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Figurative Language In America Mckay

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In “America”, Claude McKay, the author, finds himself struggling to find how he feels. At some points, he has a positive attitude towards America, but at other times, it is extremely negative. His attitude changes constantly. In the poem “America,” Claude McKay has a conflicted tone of anger and respect towards America through diction and figurative language. McKay effectively uses diction to convey his tone. He uses words with positive and negative connotations to represent how conflicted he is. In the beginning of the poem, McKay says, “Although she feeds me bread of bitterness,/ and sinks into my throat her tiger’s tooth” (McKay 1-2). Words like “bitterness” and phrases like “sinks into my throat” have very negative connotations. He uses …show more content…

In one sentence, he says, “Her bigness sweeps my being like a flood” (McKay 7). The simile, as well as personification, in this sentence helps show the reader how substantial America is. “Sweeping like a flood” has a very strong meaning. It represents something so large and powerful that it can be compared with a flood of rushing water that is capable of sweeping someone out of the way. He respects the tremendous amount of power this country has. Mckay also states, “I stand within her walls with not a shred/ Of terror, malice, not a word of jeer” (McKay 9-10). This also represents how he looks up to his country. The personification in “I stand within her walls” also relates back to the idea of a powerful being but the last half of the sentence shows how he is not disrespecting America. He is reserved and does not want to disgrace his country because of his respect for it. In another line, Mckay says, “Her vigor flows like tides into my blood/ giving me strength erect against her hate” (McKay 5). In contrast, this quote represents his hatred. Because of the personification, the character is able to relate and have feelings towards America. America doesn’t treat him with respect and for that he feels resentment. He cares so much about America but he is not treated the same way. Because of America’s lack of respect, he has a strong feeling of hatred. Figurative language is used effectively to represent

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