If We Must Die Revised
Zachary Bylykbashi
Mr. Ludden
English CCP
14 February 2014
Racial Pride over Oppression The Harlem Renaissance was a tough time for the black community. They faced constant oppression and discrimination from the white community. Often times, the oppression was very violent. However, these dark times opened the door for black artists and writers to express their feelings through their art. One person famous for expressing his feelings during these times through his poems was Claude McKay. McKay believed that change was in order and the black community needed to do something in order to make that change. In the poem “If We Must Die,” Claude McKay calls for racial pride against white oppression through his use of similes, metaphors, contradictions, and biblical allusions. McKay uses a simile to introduce his trope of blacks being hogs trapped in the city. He also establishes that being a hog is not something that he likes and that he wants to change. The simile is found in the first line of the poem when McKay states, “If we must die, let it not be like hogs.” Here, McKay is telling the reader that they cannot stand to be hogs anymore. He follows the simile to describe the hogs by saying they are “hunted and penned in an inglorious spot” (McKay 2). McKay says this to elaborate further on his simile and describe why the black community cannot die as hogs. He wants to motivate his readers to fight back and change from hogs to men. Arthur P. Davis had this to say regarding the hog simile, “these lines present the hog as a trope for unreflecting acceptance of the status quo” (Heglar). McKay uses the hog simile in the first line of his poem to inspire his readers to change the status quo of blacks being hogs. The simile clearly sets the tone for what McKay wants to accomplish through his poem, “If We Must Die.” McKay also uses metaphors throughout the poem to describe the white oppressors that he and black community face. The metaphors describe the oppressors as mad
Mr. Ludden
English CCP
14 February 2014
Racial Pride over Oppression The Harlem Renaissance was a tough time for the black community. They faced constant oppression and discrimination from the white community. Often times, the oppression was very violent. However, these dark times opened the door for black artists and writers to express their feelings through their art. One person famous for expressing his feelings during these times through his poems was Claude McKay. McKay believed that change was in order and the black community needed to do something in order to make that change. In the poem “If We Must Die,” Claude McKay calls for racial pride against white oppression through his use of similes, metaphors, contradictions, and biblical allusions. McKay uses a simile to introduce his trope of blacks being hogs trapped in the city. He also establishes that being a hog is not something that he likes and that he wants to change. The simile is found in the first line of the poem when McKay states, “If we must die, let it not be like hogs.” Here, McKay is telling the reader that they cannot stand to be hogs anymore. He follows the simile to describe the hogs by saying they are “hunted and penned in an inglorious spot” (McKay 2). McKay says this to elaborate further on his simile and describe why the black community cannot die as hogs. He wants to motivate his readers to fight back and change from hogs to men. Arthur P. Davis had this to say regarding the hog simile, “these lines present the hog as a trope for unreflecting acceptance of the status quo” (Heglar). McKay uses the hog simile in the first line of his poem to inspire his readers to change the status quo of blacks being hogs. The simile clearly sets the tone for what McKay wants to accomplish through his poem, “If We Must Die.” McKay also uses metaphors throughout the poem to describe the white oppressors that he and black community face. The metaphors describe the oppressors as mad