AP English Literature · Figurative language
The word “hungry” in line 11 most significantly
Claude McKay, “The Tropics in New York” (1922)
1Bananas ripe and green, and ginger-root,
2 Cocoa in pods and alligator pears,
3And tangerines and mangoes and grape fruit,
4 Fit for the highest prize at parish fairs,
5Set in the window, bringing memories
6 Of fruit-trees laden by low-singing rills,
7And dewy dawns, and mystical blue skies
8 In benediction over nun-like hills.
9My eyes grew dim, and I could no more gaze;
10 A wave of longing through my body swept,
11And, hungry for the old, familiar ways,
12 I turned aside and bowed my head and wept.
Claude McKay, “The Tropics in New York,” from <em>Harlem Shadows</em> (1922). Public-domain text.
The word “hungry” in line 11 most significantly
Answer and explanation
Answer: D: links the literal food in the opening to a desire for home that the visible fruit can awaken but cannot satisfy
"Hungry" in line 11 extends the literal food of the first stanza into emotional longing for "the old, familiar ways." The visible fruit can awaken that desire but cannot satisfy it, which explains why the speaker weeps. That is D. Choice A is tempting because hunger is physical, but the word enlarges the feeling instead of reducing it to appetite. Choice B assumes the speaker cannot afford the fruit, a fact the poem never gives. Choice C claims bodily need distorts memory, yet the poem presents the memory as vivid and trusted.
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