Explication of "America"

I chose Claude McKay's poem entitled America for its imagery and political inclinations. McKay, a Jamaican immigrant of the Harlem Renaissance, utilizes metaphor to depict his difficult relationship with American society. 

The nation is described as both animal and edifice. According to McKay, America "feeds [him] bread of bitterness, / And sinks into [his] throat her tiger’s tooth." She also is like "a king in state" and building with encompassing "walls." All of these comparisons serve to outline McKay's attitude towards his country of residence. The oppression that McKay experiences is "Stealing [his] breath of life" and also "tests [his] youth." Despite the anger he possesses over the "hate" in America, McKay claims that it is "Giving [him] strength erect against her." This strength stems from his hope for the future of the United States. The speaker states "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." McKay writes that despite the dark times that America is undergoing he sees the light at the end of the tunnel or the "granite wonders" and "priceless treasures" that are metaphors for future progress towards racial equality. McKay is hopeful enough to see the potential of American society and governance for he makes statements such as "Her vigor flows like tides into my blood" and "Her bigness sweeps my being like a flood." The "vigor" and "bigness" of the US, according to the speaker, is what will allow the nation to move away from discrimination and oppression.

The detailed imagery was what initially caught my eye with this poem and I knew with the title of America that the poem would be politically charged, which is something I'm interested in. Like McKay I can't be cynical when it comes to the future of my nation for I am invested in politics and would like to pursue a job in government. My hope to bring about social change and better this nation is what has inspired me to pick this poem.