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Once riding in old Baltimore,
Heart-filled, head-filled with glee,
I saw a Baltimorean
Keep looking straight at me.

Now I was eight and very small,
And he was no whit bigger,
And so I smiled, but he poked out
His tongue and called me, "Nigger."

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In Heritage, by Countee Cullen, Similes are present throughout the poem to encapsulate the internal struggle of identity of the speaker. In the phrase in stanza 2 line 16 and 17 it states, "With the dark blood dammed within/Like great pulsing tides of wine" comparing his blood to wine. Wine is usually associated with sustenance and life and if his blood is being dammed it may feel as if he feels that his life is being limited and cannot live out his truth. Also wine can connotated to Christ's blood in which he states that Christ is within him and that his presence is powerful through the mention of "great tides" and how it is in the works to change him. In stanza 4 line 14/15 the speaker states, "Ever must I twist and squirm,/Writhing like a baited worm" demonstrating how he is unable to get out of this situation how he is constantly suffering this internal struggle that is now affecting him externally.
in the Post-Shift he explains that now belong to Jesus Christ, finding a resolution to his identity but it came with a price as he states. He states in the last stanza line 3, "Quench my pride and cool my blood" he uses personification in which it seems as he is changing himself to become more complacent. Although he has now associated himself with Christianity it came with sacrifice.

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In "Heritage" by Countee Cullen, he uses similes to showcase his feelings and situation in the poem. The beginning of the poem is relaxing and positive as he describes the landscape and culture of Africa. He then writes "dark blood dammed within Like great pulsing tides of wine". He states that his blood is thrashing against a chafing net, showing his inner struggle of identity or belief, possibly due to some external factor keeping him back or confusing him. The external factor in the poem may be soldiers or captors who are keeping him under control. He later says "Like a soul gone mad with pain
I must match its weird refrain;
Ever must I twist and squirm,
Writhing like a baited worm", showing his struggles of being kept captive and being forced to listen to the unfamiliar and frightening sounds of where he was brought to.

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In Countee Cullen's "Heritage," the speaker employs metaphors before and after the poem's shift to capture the speaker's internal conflicts and lack of control over their connection to their heritage. To begin, in the second stanza, Cullen writes, "With the dark blood crammed within / Like great pulsing tides of wine." In this simile, the speaker compares their "dark blood," a stand-in for their passion for their African heritage, to "pulsing tides of wine," a phrase that evokes the uncontrollability of natural tide movements. By comparing these two disparate ideas, the speaker gives their passionate emotions for their heritage a wild quality that makes evident the lack of control the speaker has over this emotion, suggesting that their connection to their heritage is akin to primordial but nonetheless powerful force that transcends the capabilities of their mind and instead manifests in their "blood" or inherent passion. Following the poem's shift between stanzas six and seven, the speaker begins to cool their previous fervor and ameliorate their tumultuous connection to Africa. This new outlook is particularly evident in how the speaker employs a metaphor in the lines, "Lest a hidden ember set / Timber that I thought was wet / Burning," as the comparison between the "hidden ember" and the speaker's hidden wild temperament toward their heritage conveys again the lack of control they have over their connection to Africa. As an ostensibly innocuous ember may ignite into a blazing fire, the speaker believes that their blood connection to Africa, though seemingly quiet and subdued, may erupt into the explosion of emotion that occurred in the poem's previous stanzas. Though this metaphor communicates the same kind of uncontrollability as the earlier simile, it also demonstrates the speaker's more conscious and self-controlled understanding of their temperament, as they see their conflict regarding their heritage as something that can be ignited rather than something that is ongoing and uncontrollable. In conclusion, the speaker's use of metaphor before and after the shift in "Heritage" suggests that heritage and the myriad of internal conflicts, passions, and confusions it provokes are inherent to it.

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In Heritage, by Countee Cullen, the use of similes helps the speaker connect on a deeper level not only with the reader, but also with the details of Africa. In the pre-shift of the poem Cullen uses phrases such as, "With the dark blood dammed within Like great pulsing tides of wine" to describe the richness of the life that is pulsing through his veins. This line brings out an idea that is not seen as often in the poem. Here is is almost praising his ancestry by using words such as "pulsing tides" and "wine", which all have traditionally positive connotations. There are a lot of moments pre-shift as well that bring out a tone of regret or shame in where he comes from. Often, Cullen uses words with contradicting meanings within the same sentence, which give the reader a feeling of conflict within the speaker. For example, "Great drums throbbing through the air." In this statement the word throbbing is usually associated with that of pain or injury, while the phrase "great drums" gives a picture of a grand spectacle. The duality in the imagery that Cullens uses further pushes the idea that the speaker themselves does not truly know what Africa means to them.  Post-shift however, which begins, All day long and all night..." paints a different picture. This part of the poem is almost an acceptance of who and where the speaker is. In the line, "Quench my pride and cool my blood, Lest I perish in the flood." The speaker is asking to be humbled so that he does not get washed away by his own devices. In the last lines of the poem, "Not yet has my heart or head. In the least way realized. They and I are civilized." The speaker writes that he has not realized that he is civilized, but the very fact that he wrote it implies that he realizes he has more worth than he attributes to himself.

