Thursday, March 25, 2010
Harlem Shadows
Claude McKay's poem "Harlem Shadows" is very interesting because it makes you think about why people do the things they do. You can also see what people are willing to do just for money instead of relying on thier God to provide for them. This poem is talking about prostitutes in Harlem. It says that they stay busy all the time and never get time off. They are supposedly having to sell their bodies to provide for themselves. I really did not like the poem because he makes it sound like it is a good thing that they are working hard eventhough the situation is really tough. We all know that there is definitely other things that the women could be doing and that they are actually taking the easy way out of their situation. Just because someone is in poverty does not mean that they should dishonor or disgrace themselves. I like the first line of the poem where it is talking about how Harlem's veil falls at night. Things may be looking better for his race in Harlem but during the night you see the kinds of things that are happening to them such as the prostitutes. Things arent all better and happy but at first you don't really see that.
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I agree with you 110% Ms. Bailey. The sense of remorse for these individuals are a bit appalling to me. The author makes us think we should feel sorry for these "girls who pass" that they were forced to sell their bodies. I cannot accept that notion for there are other things to productively work, even in a recession or tough times. The author blames the world, "Ah stern harsh world, that in a wretched way" and I hold that not true either. I agree on your take in this poem Bailey. that we should not fully look down with remorse on a disgraceful person.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with what Ms. Bailey and Mr. Fhlug both say. I do not believe we should look down on people like this because it is their own personal preference to sell their bodies the way they do. They could find other jobs or do something more productive and make more money than doing the things they do. The poem is not sad because of the girls that are in it, but it is sad due to the fact that it is describing our world that we live in today. Everywhere we look around the corner in major cities we can see things like this happening all over the world. Most of the time people just choose to stay busy or look the other way so they will not have to get a glimpse of what is really going on.
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