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Maya Angelou And Langston Hughes Essay

559 Words3 Pages

Segregation and discrimination between African Americans and Americans were distinct during the Harlem Renaissance. During this time in history, African Americans were taking a stand for their rights and to obliterate segregation. African Americans slowly became more literate and began to have equal rights as those of Americans. Since discrimination was still present during the middle of the 1900’s, many individuals who were treated unfairly started to stand up for their rights. Two well-known poets, Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou, have decided to take a stand to put an end to the gap between both races. Langston Hughes’s poem “I, Too” and Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise” have many similarities and differences. As both poems were written …show more content…

In Langston Hughes’s poem “I, Too, Sing America”, the context of the poem is based off of when he was segregated with an American family and how he will take a stand without hesitating. Langston Hughes is able to show the confidence and the beauty of a different race to another race showing that individuals are all equal. In Maya Angelou’s poem, “Still I Rise”, she is talking to a single person and communicates the potential of an individual when it comes to fighting for what is right. Maya Angelou describes her personal characteristics that may have obstructed the individual’s life. Although the individual that she is talking about has bashed her and mistreated her, she is seen as a great example to many other African Americans who have faced segregation by still standing up to what she believes in despite the bitterness she may have received. Hughes and Angelou state their message in two different scenarios; however, both have showed the power of rising up. Although many laws were being passed during this time period due to many rising up, the writings of the two poets have been able to inspire individuals to fight for equality. They both describe the harsh conditions they have faced in their own personal experience with segregation and show that they are not afraid to speak up. Even though both poems may be different in a multitude

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Some of the significant subjects were music, literature, poem, and art. The poets Langston Hughes and Claude McKay were some of the most influential poets from the renaissance. The poems “The Harlem Dancer” by Claude McKay and “I, Too” by Langston Hughes will be used to compare and show how two poems form the same era could be similar yet different based on their subject, purpose, style, tone, and rhythm. “I, Too” creates the world where people are treated equally. With so much discrimination and segregation occurring in the 20th century, it was a world that people wished for.

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399 Words | 2 Pages

America is a symbol of freedom. The poems “I, Too, Sing America” by Langston Hughes and “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou both describe how America was rather unfair during their times. Langston Hughes was a key figure during the Harlem Renaissance and Maya Angelou did not become famous or recognized until her first autobiography. Even though “I, Too, Sing America” and “Still I Rise” have completely different tones, they both convey the message of how inequality was prevalent in America. Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou both talk about how in the future they will come back and be free.

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628 Words | 3 Pages

Let us say someone encountered a bump in life or something bad happened people will always move past it eventually because people cannot let something weigh them down for the rest of their lives. The big message or idea of these two poems is to keep moving on because people will always have to deal with problems. In “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes and Still I Rise by Maya Angelou they both convey the message that people should never give up and keep on rising no matter what happens or what people say. Throughout the poem “Mother to Son,” Langston Hughes coveys that people should always keep pushing towards their goals and not give up.

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706 Words | 3 Pages

Poems can be analyzed in various ways ranging from their complexity to the emotions they convey to readers. The poems, “The Weary Blues” by Langston Hughes and “The Harlem Dancer” by Claude McKay will be analyzed based on their similarities and differences to name a few. The poems may describe different events; however the overall connection between the two can be identified by readers with deeper reading. Comparisons between the poems may easier to analyze and identify compared to the contrasts based on the reader’s perception. Overall, the concept and much more will reveal how the poems are connected and special in their own way.

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799 Words | 4 Pages

More than just a Poet Before even graduating from college, Langston Hughes’ name was becoming known around the country for his writing. His first major poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” written at just seventeen years old, gave way to a forty-year career of popular writings for the author. Known as one of the most iconic African-American writers of his time, Langston Hughes had a major influence on American Literary History. He was known for and as the people’s poet, use of jazz blues, and life experiences.