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In Countee Cullen's "Heritage," the speaker uses similes to describe the feelings for their heritage. In the second, stanza, Cullen writes, "with the dark blood dammed within/ like great pulsing tides of wine." This simile comparing blood to wine with unusual describing words like "throbbing" imply a conflicted sense of religion. In the post shift and final stanza of the poem, Cullen uses another simile to contrast other topics he discusses earlier. Cullen expresses his wish to "quench [his] pride and cool [his] blood" with the fear that it will begin "burning like the dryest flax." It is important to know that a flax is a beautiful blue plant, so this simile shows that one shouldn't let pride consume them. The comment about dryness contrasts the abundant rainfall that he vividly mentions earlier on.

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Within the pre-shift the author uses personification in order to reveal the feelings of the speaker. "The tree/Budding yearly must forget/How its past arose or set" the speaker uses this personification of the tree to showcase their feelings towards their heritage as they seem to think about it from time to time but in the end forget the true importance of it. Within the post-shift of the poem the speaker feels urgency to find the importance within their heritage as seen within the lines "I can never rest at all/When the rain begins to fall;/Like a soul gone mad with pain/I must watch its weird refrain". This metaphor reveals the idea that the speaker now begins to feel the importance of their heritage and it gives them the desire to take part what use to be. These two pieces of figurative language paints how the speaker at first feels that their heritage is something that they cannot really comprehend and once they think deeply about it and recognize where they are at the moment it makes them realize how important it is and gives them the sense that they must return back to what it use to be.

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Countee Cullen uses figurative language such as personification and allusions in his poem "Heritage", to  compare the beautiful nature that Africa as offered him to the strict nature of his Christian religion imposes. When describing what Africa was to him, Cullen personified the country in order to convey his concept of Africa in a more relatable way, stating, "Africa? A book one thumbs
Listlessly, till slumber comes.
Unremembered are her bats
Circling through the night, her cats".  By personifying Africa, the author effectively describes the nature within his heritage by giving her the possession of the nature that lives within the land. However, a shift does occur in the 5th stanza, where the author moves from describing nature to using allusion to his Christian teachings, "Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
So I make an idle boast;
Jesus of the twice-turned cheek,
Lamb of God, although I speak
With my mouth thus, in my heart
Do I play a double part". Here, Cullen brings up god and how he feels that he's playing a 'double part' by feeling tied to his religion but still pay homage to his heritage in Africa. The author's allusion to religion, played a part in his internal conflict between his heritage and his devotion to Christianity.

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pre-shift
Countee Cullen effectively used imagery, alongside with verbal irony, to demonstrate the sense of pride, yet shame that African Heritage brings to the descendants of African slaves. Cullen describes Africa through a very specific choice in words, “Copper sun or scarlet sea, Jungle star or jungle track, ... Spicy grove, cinnamon tree”, “Goading massive jungle herds, Juggernauts of flesh that pass Trampling tall defiant grass.” Yet, he contradicts these vivid descriptions through verbal irony which we can see when he says “A book one thumbs Listlessly, till slumber comes.” Saying that Africa is a boring book that you would read before bed to pass the time, creates the idea that African heritage is the speaker’s pride, yet, at the same time, he is ashamed.
Post-shift

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Pre-shift: In the second stanza, Cullen uses a simile with blood and wine, "with the dark blood dammed within/ like great pulsing tides of wine." Cullen uses ties to wine in the Christian religion but it is not a good thing because he calls his blood “dammed” and that the wine is pulsating. It could mean that Christianity was imposed on him in America and does not like it.

Post shift: In the final stanza of the poem, Cullen expresses his wish to "quench my pride and cool my blood" it shows how the author wants to get back the traditions and heritage of Africa as he has been civilized in America and doesn’t fit into either of the two.

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A possible theme would be that of transformation not for oneself but to fit the environment one is in. The speaker is going through internal struggle in which he cannot identify what his heritage mean to him through the statement "What is Africa to me..." and "Africa?" it seems as if he has no person connection from his place of origin although originating there. It then shows a contrast with being part of Christianity by the statement, "I belong to Jesus Christ" although this is a new development in which he is able to identify this as part of his identity, the speaker does not seem to be all to happy about it. This big idea is worth discussing as it shows how the issue of identity as finding where one belongs could come with a price of losing other aspects of one's identity as experienced by the speaker.

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Countee Cullen uses a mixture of similes and metaphors in order to describe his love for his heritage and homeland. He uses the words, "Spicy grove, cinnamon tree" to describe his homeland and what it reminds him off. Post-shift, he relies on allusions and biblical references to display his internal conflict of religion and heritage.

