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How Did Claude Mckay Use Literary Elements Of The Civil Rights Movement

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Although the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s was when African Americans were finally able to receive their equal rights as citizens of the United States, a similar movement with similar intentions had occurred almost 30 years earlier, a movement known as the Harlem Renaissance. The Civil Rights Movement was a pivotal time in American history that brought attention to the systemic racism and discrimination faced by Black Americans. However, the Harlem Renaissance was the first to bring the Black experience clearly within the general American cultural history, and writers like Claude McKay made it clear that the Black population was determined to end segregation. The African population helped inspire other groups like the LGTBQ community, …show more content…

McKay and Milk use similes and symbolism to argue that rejecting biased discrimination is important as communities achieve progress in building a formidable reputation against disproving mob mentality. A cultural movement known as the Harlem Renaissance emerged after African Americans moved into more urbanized cities, known as the Great Migration. Black writers and artists produced vibrant paintings or poetry that refuted the idea that the Black population was inferior to the White population. However, White extremists feared losing scarce job opportunities to recently discharged African Americans soldiers from post World War 1, resulting in increased racial tensions and violence. One writer was Claude McKay, who wrote “If We Must Die” depicting African American life in America. McKay begins the poem by stating that the Black population is under attack by “mad and hungry dogs” that “mock at our accurséd lot”, but asserts that although they are “hunted and penned” like “hogs”, they …show more content…

One of the main goals of the Harlem Renaissance was to instill pride in African Americans, and to do so they had to make everyone aware of their current situation to clarify the need for justice and action. McKay tries to convince his “far outnumbered” audience to cooperate as “nobly [dying]” prevents “precious blood” from shedding, so “we must meet the common foe!” because “their thousand blows deal one death-blow!” (McKay). McKay uses a determined diction when he says that we “must '' confront the “common foe!”, showing his unwavering determination to emphasize the need for action against injustice, referencing the systemic racism and violence Black Americans face, and reinforces his urgency with the exclamation mark. The use of the word "thousand" suggests that the struggle against oppression will be a long and difficult one, but the phrase "one death-blow" emphasizes the importance of persistence, because McKay wants people to realize that since everyone faces death, living a more meaningful life that has helped one’s culture will allow oneself and others to become appreciative and sympathetic of the community. “Precious blood” that is shed in the struggle for freedom and justice is valuable and worth sacrificing overall.

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Every human being is born into this world with one guaranteed fact: that the life they were just given will one day end. Another guaranteed fact is that it will not be easy, and we will face struggles every day. Claude Mckay’s poem, “If We Must Die,” expresses the idea that since we are all going to die one day, we should go down fighting for what we believe is right. Mckay uses figurative language and literary devices to convey the oppression African American’s faced in the early 20th century.

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The shame wasn’t a cause for them to turn away from the love for their culture, it just made the proud of their deep black beautiful roots. The black artists of the Harlem Renaissance put a visual scene to the joy, pain, laughter, tears, and the ugly truth within this endearing culture. The literature of the Harlem Renaissance gave an intellectual opinion in American during in the turn of the 20th century. Writers of the Harlem Renaissance have had a profound impact on the American society today.

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