"America" by Claude McKay

dishonest

changing

welcoming

threatening

The speaker and America have a complicated relationship filled with tension.

The speaker is pleased that America has given him opportunities to attain the American Dream.

The speaker has become completely assimilated into American life and culture.

The speaker believes he is ignorant American history and culture.

The speaker loathes America, has lost faith in America and believes that it will not endure as a great country.

The speaker has a conflicted relationship with America, but ultimately has lost faith in the country.

The speaker experiences in the US have been both positive and negative, and thus he remains indifferent.

The speaker despises America and has decided to speak out about his terrible experiences.

“Although she feeds me bread of bitterness, / And sinks into my throat her tiger’s tooth, / Stealing my breath of life, I will confess / I love this cultured hell that tests my youth.” (Lines 1-4)

“Her vigor flows like tides into my blood, / Giving me strength erect against her hate” (Lines 5-6)

“Yet, as a rebel fronts a king in state, / I stand within her walls with not a shred-- / Of terror, malice, not a word of jeer.” (Lines 8-10)

“Darkly I gaze into the days ahead, / And see her might and granite wonders there” (Lines 11-12)

The word “darkly” conveys the speaker has an overall cynical opinion of America.

The word “darkly” conveys the speaker’s general fear of time.

The word “darkly” conveys that the speaker does not actually know anything about America.

The word “darkly” conveys the speaker’s uncertainty about the future of America.

“I gaze into the days ahead” (Line 11)

“might and granite wonders” (Line 12)

“the Touch of Time’s unerring hand” (Line 13)

“priceless treasures sinking in the sand” (Line 14)

"I love this cultured hell that tests my youth" (Line 4).

"Darkly I gaze into the days ahead," (Line 11).

"Beneath the touch of Time’s unerring hand, / Like priceless treasures sinking in the sand" (Lines 13-14).

"Yet, as a rebel fronts a king in state, / I stand within her walls with not a shred" (Lines 8-9).

optimistic

depressed

pessimistic

furious

The simile illustrates how people often seek to avoid difficult situations because they feel defeated.

The simile demonstrates how America is a war zone that robs oppressed people of their strength and damages them mentally and emotionally.

The simile shows how people are unwilling to change and grow when they are faced with an unfamiliar experience.

The simile accentuates the hope he has to persevere through the challenges he faces even though America violates his human rights.

The ambiguous nature of the relationship between animals and humans.

The teeth of members of the wildcat family.

The breathlessness of a person who has been bitten by a tiger.

The hardships and adversities of life in an anti-black environment.