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A possible big idea could be instead of holding on to things that you can not change, focus on how those things have shaped you into what or who you are. If the speaker had focused less on criticizing his heritage he could have been able to see more clearly the wonders that it produced. This is worth discussing because when someone is able to accept who they are for what they are, they can use that to build themselves up.

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The poem talks about an internal struggle or fight about identity, where the author is caught in between his original heritage and culture and the new culture/beliefs that he has been exposed to and is forced to uphold. This big idea of struggling with identity is the basis for the inner struggle that the author is going through as he tries to understand what his true beliefs are.

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It seems that internal conflicts regarding identity and one's connection to the past is one of the poem's big ideas. I think the speaker's eventual settling with the dissonance between their African heritage and their Christian worldview suggests that identity is a compromise?

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I think the theme could be trying to figure out who you are because the author is trying to figure out who he is with his connections to Africa, which he knows little about. He knows the importance of culture and religion, but he was born and lives in a different country so there is that disconnect from his origin. The author struggles with his identity because he can not fit into any of the two countries he knows about. Identity is an important thing in a person’s life but possibly not letting things like country and traditions chain them down on what defines them as a person.

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I think the possible theme or big idea the poem addresses is a sense of identity when it comes to parts of one's heritage that they are fond of and the parts not so fond of. His assertive tone early in the poem suggests that Africa holds no place in his heart, but the shift occurs when the speaker misses his homeland so much that he becomes restless. I think this is worth discussing because heritage is a part of us that makes us unique.

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In the poem, "Heritage" by Countee Cullen, he uses multiple elements of figurative languages. He uses a lot of imagery/ metaphor to describe his heritage in Africa. He mentions what Africa is to him, he says "spicy grove, cinnamon tree" which shows that is something that means a lot to him and what makes him remember where he comes from.Another major aspect of it is how he mentions the flowers and fruit blossoming.

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I think that the big idea presented is  internal conflict between the author's devotion to Christianity and his ethnicity, concluding that it is important to relinquish your struggle and understand that your heritage is just as important as the devotion to religion now, despite the conflict it creates.

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Cullen uses figurative language to demonstrate how Africa is impacted by both its beautiful nature and it's strict religion. Pre shift he uses personification to describe the beauty of nature. By doing this he makes the setting of Africa seem much greater than just a place. Post shift he begins to use religious allusions and imagery to demonstrate the strict Christian beliefs.

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I think that one of the main ideas is how he is mentioning all of these different aspects that go into his heritage in africca. It sounds as if all of these things combined made him what he is. I think the big idea is that you kind of accept what certain things around you make you and how it has a major impact on a person. I think that he is trying to figure certain aspects of himself out while not loosing that connection with his Heritage. I think that he is also struggling to find who he is and how he can also incorporate his religion into it as well

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I believe this poem is focusing on the speakers internal struggle with his love and disdain for certain parts of where he came from. Along with this his struggle seems to be informing his identity in some way.

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The speaker uses figurative language to describe the beautiful landscape and nature of Africa but also. He uses techniques like personification to describe how wild and alive the ecosystem is with examples such as "Trampling tall defiant grass." He also uses similes such as "Like great pulsing tides of wine" giving a sense that there is something a part of Africa that he does not like. He makes many allusions such as references to wine and the phrase "father, son and holy spirit". However when he mentions these he doesn't portray it in a good light but instead does it as if he was sick from it with phrases such as if it has taken over his background of Africa.

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A possible theme from this could be acceptance into a new society and understanding a your new identity as he was previously from Africa and grew up there living in its landscape and remembering all of the things that he did there and his culture, but now he deals with the idea of being a Christian which clashes with his history.

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A possible big idea for the poem is conflict with identity. He believes in the way of religion but they don't always match up with the way history has occurred.

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In the poem Heritage by Cullen there is an big idea revealed to us through the use of figurative language. Pre-shift the poet uses an allusion to bring a sense of uniqueness to Africa. He says in line 6, " when the birds of Eden sing?" The poet decides to use this allusion because the birds of Eden are special to the area of Africa. Life is thought to have originated in the Northern part of Africa which is an allusion to the Bible in the garden of Eden. After the shift in the line where the speaker says "Quaint, outlandish heathen gods", the speaker starts talking about his devotion to Christianity but also Africa. The speaker tells Jesus that he also worships "dark gods", though he calls Jesus his savior. This leads to the big idea of how challenging devotion to two things is.when they conflict especially culture.

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A big idea present here is the difficulty of living in a culture while following a nontraditional religion. The speaker is challenged with having to lie at times, he starts stanzas with "but I lie", showing the two sided nature of the speaker. The speaker seems to be struggling since he is sort of complaining about himself and how his culture and religion conflict. This is important to talk about because the speaker is trying to find his identity, he knows he belongs to God but he struggles with prioritizing God in his life from what seems like his African culture. Confessing this through the poem seems to help the speaker come to the realization of who they really are.