Social Action and Social Justice Rhetoric in McKays If We Must Die - Assignment Example

McKay’s poem pushes his audience, who are victims of injustice and violence, to analyze their conditions in life. More importantly, it provokes them to stop acting like victims and begin fighting like heroes. The sonnet form serves as a valid tool for discussing social injustice and describing the urgency of social action. Second, sonnets have a feature called a turn where the poem’s theme or tone changes abruptly. English sonnets frequently turn at line 13, but McKay turns already at line 9: “O kinsmen!

we must meet the common foe!” By discarding the symmetrical form of the sonnet, it follows the chaos of an actual battle. It also suggests the need to stop waiting and to start acting on social injustice now. Third, the alternate rhyme scheme supports the purpose of the poem as rhetoric for active participation towards social justice. The rhyming of “hogs” (McKay 1) to “dogs” (McKay 3), for instance, illustrates that the oppressors are inhumane because of their animalistic violence.

In addition, rhyming “inglorious spot” (McKay 2) with “accursed lot” (McKay 4) increases the intensity of the marginalized conditions of the speaker’s population. The rhyme scheme also enhances the effectiveness of the poem as rhetoric against long-standing oppression and as a strong call for timely social action.