England 1
Corey England
Ms. Parkinson
English IIIB
7 March 2016
McKay in Our World Today
From Claude McKay’s poetry writing, a student today would visualize McKay as a man of speaking a common, untold belief present within his community. In McKay’s poem titled “America”, McKay looks at two sides that contradict each other when forming his opinion of America. He first explains America as “she feeds me with bread of bitterness” (McKay 1), giving the reader the impression that African Americans were permitted to live in America, but doesn’t mean that they enjoyed the luxuries that others enjoy. Words like “her tiger’s tooth” and “bigness sweeps my being like a flood” (McKay 2-7) gives us this negative expression of America. However, statements such as “I gaze into the days ahead, / and see her might and granite wonders there” (McKay 9-10), informs us of his optimism for a brighter future. Now, if we were to look back on his aspirations, have we achieved them today?
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