If We Must Die By Claude Mckay Essay

In the poem, If We Must Die by Claude McKay, an African American influencer in the Harlem Renaissance, honor is seen throughout and is a big part of the poem. The speaker uses imagery to convey his idea of dying honorably for what him and his kinsmen believe in. Along with imagery McKay uses biblical references to explain dying nobly. Claude McKay wrote If We Must Die in response to the 1919 race riots and injustice that was happening in America. The purpose of this poem was to say that they, African Americans, will not take the negative treatment they were receiving and will fight back against those who were against them. Claude McKay was writing to other African Americans facing injustice in order to motivate them to keep fighting for their rights even when they were losing. Throughout the poem the speaker has a tone of defiance, a will to fight the enemy and a will to die with honor knowing the “hungry dogs” and “monsters” will be forced to respect them afterwards. Anyone who reads this has a sense of deep and powerful emotions that

The readers can visualize a battle scene with the speaker and his men being attacked by hungry dogs and monsters. “While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs” (McKay, 3). Describing the enemy as mad and hungry dogs brings out fear in the readers. This picture that the author has created for the readers shows how inhumane the enemy is and the level of cruelty. The speaker says “So our precious blood may not be shed in vain; then even the monsters we defy shall be constrained to honor us though dead” (McKay, 6-8). He is saying that what they were fighting for wouldn’t be all for nothing if he and his men died with honor. In the end the enemy would be forced to honor them in their death. Using the words precious blood and monsters allows the reader to visualize what was going on between the two sides