In 2017 legendary artist Taylor Swift came back with a thrilling and vengeful song titled “Look What You Made Me Do,” in which Swift states in the pre-chorus, “But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time, / Honey I rose up from the dead I do it all the time,” before the famous title refrain of the chorus. Swift spreads self-confidence because she understands that she is intelligent, capable, and strong, and she will never remain “dead” or let the media and her enemies take her down. With enemies like Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, and the media always trying to make her look bad, this lyric proves that Swift responds to this hatred and suffering with one simple value: pride. Because Swift has pride in her own career, success, and capability as an artist and human, hatred cannot take her down. But the concept of pride and its benefits lends itself to much gray area in today’s society because most people negatively connotate pride as arrogance or selfishness. However, pride just takes self-confidence to a level of personal achievement and value, and it is especially important for those who are suffering. Without loving one’s self, one can never find happiness or any hope through hardship, and pride can act as a guide for that self-love and confidence to survive the pain. But not only Taylor Swift understands this; a famous writer of the Harlem Renaissance named Claude McKay explores these themes in his collection of sonnets called Harlem Shadows. Having pride in one’s own identity was crucial for people of color who faced discrimination in America, and McKay demonstrates the importance of pride through his portrayal of different characters who suffer. In Harlem Sonnets, McKay argues that one must have pride in one’s own identity to respond to suffering because pride makes one unafraid of seemingly intolerable pain, it leads to perseverance and optimism in times of suffering, and it allows for a focus on inner characteristics rather than outer.
McKay argues that to respond to suffering, one must have pride because it makes one unafraid of pain. For example, in the poem “Baptism,” McKay describes someone venturing into a furnace of fire as that narrator proclaims, “I will not quiver in the frailest bone, / You will not note a flicker of defeat” (Baptism lines 5-6). A motion of quivering indicates fear and fragility, but the narrator claims he will not quiver or have fear, not even in the “frailest bone.” This means in the most delicate and vulnerable parts of his body and core, he has no fear of his fragility or possible weakness, and this confidence in his strength demonstrates a pride in his own identity that leads to being unafraid. This pride is obvious in his claim of not seeing a “flicker of defeat,” not even the smallest glimpse. Thus, there is a connection between pride and how he feels unafraid of the immense pain that may come from crawling into fire. Then, the narrator continues to describe his lack of fear as he discusses, “My heart shall tremble not its fate to meet” (7). The narrator’s heart represents his core, emotions, and what makes him as a person – his identity – and he shows pride in this identity by proclaiming that his heart will not “tremble to meet its fate.” Just like quivering, trembling shows fear, weakness, and in this context hesitation, because to meet one’s fate (in this case) means to accept pain and even death. But the narrator has no fear or hesitation to embrace this fate. Thus, by saying his heart will not tremble, the narrator conveys how his pride in his core identity makes him strong and totally unafraid of any pain. Furthermore, as he goes deeper into the hell of the furnace, the narrator of the poem explains, “Desire destroys, consumes my mortal fears” (11). Based on the pain he feels through the poem, the “desire” the narrator refers to is probably a passion to become stronger and push through the hell. It “destroys” as a force of power, meaning the narrator feels powerful and thus has confidence that he will get what he wants. So, this pride “consumes [his] mortal fears” because he knows he can beat fear; he calls it “mortal fear” because he understands how it is a human characteristic to be scared. But his pride and self-confidence let him believe he has transcended this mortality and thus cannot be harmed by any pain. While this may seem a bit arrogant, it is necessary to have this prideful mindset in times of hardship because as shown, it prevents one from succumbing to suffering that can feel inescapable. The narrator’s pride in his identity makes him more confident and completely fearless of suffering, so he can make his way through the furnace and the pain.
