In “The White City”, Claude McKay describes his feelings for the city in which he resides. It is important to remember that this sonnet was written during the Harlem Renaissance, when there was an outpouring of African American literature as well as demand for fair and equal social stature in the country. As a black Jamaican, Claude undoubtedly witnessed end experienced firsthand the yoke of oppression placed on blacks in the United States. In the first quatrain of the sonnet, McKay talks about his hatred against the city and those who enforce it within its boundaries. However, he also states that he is powerless to express his feelings and take action against the injustice he witnesses, saying that he must keep his hate, “Deep in the secret chambers of my heart.” In the second quatrain, he continues to expand the feelings of his hate, saying that he, “would be a skeleton” without it, and that it provides him with energy that he needs to survive in the white man’s world. Both the first and second quatrains help to establish the poet’s emotions and gauge the depths of his rage against the white city and its rulers. However, the third quatrain stands in sharp contrast with the previous two, as McKay goes on to describe the aesthetic qualities of the city. His use of imagery such as the “towers vapor-kissed”, create in the reader a false sense of contentment, as they are put momentarily at ease due to the change of tone in the poem. Yet in the couplet at the end, McKay brings his point full circle, saying in the last line, “Are sweet like wanton loves because I hate.” Though he sees the beauty of the city, he hates it because he can also see the oppression and racism smoldering beneath the seemingly serene surface. Due to this fact the city is not beautiful to him at all, and instead just serves as a symbol of oppression.

What's the Real Drama Response

Though high school kids cannot hope to fully answer these questions, it is important that we consider them in order to prepare for life beyond school. A fulfilling life can be defined in so many ways depending on the person whom you are questioning. I myself, like many other young people, have set up the way of a fulfilling life through fairly stereotypical means. I have studied hard in school, participated on numerous athletic teams, applied to several well known and esteemed colleges, and volunteered at local programs around my community. All of these are aspects of our life that society demands of us, and accordingly should lead to a fulfilling life. Yet that is not the case. Many extraordinary people have successfully completed the above steps, and have lamented that their life has been meaningless, without purpose or fulfillment. Instead of following the normal standard that society has given us, we must make our own decisions on how to live a fulfilling life.



Despite the best of our intentions, we have to accept that problems and failures will occur in our lives as surely as the sun sets and rises each day. When such setbacks appear on our horizon, we have several choices on how to handle them. One option is to let them compound and overwhelm us, and so many of us can at times fall into this state of mind. I know the feeling that one gets when it seems as though everything is going wrong, and the whole world is against you. There have been times where I wanted to just curl up in a ball and shut myself away from the rest of the world and society. All people will fall into this trap occasionally, but it is the person who does not have the mental focus and strength to pull themselves out of it that will be lost for the rest of their lives. The other option to this dilemma is to push through the hard times, and view them as opportunities to strengthen yourself and learn from the failures of the past and to apply that experience to our future problems. In the Bible, James tells us to rejoice when we go through great trials and hardships. He does not mean that we should be happy when bad events happen, but that we need to view them as tests that will strengthen our faith and bring us closer to God.



The Real Dream that we ought to pursuing cannot simply be the American Dream or your parennt's dream. Instead, we must follow our own dream, whatever it may be. God will provide us the tools and the means to fulfill our dream, but it is up to us whether or not we will have the courage to take what He has given us and use it to fulfill our calling.