“I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart, I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars. I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek.” In the poem “Let America Be America Again” by Langston Hughes, the reader here’s from two different speakers, and how they both seperately want America to change. One of the speakers wants America to go back to what it was before, while the other responds in small comments, building up to say the quote you read at the beginning. In the poem “Let America Be America Again” the author has two separate speakers with contradicting thoughts, the author relates to problems that were happening in the real world, and how the author’s rhyme scheme is a vital component to how this poem reads.
The two poems, “America” by Claude McKay and “I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman are perfect demonstrations of how people can address the same topic, but go about it very differently. In the piece, “America” by Claude McKay, the author feels angered yet contented about America. McKay discusses that although America is bitter and cold, he still loves it. According
A theme both poems “I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman and “I, Too, Sing America” by Langston Hughes share is equality. The poets both demonstrate equality by having their various characters ignoring their differences and coming together to sing. Whitman combines the many individual Americans together by saying “ I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear” (1), while Langston’s main character says “ I, too, sing America.” (1) even though he is different from the other characters. Langston and Whitman both relay that no matter what occupation or skin color people have they are equal and they sing together with all their different voices to make one beautiful song.
Langston Hughes he feel negative about the America. He make this poem sound very emotional for the read people. In the poem he alway repeat “I never was America to me”. He wants his land be a liberty, opportunity and equality for his land he live in. But he has never experienced freedom in America.
In ‘Let America be America Again’ published in 1936, he calls for America to be known for the people that helped to create what it is today, rather than to be known for those that benefit from the people that made America what it is. The first three stanzas, read as though it is a speech that the speaker is reading aloud. This is shown through the minimal use of enjambment in the first stanza and the repetition of the verb ‘let’ at the beginning of most lines in the first stanza, for example, ‘Let it be the dream it used to be| Let it be the pioneer on the plain.’ However, between these first three stanza’s, Hughes writes the speakers inner thoughts in parentheses saying, ‘America never was America to me’ and ‘It never was America to me’, splitting the poem into two sections of the speaker’s mind. He speaks of America as ideals in his speech, to mirror the intrigue of the American Dream that was sold to many, saying ‘opportunity is real and life is free, ‘Equality is in the air we breathe.’
“Let america be the dream the dreamer dreamed --let it be that great ,strong land of love”, said Langston Hughes. Langston hughes and Walt Whitman both want this for america, they want them to live the american dream, and it to be how they imagined it to be. Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman were born in different years, so they have different perspectives about america in their times. In the poems” I hear america singing” and “Let America Be America Again” both have many different aspects and similarities. These two poems have many similarities.
Langston Hughes’ poem Let America be America Again is a profound article of work from mid-1930’s America. Hughes begins by declaring a wish for America to go back and become what it once was, a land where people from across the world would migrate to, searching for a home that they could be free in. Hughes longs for the return of a country where dreams could flourish, instead of remaining unfulfilled. Yet, he states throughout the poem that America was never America to him. This showcases how dreams never stood a chance for African-Americans like Hughes, where, in this time, there was still segregation and little hope for citizens like him.
America Langston Hughes’ “Let America Be America Again” is the poem that I have chosen to write about. Out of the poems I read it is the one that struck a chord with me on a very deep level. This poem speaks about how to many America is synonymous with freedom, often times forgetting that for some America was never that. I am proud to be an American, but,I often times forget how many people's lives, freedom, and rights were trampled in the making of this great nation.
Poetry, perhaps more than other genre of writing, often sparks controversy and discussion. Authors Walt Whitman and Langston Hughes are two authors in American Literature whose poetry is both debated and praised by critics. "I Hear America Singing" by Walt Whitman and "I, Too, Sing America" by Langston Hughes have sparked many discussions on their controversial content. Walt Whitman was the first of the two authors to write, followed by Langston Hughes who was influenced by Whitman's work. While Whitman's poem, "I Hear America Singing" reflects the happiness of the American people, the poem written by Hughes takes a different approach.
In American poetry, Langston Hughes’s “I, Too Sing America” and Walt Whitman’s “I Hear America Singing” are significant pieces that delve into the core of America from unique yet interrelated perspectives. Both poets provide profound reflections on America’s essence, touching upon themes such as inclusivity, identity, and the American Dream. This essay will carefully analyze and place these side by side, or, in other words, appose these poems, emphasizing both their commonalities and lack of similarities, with the aim of synthesizing insights to enrich our comprehension of American identity. Similarities:.. Both Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman depict America as a nation characterized by its diversity and unity, celebrating the multitude of voices and experiences that contribute to its identity. Meaning, the two poets offer contrasting yet complementary characterizations of America.
The tone of Langston Hughes’ poem “I, Too, Sing America” is determined and talks about how “tomorrow” he will do what he pleases instead of doing what his master
Whitman and Hughes’ “American Dream” Walt Whitman was the face of American poetry in the 1800’s; a trailblazer who influenced the work of many poets. Langston Hughes, however, was arguably the “Whitman” of his time (i.e. the “Harlem Renaissance”). Whitman and Hughes’ poems, “I Hear America Singing,” and, “I, Too,” respectively share a common motif: the “American Dream.” A dream in which all men, women, and children are capable of prospering and are recognized for who they are: Americans.
In the poem “I, Too”, the author Langston Hughes illustrates the key aspect of racial discrimination faces against the African Americans to further appeals the people to challenge white supremacy. He conveys the idea that black Americans are as important in the society. Frist, Hughes utilizes the shift of tones to indicate the thrive of African American power. In the first stanza, the speaker shows the sense of nation pride through the use of patriotic tone. The first line of the poem, “I, too, sing America” states the speaker’s state of mind.
Both poems are about hearing voices, but Whitman's poem is about voices being heard, while Hughes' poem is about elevating voices so that one can hear and respond to the silenced voices of the black community. (Barnet et al., 2018) Hughes's poem is about his life, while Whitman's is about people's daily activities. In Walt Whitman's "I Hear America Singing," the writer hears the sounds of "the boatman," "the woodcutter," "the shoemaker," and even the women. Whitman says that "each singing" is unique and belongs to the people, and it is a way to show how beautiful the country is.
The second speaker also reshapes the first two lines of the entire poem into a plea to the majority. Beforehand, the first speaker uses those lines as a call for the old American spirit to be revived: “Let America be America again / Let it be the dream it used to be” (1-2). Both speakers change the meaning of the lines to express their thoughts on America. As a result, the poem expresses the desire for everyone to be treated equally in the land of freedom. The readers can relate to the speaker because they wish that everyone has equal rights in the country that proclaims itself to be the symbol of freedom.
