Harlem
Harlem is a symbol of the vibrant night life of the time. It is a place related to music, dance, alcohol, and having fun. However, it is also an allegory of the life of the working-class men. Without education and high ambitions, their only desire is to spend the night partying. Drugs, fights, affairs and alcoholism are something common and aren’t criticized. Ironically, the protagonist Jake who calls Harlem his home and is eager to come back to it decides to leave it eventually.
Living sweet
Many of the men in the novel are proud of living sweet, i.e. being financially supported by their girlfriends. However, the sweet life is an allegory of the lost morals of the time as feelings and relationships are predominantly based on money and transactions. Moreover, many of the women in Home to Harlem work as prostitutes or cabaret dancers and have to provide for their men by flirting and sleeping with others.
Cabarets
The cabarets and night clubs in McKay’s novel symbolize the Jazz era. These are the places where the inhabitants of Harlem meet for a drink, dance, and get to know each other. The cabarets represent the freedom and the longing for music and rhythm associated with this period of time. Jake and Felice meet in a cabaret and then eventually find each other in another cabaret which suggests that the characters are defined by their need for pleasuring experiences.
Mobility
The life in Harlem is dynamic – changing jobs, girlfriends, and night clubs has become a daily routine for many of the characters. However, this transitional way of living is also an allegory of the instability of the time. People’s beliefs were shattered by the scientific developments and the technological progress and no one was capable of living a stable and settled life. Even the ambitious Ray isn’t able to find his place in Harlem and leaves on a ship at the end of the novel.
The train
The train is a recurring element in many Modernist works as well as in the novels of the Harlem Renaissance. The train represents the machine age and the impact of the new technologies on the life of the people in the beginning of the 20th century. It helps Jake to travel around and widens his horizon as this is also where he meets Ray who teaches him about literature and history and the importance of education.
