USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The tone of “If We Must Die” conveys inspiration, while the tone of “Harlem” is frustration which indicates the difference between the poets’ attitudes toward racial oppression. In the first eight lines of “If We Must Die”, the speaker insists on dying nobly.

Detailed explanation-2: -The speaker of If We Must Die calls upon their kinsmen to avoid being like hogs, hunted and penned. Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!” In this second quatrain, the speaker continues the mood of inspiration through the idea that death in this fight will mean honor and will be a noble death.

Detailed explanation-3: -Lines 1 through 4 establish that the speaker and his allies are under attack. The speaker urges his allies not to give up without a fight. The next four lines draw on the emotions of the allies to die honorably.

Detailed explanation-4: -McKay uses the concept of dying with dignity to persuade his fellow African-Americans that are being oppressed to fight for what they believe in. McKay uses literary devices such as similes to make a comparisons expressing how the African-Americans were being treated.