What imagery is used in Alain Locke's essay "The New Negro"?

Since Alain Locke's "The New Negro" is an essay, it actually does not contain a great deal of imagery, but it does have a few instances. First it may be important to know exactly what imagery is. Imagery refers to any words or phrases an author uses to paint a picture in a reader's mind. Imagery always refers to one of the five senses, such as sight, sound, smell, touch, or taste. One image we can find is "his shadow" (p. 4). Locke is using this image to refer to the negro's oppressive past, referring to it as a shadow. It also serves as a sight image because we can see shadows. Other images can also be found in the short poem Locke refers to on page 5. Locke's essential point is to assert that suddenly a new negro is coming into being, a negro that is not being made inferior by his/her oppressive past and one who is establishing a brand new identity. Therefore, common imagery found in this poem is being used to relate to newness. Some of the images found in this poem are "bright," "like a flame," "night-gone," and "sun-down." The images of brightness and flame are being used in connection with the dawn, or sunrise. The rising sun begins a new day, so the images refer directly to the dawning of the "new negro" Locke is arguing about. In addition, we can see both brightness and flame, so these are sight images. Likewise, "night-gone" and "sun-down" refer to nighttime; nighttime refers to the past that the negro has just escaped. Plus, again, we can see both night and the sun going down, so these are sight images.

What are Alain Locke's views on "The New Negro"?

Locke's view of the "New Negro" was a way to highlight the change that had become evident in the African- American community.  Following the First World War, Locke wanted "to document the New Negro culturally and socially - to register the transformations of the inner and outer life of the Negro in America that have so significantly taken place in the last few years."  For Locke, the "New Negro" was a stark contrast to the bondage and limitations featured in the "old Negro" setting.  Locke believed that the "New Negro" was a source of vitality and transformative independence of thought:  "With this renewed self-respect and self-dependence, the life of the Negro community is bound to enter  a new dynamic phase, the buoyancy from within compensating for whatever pressure there may be of  conditions from without."  

Locke's views on the New Negro were enhanced by the Great Migration.  Locke saw African- American migration to both Northern and urban centers as realms in which social, cultural, economic, and political growth and progress could emerge.  Locke believed that a source of strength in being African- American could emerge as part of the consciousness of the "New Negro."  Locke believed that this new figure would not be inclined to embrace the paternalism and dependence of previous generations.  Rather, Locke viewed "the New Negro" as one where African- Americans would "be delivered both from self-pity and condescension."  The America that Locke saw was one in which African- Americans could seize to transform what was into what can be, and change what is into something filled with vitality.  A "spiritual coming of age" is a part of the ethos of the "New Negro."  Locke saw this as critical in defining African- Americans in the new era.