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Claude Mckay Figurative Language

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During the Harlem Renaissance, art, poetry, music, and community thrived among the citizens of Harlem, who were mostly people of color. A common theme among every piece created is the acknowledgement of past and present oppressions. Claude McKay does exactly this in his poem “If We Must Die”. He uses the point of view of the poem and figurative language to demonstrate how dire the situation of the oppressed is and has been, which helps to convey how if they do not stand up for themselves, the same future is guaranteed for their descendants. The point of view of the poem is incredibly important to how McKay tells the story. This is particularly evident in lines like “O kinsmen! We must meet the common foe!” (Mckay). This puts the speaker right …show more content…

He primarily uses it when the oppressed are being actively attacked, which is seen in the opening lines, “If we must die, let it not be like hogs/Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot, /While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs, /Making their mock at our accused lot” (McKay). The combination of these devices creates contrast between the oppressed and the oppressors. The simile emulates how innocent and helpless the oppressed group is by comparing them to pigs that have been trapped within their own home. The simile further emphasizes their weakness by simply being the weaker device. Metaphors are seen as a stronger device, and it is used to compare the oppressors to dogs that have gone mad with hunger. If the imagery alone did not make the oppressors seem more powerful, the use of these two devices against each other certainly does. However, the author strengthens the resolve of the oppressed by calling them to action throughout the poem until the very last line, which states, “Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack, /Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!” (McKay). In this line, the author takes away the power of the oppressors by not only calling them cowardly, but by only giving them a brief mention within the simile. It also offers the comparison of the maddened dogs against men. While humans are usually more powerful than dogs, a pack of hunger-crazed dogs

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