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By using historical connections and various literary devices, Claude McKay portrays the bittersweet relationship between aiming for The American Dream and having hope, but being deprived of that dream by the discrimination that became the norm of this world.

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In the podcast, Salamishah, Herman, Kathy, and Al acknowledge the historical events that occurred while If We Must Die was being published. Racial profiling, ineffective political institutions, and the inhumane treatment that African Americans face daily demonstrate America's inequalities and the necessity for race conversations to address these issues. Not only do they tackle racism and violence, but also allow for an open debate about America's bad events and how they impacted the way McKay expressed his optimism in achieving The American Dream. Al Filreis and the featured guests utilize the poem America to discuss how Claude McKay's poem was written for the African American community to inspire, courage, and fight oppression. The podcast is intended to help people talk about racism, violence, and injustice. Al used his podcast to elucidate the poem's deeper connotations, such as the usage of literary conventions. It was claimed that McKay didn't want his listeners to be tracked down and imprisoned shamefully. It's critical that they fight back against oppression, which is a metaphor. The situation is complicated by the addition of "hungry dogs" who "bark" and "mock at our miserable lot." This subtle metaphor refers to oppression, domination, and injustice by encouraging the reader to seek a solution to his or her predicament. Al, like the rest of the speakers, believes that McKay's literary choices should be considered so that racial hatred does not break down the African American community. Claude uses poetry to effectively explain racial and social/political gaps that highlight a dramatic contrast between the American Dream and American Reality. Although there were many perspectives in the podcast, they all opened up new paths that explained Claude's use of poetry to effectively explain racial and social/political gaps that highlight a dramatic contrast between the American Dream and American Reality.

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Constrained to Honor: A Discussion of Claude… | Poetry Foundation

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Hosted by Al Filreis and featuring Salamishah Tillet, Herman Beavers, and Kathy Lou Schultz.

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Eleanor Haege breaks down Claude McKay‘s poem by using his background to explain what it is like to be an African American, during the Harlem Renaissance, and demonstrating the love-hate relationship, by exploring the significance of the publication America, a poem about the beauty of seeing the United States in a foreign nation and then living the reality that no one discusses. Claude McKay wrote a letter to the United States expressing his admiration for the country and its flawed society. On the surface, the poem combines what America should be and stands for with what it is and the mentality it portrays among African Americans. While we are encouraged to think of America as a magnificent nation full of possibilities, McKay sees it as a cruel, dysfunctional system that crushes African American aspirations and dreams. McKay compares America to a tiger, claiming that it is "sinking into [the] throat [of its] tiger teeth," implying that the country is savage. McKay focuses on the country's catastrophes, violence, and perceived 'bitterness,' with the discrimination against African Americans. Eleanor Haeg considers the context in which the poem was composed. She highlights how Claude McKay was able to provide insight into racism in America and how African Americans were mistreated in Harlem during the 1920s. She describes how Claude McKay is attempting to see past America's negative elements to transform his thinking in the direction of hope for a better future, one which is free of discrimination. The metaphors and alliteration employed by McKay imply that America's dominance will not survive indefinitely, but eventually crashing being lost to time and "sinking in the sand." The parallels between nature and Harlem depict how, while America is thriving with the American Dream and having hope, the country is progressively losing its identity as a result of the discrimination, violence, and inequity that African Americans are experiencing.

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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.

Claude McKay was born in Jamaica in 1889. From birth, he was steeped in a deep racial pride, which can be seen in most of his work. Early on, he was interested in the English style of poetry, and studies all of the greats like Milton and Pope. When he first came to the United States in 1912, he enrolled at Tukegee Institute, but quickly realized that university wasn't for him and moved to New York City where he worked various odd jobs. It was during his time in New York that he began to understand the deep-seated racism of his new country, and it was then that he reverted back to writing in a Jamaican dialect style. Using his homeland for reference and inspiration, McKay became one of the most famous Harlem renaissance poets. He used his success as a platform for his race pride and for his crusade against racism in America. He published a number of collections of poems, including Harlem Shadows, which contains his poem "America." Though his poetry received much praise from the Harlem crowd, he never gained enough momentum to secure a comfortable future. Ultimate, McKay died in a relative state of poverty and illness while working as a teacher in Chicago.

McKay's poem "America" provides insight not only into his own thoughts on America and American racism, but also those of most blacks living in Harlem in the 1920s. "America," though not written in dialect, has an obvious voice. McKay is not careful when describing the pitfalls of American society. He shares the hellishness of being a black man in a white world, calling life in Harlem the "bread of bitterness." However, McKay is quick to turn around and praise the potential of a better future, claiming no feelings of terror or malice, but rather capturing the spirit of American optimism.

"America" was originally published in The Liberator in 1921.

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"America" by Claude McKay, 1921 | Shenandoah

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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.

