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A Lesson Before Dying. “If We Must Die�? by Claude Mckay Essay Example

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A Lesson Before Dying. “If We Must Die�? by Claude Mckay Essay Example
In the passages “If We Must Die” by Claude McKay, the speaker set a courageous tone by using words like “brave”, “fighting”, and “honor” in sentences throughout the passage to show that the men were not afraid although they were outnumbered. This work of literature teaches the reader that if a group of people can come together as one they can be more powerful then a greater population. In the literary work “A Lesson Before Dying” by Ernest J. Gaines, Jefferson’s tone was cowardly/immature in the beginning of the book, but as the book progressed his tone changed to him being more spirited and content. In “A Lesson Before Dying” we can learn from Jefferson that although someone puts you down, you should be able to ignore it and move on from it with some pride. The speaker and character in these works of literature used different tones throughout the passages.
In the poem “If We Must Die” by Claude McKay, the speaker conveys a courageous tone throughout the passage. Some examples of the speaker setting a courageous tone are in the lines “If we must die, let it not be like hogs” and “If we must die, O let us nobly die” this means that no matter how anyone treats them, if they die, they’re going to die like men with pride and dignity. Also in the line “Though fat outnumbered let us show brave, and for there thousand blows deal one death blow!” this line sets a courageous tone because although they are far outnumbered and the enemies will be much stronger individually, they’re going to come together as one to attack with more intensity then the enemies. The last line that creates a courageous tone is “Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back” this means that they fought to the second that they died, dying bravely and with pride. In this passage a courageous tone was set because the speaker talked about even though the men knew they were highly outnumbered and out powered, they still fought with pride to the death. In the book “A Lesson Before Dying” by Ernest J.

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