The Harlem Dancer by Claude McKay was written in 1922. It serves as a historic insight about the realities of African Americans culture that was meant to be used as a means of empowerment serving as entertainment for the white oppressors of the time.
In the 1920s the music scene became a huge part of African American culture and a means of self-expression and empowerment for those in the community. With the rise of the Harlem renaissance there grew an appreciation or more so an infatuation with African American culture. It became fashionable and trendy for white Americans to attend these music and poetry events and go to clubs in Harlem as a means of entertainment. Even though the music and poetry of the time was being produced to be enjoyed by other African Americas there was a huge interest by white Americans looking for this empowering art movement to be …show more content…
The poem “The Harlem Dancer” opens with the image of a gorgeous woman performing for a crowd of young people and prostitutes. “The wine-flushed, bold-eyed boys, and even the girls, / devoured her shape with eager, passionate gaze;” (McKay lines 11-12) The description of the young woman goes to show that she was so breath-taking that even the girls in the crowd were enamored by her. This could also be a statement about the exploitation of African American artists and performers, seeing them as just objects for the pleasure and entertainment of others. In contrast to the members of the rowdy crowd she is shown as graceful and calm. The dancer is compared to that of a palm tree, proud and lovely. We see the harsh comparison of the dancer singing, “Her voice was like the sound of blended flutes / Blown by black players upon a picnic day.” (McKay line 3-4) and the excitable and brash energy of the crowd, “; and tossing coins in praise,” (McKay line 10). This contrast gives helps provide a much
In the 1920s the music scene became a huge part of African American culture and a means of self-expression and empowerment for those in the community. With the rise of the Harlem renaissance there grew an appreciation or more so an infatuation with African American culture. It became fashionable and trendy for white Americans to attend these music and poetry events and go to clubs in Harlem as a means of entertainment. Even though the music and poetry of the time was being produced to be enjoyed by other African Americas there was a huge interest by white Americans looking for this empowering art movement to be …show more content…
The poem “The Harlem Dancer” opens with the image of a gorgeous woman performing for a crowd of young people and prostitutes. “The wine-flushed, bold-eyed boys, and even the girls, / devoured her shape with eager, passionate gaze;” (McKay lines 11-12) The description of the young woman goes to show that she was so breath-taking that even the girls in the crowd were enamored by her. This could also be a statement about the exploitation of African American artists and performers, seeing them as just objects for the pleasure and entertainment of others. In contrast to the members of the rowdy crowd she is shown as graceful and calm. The dancer is compared to that of a palm tree, proud and lovely. We see the harsh comparison of the dancer singing, “Her voice was like the sound of blended flutes / Blown by black players upon a picnic day.” (McKay line 3-4) and the excitable and brash energy of the crowd, “; and tossing coins in praise,” (McKay line 10). This contrast gives helps provide a much