Question

The excerpt is from an African American poem called “The Black Man’s Burden.” Pile on the Black Man’s Burden. 'Tis nearest at your door; Why heed long bleeding Cuba, or dark Hawaii’s shore? Hail ye your fearless armies, Which menace feeble folks Who fight with clubs and arrows and brook your rifle’s smoke. –H.T. Johnson, The Black Man’s Burden, 1899 What point of view does the poem’s author express? Cuba and Hawaii could benefit most from imperialism. Imperialist armies are easily repelled by native armies. Imperialism is more about bullying than heroism. African Americans were wrong to fight imperialism.

Answer 1

Hail ye your fearless armies, Which menace feeble folks Who fight with clubs and arrows and brook your rifle’s smoke is meant to be ironic. So the answer is Imperialism is more about bullying than heroism.

Answer 2

The poem compared the big differences in weaponry between the invaders and the natives. The view is that Imperialism is more about bullying than heroism.