to explore the ideas of somatic alterity
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History of The White House: An American Treasure For almost 200 years‚ the White House has stood as a symbol of the Presidency‚ the United States government‚ and the American people. Its history and the history of the nation’s capital began when President George Washington signed an Act of Congress in December of 1790 declaring that the federal government would reside in a district "not exceeding ten miles square . . . on the river Potomac." President Washington‚ together with city planner Pierre
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