Mckay Figurative Language

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. He uses an inspiring tone to encourage the reader that the things in this life are worth fighting for and worth fighting against. His ultimate goal is to emphasize to the reader that we should not let our life go to waste, since it is guaranteed to end one day.

He writes in the first person constantly speaking to the reader very loudly, like a proclamation. He is asking the audience to join him in the fight against evil and oppression. Mckay writes on line nine, “O kinsmen! we must meet the common foe!” This represents the emphasis of the importance of the issues they are facing. He wants the reader to be aware that they are in it together and when they fight, they are fighting alongside one another until the end. Mckay uses simile in line one when he writes, “If we must die, let it not be like hogs.” This expresses the idea that they are going to die regardless of whether they fight or not, so why not stand up and not shrivel up to be slaughtered. Hogs are captured and killed, but when they are killed, they do nothing. Mckay is calling specifically to the reader to not sit around and wait to be attacked. Rather to become aware of what wrong is being done and at least try to make a change even if it doesn’t work