In the 1900’s, poetry was filled with horrid scenes of war back from World War One. In the poem “If We Must Die”, Claude Mckay uses imagery, symbols, and metaphors to emphasize the racism many of the world’s African-Americans have dealt with. Mckay’s use of imagery highlights the oppression of racism within the first few lines. He describes his people as “hunted and penned in an inglorious spot,/While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs” like they are being attacked by oppressors (2-3). This imagery shows that racism oppresses anyone who allows themselves to fall victim to the attackers, penning themselves into that inglorious spot that Mckay writes of. Within these first three lines it is shown that there is a strong division of the community due to racism. Yet it is not only the victim who is at fault for the division, but the oppressor as well. …show more content…
This immediately strips the attackers of their identity allowing the reader to experience the viciousness of the oppressor. As the speaker talks to his people saying “Our precious blood may not be shed/In vain; that even monsters we defy shall be constrained” and the use of the word “monster” portrays the uncivilized nature of the attackers (7-8). Describing someone or a group of people as monsters means that they have done something unspeakable, as they are no longer viewed as human. The power of such a metaphor is so easily shown, because everyone is afraid of monsters. This metaphor is one of many literary devices along with symbols that allows readers to experience racism and how it can take someone’s identity