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Themes of Immagration and Fear in American Poetry

Themes of Immagration and Fear in American Poetry

Coming to the United States, a nation that was supposed to offer better life to newcomers was a major turning point for immigrants. For few it was joyous, others adventurous, and for many it was a heart wrenching experience. The fear of not being accepted as equal human beings in the US was a fear that all immigrants shared, especially the Africans, Latinos, and Japanese immigrants. This fear has been expressed not only by the immigrants themselves, but also by poets throughout history.

White settlers referred to African immigrants as blacks, Africans, slaves, and other hurtful words. The African immigrants that came to the United States were called every name in the book except African American. African American immigrants had every right to fear not being accepted by society. Upon their arrival to the United States, these immigrants were exposed to racism, violence, and hatred. People from adults to children expressed strong and hateful feelings towards African Americans. Countee Cullen, a colored poet from the Harlem Renaissance, opened this idea up to the public in his poem, “Incident”. The poem paints the image of an African American boy on a visit to the city of Baltimore. Having never seen anything that could compare to the city the small boy is overtaken with feelings of joy and awe. The small African American comes across another child, similar in age and size, but who happens to be of the opposite color, white. The difference in their skin color is like night and day. The sight of the African American’s dark skin stimulates the white boy to recall what his parents, elders and society had taught him, to shun the dark people. The African American’s instinct is to smile at the white boy. Therefore, he does just that, and in return, the white boy sticks out his tongue and throws the label, “nigger” at him. The beautiful memories and experiences that the African American had experienced shatter the moment the word “nigger” hits his ears. The point that the poem is making here is that people of America are taught to hate at early ages. Not only are they taught to hate but they are also trained to differentiate between their race and other races. Actions...

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