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Claude McKay, a Jamaican immigrant, writes on his experiences as a foreigner after visiting numerous countries. He utilizes winter to represent both the feeling of being alone while entering a country and the frigid treatment he would receive as a result of his appearance.  McKay wrote about the ideal life he had envisioned if he wasn't segregated from the rest of the world, picturing natural scenery such as rivers, birds, and flowers, as well as living in peace rather than a harsh winter. McKay used a range of literary strategies to uplift and give hope to African Americans, including alliteration, personification, and imagery. The metaphors and alliteration utilized in the descriptions of "trees [with] leaves" and "black-ribbed blue-bells blowing" were used to compare nature as a sign of optimism. The poem is full of personifications, such as nature being given a human emotion to amplify the giddy thoughts that summer brings. The smiles of the orchids and the laughter of the crystal rills create a peaceful and serene atmosphere. The man, within the poem, is filled with hope as he wonders what the world would be like once the "trees have lost their leaves" and he and the listener turn their faces "Toward the summer isle." When winter comes, that hope seems to vanish, leading the man in to seek refuge in a place where "bamboos spire the shafted forest /and wide-mouthed orchids smile." When someone fulfills the American Dream, the poem paints a picture that is beautiful to conceive and provides a very distinct sense of tranquility. Claude McKay uses imagery to create particularly interesting and compelling descriptions so that the reader can imagine the beauty of The American Dream in the summer while also demonstrating the terrors of being denied those dreams once winter arrives and everyone seems to be critiquing every move a foreigner makes. After the Winter inspires African Americans to keep their heads high and accept their individuality in the face of discrimination. Claude Mckay was compelled by this norm, which led him to create a poem to convey optimism about one's successes rather than being dragged down by all the prejudice that was thrown in his way.

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After the Winter By: Claude Mckay - ppt video online download

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Structure of Poem 2 stanzas 16 lines End rhyme Ballad Some day, when trees have shed their leaves And against the morning's white The shivering birds beneath the eaves Have sheltered for the night, We'll turn our faces southward, love, Toward the summer isle Where bamboos spire the shafted grove And wide-mouthed orchids smile.

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Jean Wagner deconstructs Claude McKay's poem Birds of Prey, pointing out how McKay depicted white people as birds whose wings darken the sky. Jean tells how Claude used nature to represent the realities of living in America as an African American by connecting the birds' strategies for catching their prey. Jean emphasizes the injustice, pain, brutality, and prejudice that McKay is chanting in a nonviolent nor vivid way by breaking apart each of the stanzas inside the poem. Jean's critical interpretation of the poem makes use of real events that occurred when McKay came to Alabama to study agronomy at Tuskegee Institute. When he arrived in the United States, he became aware of the widespread racism in the country, prompting him to enroll in Kansas State College in Manhattan. McKay received financial assistance and used it to move to Harlem. Claude intended to combine his passions to seek a career in the United States in the hopes of making his writing pieces more well-known, but he soon learned that the expectations he had back in Jamaica were just unrealistic goals as a black man in America. With the historical background of what was happening to McKay and Harlem in mind, Birds of Prey can be said to be about inequity, segregation, and the belief that African Americans will never be able to overcome white supremacy, as well as the chokehold of being a foreigner in the United States. Throughout the poem, McKay used a variety of literary devices, including imagery, personification, symbolism, and metaphors. When McKay depicts the bird's shadow as dimming "the sunshine of [the prey's] day, as [the birds] fly lumbering in the sky, squawking in the joy of feeling safe and high, beating their owlish gray wings," he is evoking imagery. The descriptive details depict the scene of the birds terrorizing their victim. He's describing how white people can do whatever they want while feeling safe, free, and unafraid of danger or difficulty, meanwhile, the prey reflect the precautions that African Americans must take to avoid suffering harsh repercussions. The poem used personification throughout, associating white people with avian qualities and African Americans with their prey. The birds were on the verge of attacking at any time, conveying to the reader the anxiety that African Americans faced in the United States. According to Jean, the majority of Claude's work demands literal interpretation, but it can "be understood as a condemnation of lynching" in a more expressive way. Claude's work is full of symbolism and metaphors. This is seen in the passages about how the birds "swoop down and fasten in [the prey's] bleeding flesh [using] their claws. [Beating the victims] to surrender, tugging and tearing without pause, [as they] flap their hideous wings in grim delight, [stuffing their prey's] gory hearts into their maws." The birds, prey, and claws all represent white brutality as they beat and viciously tear down African Americans without justification. The metaphor compares humans and their behaviors in the actual world to animals in their natural habitat. As seen by the flapping of the bird's terrible wings in dreadful glee, white people have no compassion and relish the thrill of having authority over African Americans. According to Jean's analysis, African Americans would always be in the shadow of Whites, leaving them helpless to look to the future. Her analysis explains how McKay's work and literary devices hint at the discrimination towards African Americans, including the lack of hope they had felt in acquiring the American Dream.

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American Author Project: Claude McKay.mp4