Analysis of "Outcast" by Claude McKay
Outcast written by the famous poet Claude McKay is a typical 14line sonnet that expresses the live that he went through and the life that he desired. He wrote the sonnet in the 20th century. However, an analysis of the sonnet reveals its relevance in the contemporary world.
Claude expresses the dark background of his parents (line 1). Sometimes, we are not happy with our background, and we, therefore, strive to change our environment for the better. We strive to attain that position where our body and spirit desire (line 2). We might consider our experience as a shadowy one, but our devotion to change it never succeeds. Those around us do not recognize the words or actions that we use (line 3). Such frustrations might make one go back to their past where they will continue proclaiming obsolete jingles (line 4). Taking such a step is a deterioration of personal life but is still better if one wishes to live a peaceful lie (line 5).
Line 6 informs us that we might not be free as we commonly consider. The great western world still holds us as slaves (line 7) and we must continue paying services to the lords. We continue bending our knees to the alien gods who furtively control life in secluded places such as Africa (line 8). Under their control, life will continue to be a hopeless mission to many of the oppressed.
Sometimes, in the pursuit of change, we realize that we have lost an important part of us (line 9). We lose our spiritual freedom (line 10) and might never again be able to recover it. Without this freedom, we feel separated and without substance. We end up living a ghostly life (line 11). You become an outcast of the society (line 12). However, all this is because you were not born in a certain environment, probably the world of the whites (line 13). This ingeniously indicates that racism is still predominant despite all efforts to fight it (line 14). Human race is judged by skin color and background.