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Since day one of US history, there has been and will probably always be a social, economic, and racial divide. “Open Letter to The South” is a poem that addresses the issues of not only the racial division in this great country, but it also concentrates on the issues that all working class American’s face, even in today’s society and economy. In the poem, Langston Hughes speaks against the words of Booker T. Washington “Separate as the fingers.” He speaks about how whites and blacks should come together and become one, no matter their birth rights or history. He mentions

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Furthermore, his deep affiliation with political events of his time and presence as a vocal advocate for Civil Rights and social justice led him to often address these issues directly in his work. The experiences and stance of Hughes shaped his work in a way that created a brand new point of view that could only be understood if the reader knew about his background. The peculiar way Langston Hughes commits to paper on account of his personal experiences relating to racial prejudice successfully represents the struggles of the African-American community. Hughes depicts that America appears to be unified solely by counting each individual as worthy of recognition through a poem published during his time of figurative imprisonment.

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Maya Angelou worked as a professor at Wake Forest University, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, from 1991 to 2014. As an African American women, one whose life was full of racial discrimination and gender inequality, she had plenty of experience and wisdom to share with her students. During her time working at the university, she taught a variety of humanities courses such as “World Poetry in Dramatic Performance,” “Race, Politics and Literature,” “African Culture and Impact on U.S.,” and “Race in the Southern Experience” (Wake Forest University,

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252 Words | 2 Pages

This assignment, I'm going to discuss the poetry of Langston Hughes. This Harlem Renaissance was an early twentieth Century movements to be an artist. How they felt to be black and the meaning behind being black. How to be black, and how to be an American at the same time. Harlem Renaissance started after first War world, and didn't end until the Great Depression.

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757 Words | 4 Pages

Langston Hughes, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Maya Angelou, and Naomi Shihab Nye are three examples of many poets who used their compositions to advocate for an ability to adapt and consider different viewpoints in order to help reform a somewhat discriminatory system of conventional thinking. Now just because a certain aspect of society has remained for so long, it doesn’t mean that it is necessarily warranted, such as the lack of solidarity that has scarred our humanity ever since the dawn of man. Throughout all 4 poems, the 4 authors share the common theme that being open to growth requires one to be willing to express themselves by attending to the divine mandate that is fellowship. These pieces of poetry matters because in a world that likes to have things quickly, these works’ poignant words remind us that even the power of words takes time to be dissected and integrated in the folds of society. What stands in the way of humanity achieving this goal at this point is whether or not the society is willing to concede to the fact that even the great intellectual in our world cannot hope the reasons for problems in inter/intrapersonal relations.

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849 Words | 4 Pages

Langston Hughes was an important figure during the Harlem Renaissance, his important literature flourished during the nineteen twenties. His writing not only influenced African American culture but it brought inside light to how African Americans were suffering injustice and repression. The poems "Theme For English B" and "I,Too" both gave readers an inside look of Langston Hughes views of equal civil rights and and treatment under the law for African Americans. First, he is portraying the African American experience when African Americans were not only considered less than human, certainly unworthy of being considered "American". Both poems use first-person voices; however the "I" is different for each poem, to fulfill Hughes' purpose for

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458 Words | 2 Pages

Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou were African Americans alive during the period in American history when minority groups were fighting hard for their rights and respect among the country. These two authors used their writing skill to shed light on how African Americans felt throughout this period of time, opening many people’s eyes to how the oppressed truly felt. The civil rights movement could have had an entirely different outcome if it weren’t outspoken individuals such as these two. In Hughes’s well known poem “I, Too,” Hughes talks about how the people that mistreat him will soon regret everything they’ve done and will realize the true potential of him and everyone like him.

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514 Words | 3 Pages

During the 1900s, there were many famous authors who wrote about African Americans and Civil Rights. This was what was going on during this time period. Segregation and discrimination towards blacks was increasing. Two famous authors were Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou. Langston Hughes wrote the poem “I, Too, Sing America.”

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2197 Words | 9 Pages

An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose” is a quote by Langston Hughes. Living in a nation where every citizen were told that they have equal rights as per the Declaration of Independence states that ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal’ but only Hughes saw the harsh reality behind it. The life of every African-American in the United States during the early 1900’s was difficult because the blacks were oppressed and colonized by the white. James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet and an author whose African-American themes made him as one of a crucial contributor to the Harlem Renaissance during the 1920s. Hughes’s wrote

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858 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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