Although opposing Bennett's idea that slavery is not empowering, Claude McKay sees slavery as a source of power in his sexual poem, "America. " With the opening of the poem, McKay makes it clear that the America he visualizes is a woman as he writes, "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! ... In the following lines, McKay describes how America arouses him: "Her vigor flows like tides into my blood/Giving me strength erect against her hate " (lines 5...

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• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography