The central idea in the poem “America” by Claude McKay is that even though America is strong and powerful in sometimes negative ways, the poet loves and respects her for those qualities. The poet’s usage of analogies contributes to the central idea of the poem by describing the harsh qualities of America. McKay compares the relationship between a citizen and America to a person having a tiger’s tooth sunken into their throat when he says “And sinks into my throat her tiger’s tooth, / Stealing my breath of life” (McKay, 2-3). By comparing America to a tiger, which is an extremely strong animal, McKay is illustrating the dominance and power that she has over her citizens. Then by saying that the tiger’s tooth sinks into a citizen’s throat, McKay
