Explain the following lines:
But the Almighty from the darkness drew
My soul and said: Even thou shalt be a light
Awhile to burn on the benighted earth,
Thy dusky face I set among the white
For thee to prove thyself of higher worth; (8-12)
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These lines say that the Almighty, which can be surmised as God, told the narrator's soul that he should take a stand in this ignorant world. The Almighty set the narrator among the white people to prove that he was superior to them. McKay is trying to say that God placed the Black people on this earth for them to prove themselves. They were meant to be more worthy than the white people -- they just needed to shine. Instead of being in the shadow, they need to take leadership and overcome the White people.
ReplyDeleteYes, the Almighty that McKay mentions is probably referring to God. In a time of despair, God reached out to the narrator and gave him strength to rise above his oppressors. By standing up against the White fiends, the narrator would prove to everyone that he and his people are just as worthy as the Whites if not more.
ReplyDeleteIn those lines, the poet said that, the world would find out the almighty the black have, and the black would prove it to the world, especially to the white people that, even though black people was lead by the white, and live in the bottom floor from the community. they still can have the equal status and standing as white.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Anya liu point of view. The God creates us with different color of skin, during the history; Black was living lower than White People. White people’s skin is lightly than our Black people, they are just different in the outlook. It is not difference with the level. Racial discrimination is from the color of our skin. Black and White are living in the community, when a Black people set in the middle of the White we will feel strange. . It doesn’t mean Black is fiend and savage.
ReplyDeleteReading a poem is like working out a puzzle. It is hard to understand its meaning. I guess McKay wants to ask his black brothers not to be a fiend and a savage, but to prove themselves of highest worth, to effect positive social change.
ReplyDeleteI agree other student that "Almighty" means God. The first two lines said that God created every one equally, and even African American should be equal to Whithes whose lighter skin color. The last three lines, the writer indicated that African American should not ashame on their skin color, and they should do their best to show their ability and personal values, in order to prove African Americans are the same as Whites, especially in the United States--a Whites dominant society.
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