This really allowed me to think about the extent some people have to go to in order to get by in life, and really made me think about how fortunate I really am. I feel really bad for the prostitute in this poem. No one should have to do something like this in order to get by. .
When it comes to the argument the speaker is making in they sonnet, it gets very complicated. One argument i believe is being made is that the world is not always fair. There are some people who go to work everyday, at a more normal, and respected job, and are able to support themselves and their families. Then there are those who are barely getting by, and have to resort to things, like in Harlem dancer, being a dancer and a prostitute, in order to earn money. The world is not fair, but we o what we have to do to survive. The other argument the speaker is attempting to make is that the dancer does not like doing this job, at all. The speaker says "But, looking at her falsely-smiling face"(13). The only reason she is smiling is for the dance, for the show. The speaker can tell by the look in her eyes, and by the look on her face that she hates herself for doing this, but she must in order to get by, and survive. I think that the woman dancing is still secure in her moral beliefs, and she needs to figure out if this is really worth it. the speaker says "I knew her self was not in that strange place"(14). I believe the speakers wants to tell her that she needs to realize what she doing is slowly going to ruin her self esteem, and this will slowly makes this act of stripping, and being a prostitute seem normal to her. He knows that she knows better, and she does not belong in this "strange place". It is up to her to make a change, and make a positive upgrade in her life.
While reading this poem,and thinking about its speaker, I got the sense that the speaker had not just heard this story, and decided to write about it.