The theme of the poem, “Let America Be America Again” by Langston Hughes is about equality. There are multiple reasons and quotes hinting to why it's about Equality. For example, Hughes states in his poem, “There has never been equality for me, nor freedom in this “homeland of the free”” (15-16). From this quote we can see that he thinks everything isn’t equal. He put quotes around the homeland of the free to make it seem sarcastic. This sets the mood as a depressing type of mood. Later in the poem, the same tone and theme show up again and again. Hughes speaks about people that are poor, people of color, and overall people not having a fair life. Later he strengthens this statement by saying, “I am the man who never got ahead, the poorest …show more content…
From this quote and how it was written you can see how he’s very upset about not having equality in the world. In conclusion, through the poem Hughes clearly articulates through his words that he wants America to be great and be equal again for all people no matter what circumstance.
The Mood of the poem, “Let America Be America Again” by Langston Hughes is received as depressing at some points and empowering at others. The reason for this is simple, Hughes makes it start out depressing by saying, “Let it be the dream it used to be.”
What Hughes means by “it”, is America. When he states this he clearly sets the mood by making it seem like America has become less and less the dream it used to be. The saying American dream doesn’t mean as much anymore as it used to. Later he switches the mood entirely half way through the poem. Hughes goes on to say many bold statements to empower and enrich the reader. We can see that here as he states, “Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain, Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain, Must bring back our mighty dream again” (66-68).
This quote has so much hope and dignity in it. To have confidence again that we can make the dream come true. Through hard work and teamwork this is
“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.
Makayla Long Professor Van Epps ENGL 1102 13 February 2023 How Poetry affected America during the Harlem Renaissance Langston Hughes wrote the poem “Let America Be America Again” (1935) during the Harlem Renaissance period. Hughes used this poem to reveal his feelings towards the inequality in America. He used literary devices such as metaphors and repetition to show more about his theme of freedom and equality. Using these metaphors and repetition, Hughes gets his theme and feelings across in a very descriptive way.
He talks about how it was supposed to have complete equality but, there was no freedom or equality, it was not the dream it was dreamt to be. That is how Hughes explains that America is not free and
In “Let America Be America Again” by Langston Hughes is a very vivid interpretation of what America was like for those who did not get the opportunity to live the “American Dream”. But really, what was the American Dream? How can the dream of the common slave be any similar to that of a common slave owner? Langston addresses this is many forms in many instances.
One of his poems that has been a great figure of the twentieth century literature is "Let America Be America Again". In this poem, Hughes argues that America has never been the way it was set to be founded as, the history behind
The poem Langston Hughes wrote in 1936 called “Let America be America again”. Langston Hughes an afro American in the United States of America. Langston Hughes' philosophical idea was equality in the United States of America. The first way Langston Hughes shows his philosophical idea of equality is by showing he wants everyone to be treated fairly and have the government not allow people to be racist to the Afro-Americans, Indians, and other immigrants located in the United States of America. The second way Langston Hughes shows his philosophical idea of equality is by showing his desire and dedication towards of achieving equality and shows off his dedication of hard work to achieve his dream but can’t due to of the barriers he has to overcome
He wished to clarify the hypocritical nature of the whites and wanted to punish them behalf of the oppressed. Langston Hughes was an author who successfully contributed to social change through literature by his poem Let America be America Again. An example is, “Go home and write a page tonight. And let that page come out of you-- Then, it will be true.”
The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1994, Poets.org, https://poets.org/poem/let-america-be-america-again. Accessed 24 June 2023. “The Homeland of Migrating Groups.” Europeana. The European Union.
He shows this in lines 1-4 when he says, “Let America be America again./Let it be the dream it used to be./Let it be the pioneer on the plain/Seeking a home where he himself is free." Hughes uses repetition and a slight rhyme scheme to grasp the reader’s attention. He uses words such as “pioneer” and “seek” to help the reader imagine
My dream is of a place and a time where America will once again be seen as the last best hope of the earth. (Abraham Lincoln) In the poem "Let America Be America Again," Langston Hughes paints an affecting and diverse stanza, displaying peaceful passages to angry outbursts. His resonance seems confessional, as he is speaking about his own exposure and communicating for all the unheard Americans. Hughes addresses how America considers to be, has shifted to them to think, and could pursue to be again.
In the beginning of the poem, the mood is patriotic and optimistic; however, the poem soon takes on a more serious tone by reminding the audience that America never lived up to its promises for so many people, and instead let them down. Hughes describes what it would mean to really have the America that people say exists and dream about. Near the end of the poem, the poem’s mood changes again. This time, the poet remains hopeful and optimistic that the original dreams for Americans are still possible. He claims, however, that it will require taking the country back from those who continue to take advantage of others and prevent them from truly achieving the freedom the country had promised them and which they
In the poem “Let America Be America Again” by Langston Hughes, the use of connotations and the use of first-person point of view shows the realities of America suggesting Langston Hughes's message that America does not contain the land of the free and does not have equality throughout all ethnicities. First, Langston Hughes uses connotation to communicate his message that African Americans had endured inequality in the first part of the quote. This quote appears in the poem, in the third parenthesis within the poem. Before the quote, Langston Hughes explains America does not act as the land of the free as it promised it will. Then Langston Hughes goes on to talk about how equality has not appeared for anyone but privileged caucasians.
America is well known as the land of the free and the home opportunity. Although it is said everyone is equal in every way, that has not always been the case. Langston Hughes is a poet who tried to emphasize the idea of equality among all human beings. Hughes underlined the basis of the American Dream with what is and what should be in the societal era he lived in. In hindsight he believed his poems helped others realize the injustices that all minorities had to face during this era.
At this time, the dream was equality and being accepted as citizens of the United States. Hughes felt that this goal of liberty and quality for African Americans was very hard to reach or match. A poem that resembles this thought well is titled “Youth”, where Hughes writes, “We have tomorrow… Bright before us… Like a flame” (Hughes 39). This poem has a lot of analysis towards the American Dream.
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.