Assignment
I. America
Although she feeds me bread of bitterness,
And sinks into my throat her tiger's tooth,
Stealing my breath of life, I will confess
I love this cultured hell that tests my youth.
Her vigor flows like tides into my blood,
Giving me strength erect against her hate,
Her bigness sweeps my being like a flood.
Yet, as a rebel fronts a king in state,
I stand within her walls with not a shred
Of terror, malice, not a word of jeer.
Darkly I gaze into the days ahead,
And see her might and granite wonders there,
Beneath the touch of Time's unerring hand,
Like priceless treasures sinking in the sand.
II. The Lynching
His spirit is smoke ascended to high heaven.
His father, by the cruelest way of pain,
Had bidden him to his bosom once again;
The awful sin remained still unforgiven.
All night a bright and solitary star
(Perchance the one that ever guided him,
Yet gave him up at last to Fate's wild whim)
Hung pitifully o'er the swinging char.
Day dawned, and soon the mixed crowds came to view
The ghastly body swaying in the sun:
The women thronged to look, but never a one
Showed sorrow in her eyes of steely blue;
And little lads, lynchers that were to be,
Danced round the dreadful thing in fiendish glee
III. Harlem Shadows
I hear the halting footsteps of a lass
In Negro Harlem when the night lets fall
Its veil. I see the shapes of girls who pass
To bend and barter at desire's call.
Ah, little dark girls who in slippered feet
Go prowling through the night from street to street!
Through the long night until the silver break
Of day the little gray feet know no rest;
Through the lone night until the last snow-flake
Has dropped from heaven upon the earth's white breast,
The dusky, half-clad girls of tired feet
Are trudging, thinly shod, from street to street.
Ah, stern harsh world, that in the wretched way
Of poverty, dishonor and disgrace,
Has pushed the timid little feet of clay,
The sacred brown feet of my fallen race!
Ah, heart of me, the weary, weary feet
In Harlem wandering from street to street.
I. "America"
i. Describe how the speaker feels about America. Use a quote to support your answer
ii. McKay describes America as "she" or "her" and uses imagery and personification while doing so. How does this contribute to the overall meaning of the poem?
iii. In the context of this poem, what makes America unique? Use a quote to support your answer
iv. Do you think that this poem is still relevant today? Explain your answer.
v. What is the main theme for this poem? Use a quote to support your answer
vi. Are there any other lesser themes in this poem? If so, please put them here. (no quotes necessary)
vii. If you had to sum up the tone in ONE word, what would it be and why?
II. "The Lynching"
i. According to the author, what happened to the spirit of the man who was lynched? Use a quote to support your answer
ii. What race are the people in the crowd that the last three lines refer to? How do you know? And therefore, what message is the author trying to send?
iii. What is the main theme for this poem? Use a quote to support your answer
iv. Are there any other lesser themes in this poem? If so, please put them here. (no quotes necessary)
v. If you had to sum up the tone in ONE word, what would it be and why?
III. "Harlem Shadows"
i. What profession do the girls he is talking about have? Use a quote to support your answer
ii. What does he say has driven them to this profession? Use a quote to support your answer
iii. Give 2 examples of the imagery in this poem. How does the imagery make it more powerful?
iv. What is the main theme for this poem? Use a quote to support your answer
v. Are there any other lesser themes in this poem? If so, please put them here. (no quotes necessary)
vi. If you had to sum up the tone in ONE word, what would it be and why?