After reading The Harlem Dancer by Claude McKay I almost immediately felt an emotional connection to the poem and the way it described the dancer. The way the dancer entertained others and the way they were reacting to her reminded me how in life people often set aside their dreams and admirations to simply satisfy the needs and wants of others. Sometimes when this happens it by choice. We as people are likely to try to please people as we go through life. I know because I personally experienced this myself. For a long time, I ignored my dreams to help others accomplish their dreams. This came with so many emotional difficulties in my early adulthood. It wasn’t until I decided to put myself first and do something that was going to benefit me, then I started to feel better about my life. Other times, much like the dancer described in the poem people are forced to do things they would not normally do in order to survive. In the poem, the last line says, “I know her self was not in that strange place.” To me, that is supporting the idea that the dancer may have been there physically but mentally and emotionally may have not been there. It reminds me of the way mothers often sacrifice and do whatever they have to do to take care of their children. Throughout the poem, McKay refers to the audience watching the dancer as boys and girls so that made me think of parents putting themselves in uncomfortable positions to be the role model they feel they need to be for their families. Another line in the poem says the dancer had a falsely smiling face. Again, I feel the dancer does not want to be in the place she is in. Since McKay was a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance I also imagined he could have been targeting the mistreatment of black people during those times. I remembered the way black people would often entertain white people as a way to express their art while trying to make it. This may not have been the ideal platform for them but at that time options were few and the chances of them taking on an actual gig were slim. McKay invoked several emotions and experiences with this poem. So much so that after reading it I wanted to know more about the way prostitutes and other related people influenced the world during the times of his work. Learning that it was very similar to the way they do now surprised me. Of course the advancements of the world today made a significant difference but the root of their lives was much like it is today. They faced many addictions and other issues which to me is a metaphor for the different ways people handle challenges and hardships in life.