Countee Cullen's Incident

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The poem Incident by Countee Cullen describes racism seen through the perspective of a child, and how racism can impact the lives of its victims. The social commentary helps portray Cullen’s claim to understand what about racism as a child can do. The time of the Harlem Renaissance depict the struggles African Americans dealt with before recognition, however, before then the issues African Americans dealt with were just everyday scenarios. In addition, Cullen proves with his poem, Incident, that the American culture can be ruthless when it came to racism. People didn’t consider nor thought before their actions portray racism. Likewise, the first encounter Cullen had with racism took place in Baltimore. The literary device, alliteration, portrays the attitude Cullen had once in Baltimore, “Heart-filled, heart-filled with glee”. (Cullen, 1925) …show more content…
Yet the more Cullen observes the city of Baltimore, Cullen then notices a man that has been glaring at him. “I saw a Baltimorean keep looking straight at me.” (Cullen, 1925) With this in mind, as a child, when you notice someone that has been constantly looking at you, you were always taught to have respect towards your elders and smile in return. Nevertheless, when returning the polite gesture, the man calls Cullen a name out of hatred, instead of addressing Cullen like he would a child in the white culture. “And so I smiled, but he poked out his tongue, and called me, Nigger”. (Cullen,

Countee Cullen's Incident

My favorite poem out of all three was “Incident” by Countee Cullen. I liked this poem the best because the message really caught my attention. The use of harsh language and powerful words in this poem made me able to visualize what was happening. Although this is a short poem, I was able to clearly understand what message it was trying to convey. It portrays a child who encounters racism and the lasting impact of discrimination. I also think this poem captures the loss of innocence a child experiences…

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Bigotry In Countee Cullen's Incident

In Countee Cullen's, "Incident", the narrator states that he was "...eight and very small" (pg. 2241) so he probably hasn't seen much of the evil world yet but that changed when he experienced a childish act of bigotry. The incident occurred when the narrator was happily riding in Baltimore and smiled at someone. Instead of smiling back, this person stuck out his tongue and called him a "nigger". This incident was probably the narrators first racial encounter and most likely the reason its the only…

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Comparing Poems Tableau And Countee Cullen's Incident

The poems “Tableau” and “Incident,” written by Countee Cullen, have many similarities and differences such as them both appearing during a time where black and white people were not seen as equals. While “Tableau” indicates a flicker of a fairness in society and equality, “Incident” compares the expectation of happiness from equal rights; however, that idea becomes shattered. Discrimination is not something we are born knowing, it is a learned concept is one thought that can be drawn from “Tableau”…

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Comparing The Harlem Renaissance And Langston Hughes

The Harlem Renaissance and Langston Hughes’s life-/career-span (1902-1967) likely seems to be the distant past for many high school or undergraduate students. But one of the most powerful aspects of poetry by Hughes for me is how present his work is, every time I return to it. As a reader and a poet, I am drawn to work that appears simple (as if anyone could have written it) and simultaneously reveals that only this poet could have shaped this verse, that the accessible words and phrasing disguise…

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Countee Cullen: A Black Poet During The Harlem Renaissance

experiences from each as influence in his poetry (1773). Countee Cullen came from a more structured background…

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