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Claude Mckay's Home To Harlem

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Claude McKay was a Jamaican poet during the Harlem Renaissance. He had such a strong literary voice that guided him into publishing many novels, essays, and poems, including “Home to Harlem.” Zora Neal Hurston was an American civil rights activist as well as a writer, and anthropologist during the Harlem Renaissance. She published more books and essays than any women in America, including “How it Feels to Be Colored Me.” The essay “Home to Harlem” is an account of life in Harlem through the eyes of Jake, who compares his experiences with memories from his past. With patriotic motives, Jake decided to join the Army, but what he did not know was that he would be carrying building materials and doing work that resembled the slave days. New York wasn’t pleasing him, so he ventured to what seemed would be the next best place, London. After working on the docks in the East End, he was conflicted with race riots that horrified him. Once again he travels, but this time his destination was America in the city of Harlem. Harlem is where he found an attractive “brown woman” prostitute that returned the money he had gave her for pleasing him. He …show more content…

Also, Jake labels Felice “brown woman” when he first sees her, immediately categorizing her by the color of her skin. When Hurston speaks of “sharpening their oyster knife?” she means that she does not accept the self-pitting role of a victim. The meaning within is that you are in a position to take the opportunities that life has to offer. Again, Jake exemplifies this because he travels all over the world to experience life. From reading the Essay, one can see that Jake always does what he thinks is right, and does not let anything or anyone stop

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