While pride makes one unafraid of pain, McKay also demonstrates that pride is important to respond to suffering because it teaches one how to persevere and remain optimistic during hard times. First, McKay ends a different poem, “If we must die,” by showing a final cry for action after a brutal battle as he describes, “Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack, / Pressed to the wall, dying but fighting back!” (If we must die 13-14). By claiming he will fight “like men,” the narrator demonstrates pride in his strength of “manhood” and his identity. He calls his enemies “murderous” and “cowardly” because he believes they are not only vicious and savage but also afraid of him. So, it is clear the narrator feels prideful over his enemies, and this pride leads to him being not only unafraid but also more persevering, as seen through the following line. He is “pressed to the wall, dying,” meaning he is powerless and at the mercy of his enemies. But he understands this and chooses to “fight back” and remain optimistic because of his pride over his enemies. This is important because pride does not give one more power as most may think; rather, it helps guide one through hardship and can provide a light for optimism and perseverance even when death seems so near. Furthermore, in his poem “The Harlem Dancer,” McKay portrays a person watching a prostitute having to dance for a crowd; this narrator notes, “To me she seemed a proudly-swaying palm / Grown lovelier for passing through a storm” (The Harlem Dancer 7-8). The narrator points out that the prostitute has pride, though not in a passionate sense but rather like a “palm,” meaning she is calm and serene, but also strong, like a symbol of victory, during times of “storms” and hardship. The tree’s survival in the storm is a metaphor for the dancer’s “passing through” the struggle of the dance and generally having to live as a prostitute – she survives because of her strength and pride in her personhood. She finds both serenity and strength in herself like the palm, and this makes her happy and willing to persevere. This is apparent through how she grows “lovelier,” implying an inner evolution of her beauty and feeling of worth, all of which make her happier and more optimistic about her suffering. Finally, in his poem “Baptism,” McKay ends the story through the narrator’s declamation, “I will come out, back to your world of tears, / A stronger soul within a finer frame” (Baptism 13-14). The narrator portrays a “world of tears,” an intense manifestation of sadness. But he claims he will “come back” and return because he believes he is stronger than this sadness; this is a result of his pride and self-confidence to beat suffering. This pride leads him to persevere through sadness and maximize his positive qualities, as he claims his “soul” – his core and very essence – has been strengthened, and his “frame” – his rigidity and body – has been refined. He focuses on his strengths of his soul and body, leading to a more optimistic mindset. Thus, pride in one’s identity is key to making one more optimistic and persevering in great times of suffering.
Just as pride is necessary to maintain perseverance and optimism, McKay argues that one must have pride to respond to suffering because pride leads to a focus on one’s inner characteristics. For instance, toward the beginning of the poem “Baptism,” McKay describes the narrator’s plight to travel into the furnace, “I will go naked in—for thus ‘tis sweet— / Into the weird depths” (Baptism 3-4). Being naked is associated with purity and vulnerability, so the narrator’s desire to “go in” the hellish place naked conveys his appreciation of these qualities. Furthermore, calling his naked body “sweet” demonstrates the narrator’s pride in his body and identity. Thus, he chooses to love and have pride in his pure self, even if it is vulnerable, because he focuses on his inner qualities more and chooses to challenge who he is not on the outside, but on the inside. He demonstrates this by wanting to travel into the “weird depths” – not just of the furnace but also of himself. He wants to explore who he is on the inside, through all the strange and lovely parts, because he has pride in this pure and inner self. As another example, in “The Harlem Dancer,” McKay describes the narrator’s observation of the dancer as the narrator notes, “But looking at her falsely-smiling face, / I knew her self was not in that strange place” (The Harlem Dancer 13-14). A “false smile” seems to imply sadness or despair, but in this case it more-so implies discomfort, as if she were bearing through an awkward situation with a fake smile. But she fights this discomfort, as the narrator observes that she seems to be somewhere else. The use of the word “self” indicates self-ownership and dignity, and she chooses to not mentally remain “in that strange place” because she would rather focus on her self- ownership. This is especially important for her because as a prostitute, society would see her as worthless and a toy on the outside, but her pride and confidence in her identity allows her to focus back on who she is on the inside and where she feels she truly belongs. Furthermore, McKay’s use of the word “Baptism” (Baptism) to title his poem on a character’s journey into a hellish furnace lends itself to themes of pride and inner characteristics. Calling his journey a “baptism” symbolizes how the narrator feels about this journey: he sees it as an inner purification and regeneration to put down evil. Themes of pride are very prevalent through the poem and its journey as discussed previously; the narrator’s pride allows him to survive the flames of the furnace. But perhaps the most important theme is the transformation and resurrection on the inside because of this pride; not only is he stronger on the outside from bearing through suffering, but he is also a completely new person on the inside. His pride in his identity allows him to focus and learn more about his inner purity, faith, and strength rather than just what is on the outside, and this leads to a true transformation and “baptism.” Not only does pride in one’s own identity allow one to be unafraid and feel more persevering and optimistic, but it also allows a focus on one’s inner characteristics to allow for real growth and a healthy response to suffering.
Claude McKay argues through these sonnets that pride in one’s own identity is necessary for one to respond to suffering because it makes one unafraid, optimistic and more persevering, and more focused on inner characteristics. Characters like the narrators of “Baptism” and “If we must die” and the Harlem dancer all demonstrate how when suffering invades people’s lives, they cannot succumb by losing all hope in themselves and accepting that nothing can be done. When people have pride in themselves and love who they are, they can develop the attitudes necessary to overcome hardship that might seem unbearable. An important step in society toward doing this is to get rid of the negative connotations people associate pride with, and as individuals, people must understand that pride is a good quality to beat pain and suffering. Once society adapts these concepts, people can lead themselves to a healthier environment where self-love is appreciated and sadness in suffering is not so scary.
Works Cited
McKay, Claude. Harlem Shadows. 1922.
Swift, Taylor. Reputation. Big Machine Records, 2017.
