Claude McKay

Today I would like to talk about Claude McKay's poem " The Harlem Dancer". This poem is 14 lines long and uses anaphoria only once with the word "The" in lines 6 and 11. There is a simili in line 3 as follows "Her voice was like the sound of blended flutes/ Blown by black players upon a picnic day". There is also a metaphore in line 7 as follows, "To me she seemed a proudly-swaying palm".It states in the auto biography of Claude McKay that this poem "reflects the poets alientation". I think that is exactly right.The last line of the poem reads, "I knew her self was not in that strange place". Although all eyes were on this exoctice dancer, even the young youth, this was not where she wanted to be and possibly not where she belonged. This was her way of making money, "and tossing coins in praise" (line 10). Coins in praise? Should she be praised that she has to show her body to earn a living or was this a nice way of saying that the people throwing coins were simply enjoying this exoctic show. It is sad to me that any human being should feel that this is what they need or have to do to earn a living but I also need to remember that times were a lot different back when this poem was different. I think that this also reflects the time where African Americans were used as entertainment or help. They were not treated equally, this is clear in that this woman had a job such as this.