If the Coen brothers intended their movie Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? to be an accurate retelling of Homer’s Odyssey, they certainly succeeded in some aspects, however not completely. Through the use of secondary characters, ambitious encounters, and determined heroes, readers and viewers are able to recognize the similar plots, while also noticing slight adaptations in the modern remake. Both Odysseus’ and Everett’s family, friends, and comrades play a major role in their journies.
In his poem, “I hear America Singing”, Whitman describes workers as they go about daily tasks, singing while they work, “The carpenter singing[…] / The mason singing[…] / The boatman singing[…] / The shoemaker singing” (Whitman, lines 3-6). He uses anaphora to emphasize that despite their different jobs and backgrounds, the workers are part of a larger community. This pattern of repetition highlights the interconnectedness of these workers, along with their collective contribution to American society. Whitman is suggesting that America is made up of a diverse group of people, all of whom contribute to society
In “I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman, several literary devices are used that contribute to the theme of the poem. The theme of “I Hear America Singing” emphasizes the importance of celebrating the diverse voices that make up America. The theme also shows unity among the American workers as they show that they are thankful for their freedom to choose to work as whatever they would like in America. Some of the literary devices that contribute to the theme are personification, repetition, imagery, symbolism, and alliteration. Personification in “I Hear America Singing '' is used to portray America as singing.
Feelings towards a certain object, subject, or topic differ from person to person. The authors of “America” and “I Hear America Singing” express their feelings about the United States very differently in their writing. In “America,” the author constantly refers to the fact that America could be both a utopia and a dystopia at the same time. In “I Hear America Singing,” the author highlights the vast amount of jobs and chances at happiness that is in the land. Though both poems discuss the same topic, it is described dissimilarly and the authors present two different messages to the
Each word and each phrase represents so much about America. It is about our home, fighting to become the peaceful and loved country it now is. All of the citizens of this beautiful country should love, care and support it. We go through hard times but these times fit us to who we have become, united. One phrase in the song, “Oh, say does that star spangled banner yet wave, o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?”
In 'I, Too, Sing America' there is a theme of overcoming. The poem does not allow the racism and mistreatment to define him. Rather, he makes the promise that he will not only overcome it, he will sit at the same table and make those around him be ashamed of how he was once treated. Referring back to Sonny’s Blues, Sonny is overcoming a drug problem and turns his life around and follows his dream of being a musician and now he can make everyone who doubted him ashamed similar to the speaker in I, Too. The speaker does not let the actions of Whites create hatred for himself or his race.
I believe that Rock and Roll is not responsible for dismantling America’s traditional family, sexual, and racial customs in the 1950s and the 1960s. Rock and Roll had become very popular in the US during the 50s and the 60s that people started to blame Rock and Roll for the big change in the culture. Music does play a small role on the character of teenagers and adults, but it is not the reason for why people act the way they do. Poverty, permissive parents, lack of religious and moral training, televisions, movies, racism, divorced parents, and the decline of parental discipline explain why America’s customs were going downhill (Oakley, 122). Juvenile delinquency in America had increased during the time Rock and Roll was popular so everyone
"I Hear America Singing" focuses on the glories of America, showcasing the happiness and joy that is present on a daily basis. This is clearly evidenced in one of the lines from Whitman's poem: "Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs." However, "I, Too, Sing America highlights the darker side of American life during this era. Unlike Whitman, Hughes' poem takes a much more serious tone, that forces the reader to consider the other side of the coin. This is poignately illustrated in the line, "And be ashamed -" which points to the "they" that will be ashamed in the future for how "they" treated the African American
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
For instance, in the poem “I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman, he describes all the different people being happy for all different reasons. Whitman hears “The mason singing as he makes ready for work, or leaves for work, the boatman singing what belongs to him” (16). When the mason worker sings joyfully going to work he is excited about doing what he loves. The varied carols that are heard on the way to work show patriotism and the love for their job. The two workers are happy going to work and enjoy being in America.
In the two poems, “I Hear America Singing,” and, “I, Too,” there are many similarities and differences that show us that know matter what is happening you have to stand up for yourself and do what you love. We see this in the two poems, “I Hear America Singing,” and, “I, Too” when the authors, Walt Whitman and Langston Hughes, both talk about what America was a like in the 1900s, and how people were doing jobs that they had liked to do. We can see how a African American man would stand up for himself and we see this in the poem “I, Too” because we are able to see how he was able to stand up to everyone else and prove he was able to be treated like anyone else.
“Hope isn’t blind optimism. It isn’t ignoring the enormity of the tasks ahead or the roadblocks that stand in our path. It isn’t sitting on the sidelines or shirking from a fight. Hope is that thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us if we have the courage to reach for it and to work for it and to fight for it” (Obama, 2008). That can be named as the true definition of America's hope when they are placed in troublesome times like the Great Depression.
By stressing that he is equal in society and it is something that people will start to realize is reinforced in the last stanza. The last stanza “I, too, am America,”(18) where the word ‘sing’ from the first stanza is changed to ‘am.’ This is a powerful way to close the poem, reinforces the greater notion that not only is he a voice in society, but he is the very essence that is part of
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.
The speaker displays his connection to the black heritage by stating that “They’ll see how beautiful I am” (line 16), and the last line of the poem “I, too, sing America” repeats the first line, but this time with more insistent tone. The speaker is stating the fact
