1. After reading the two poems "america " and "the tropics in new York" by Claude McKay, compare and contrast the poems. Consider imagery, rhetorical devices, and tone. Which do you think is more peaceful? Why? Support your answer with evidence from the text.Answer the question in 3-5 sentences.
*im not sure if this is correct but i feel america is her longing for the future while the tropics in new york is her longing for the past,but im not sure how to go about answering this question.
Here's The Tropics of New York.
The Tropics in New York
BY CLAUDE MCKAY
Bananas ripe and green, and ginger-root,
Cocoa in pods and alligator pears,
And tangerines and mangoes and grape fruit,
Fit for the highest prize at parish fairs,
Set in the window, bringing memories
Of fruit-trees laden by low-singing rills,
And dewy dawns, and mystical blue skies
In benediction over nun-like hills.
My eyes grew dim, and I could no more gaze;
A wave of longing through my body swept,
And, hungry for the old, familiar ways,
I turned aside and bowed my head and wept.
I agree with you about this poem. It sounds like it was written by someone who used to live in the tropics. What imagery and rhetorical devices were used in this poem?
Who is the author of America?
@ms.sue it’s the same author for both poems
America
BY CLAUDE MCKAY
Although she feeds me bread of bitterness,
And sinks into my throat her tiger’s tooth,
Stealing my breath of life, I will confess
I love this cultured hell that tests my youth.
Her vigor flows like tides into my blood,
Giving me strength erect against her hate,
Her bigness sweeps my being like a flood.
Yet, as a rebel fronts a king in state,
I stand within her walls with not a shred
Of terror, malice, not a word of jeer.
Darkly I gaze into the days ahead,
And see her might and granite wonders there,
Beneath the touch of Time’s unerring hand,
Like priceless treasures sinking in the sand.