"(…), I will confess
I love this cultured hell that tests my youth!’’
The narrator moved in his youth from his home country of Jamaica to America to study. He remained in America and slowly he assimilated the new culture. However, the transition process was not an easy one and the narrator struggled to find his place in the new world, strange to him. The narrator admitted that he suffered because he was unable to find his place in the society and he felt at times as if the American culture and cities were robbing him of his vitality and strength. Despite this, the narrator still claims he loves the American culture and that he will do everything in his power to remain in that country.
"I have forgotten, strange, but quite remember
The poinsettia’s red, blood-red in warm December.’’
In the poem "Flame Heart’’, the narrator talks about the things he had forgotten since he left his former country. The narrator laments all the things he has lost but most of all he regrets not remembering certain details about his previous life. What he does remember is the "warm December’’ that is the probable less desirable memories from his life. This quote is important because it shows that while bad memories can be hardly forgotten, the god ones usually disappear from our minds as soon as the happy events took place.
"A hate that makes me vigorous and whole,
And spurs me on increasingly to win.’’
In the poem "Mulatto’’, the narrator talks about the way he feels in a society which hates black people. As a result, the narrator develops a deep hatred for the people who hate him as well and his hatred is so deep he claims he could be able to kill them, should the possibility present to him. This quote shows just how everyone is affected by racism and how much a racist attitude can affect anyone, no matter how much they try not to get involved.
