Analysis Of Langston Hughes s Poem, I, Too - 1193 Words

What does it mean to be an American? This question can have different kinds of answers. However, when many people ponder about America, they associate it with a place where citizens have tons of freedom and equality. But sometimes, Americans do not get these freedoms and equality right off the bat as other people in other countries expect. Being an American can come with a lot of perks, such as the freedom to speak your thoughts, freedom to express yourself and several more; However, to obtain these perks, freedoms, and rights, the people must be able to fight and defend their rights. Therefore, along the many reasons of being an American, to be an American means to fight for and defend their rights. Through the study of literature and history, the reader will learn that in certain circumstances, people will realize that they will have to fight and defend their rights against those who tries to take it away. In the poem, I, Too, Langston Hughes shows that to be an American means tha t you should refuse to buckle under awful pressures. The speaker, an African American man, was denied the rights to sit down at the dinner table when company comes. However, the speaker â€Å"laugh and eat well and [grew] strong† then no one will dare say to him â€Å"eat in the kitchen† then. The African American man â€Å"too, am America.† The speaker decided to take the time in the kitchen to grow and learn; so that next time he can sit at the table because he is considered an American as the white peopleShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Langston Hughes s Poem I, Too978 Words   |  4 Pages Langston Hughes America, the ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity traditionally held to be available to every American. This is what everyone was told, what the Declaration of Independence states. But, Langston Hughes a black American poet in the Harlem Renaissance period saw the truth. Being an African American in the United States during the early 1900’s was difficult. Many lived a life full of hardships; segregation, prejudice and economic hardships, viewed as second-class citizensRead MoreLangston Hughes The Weary Blues Analysis1256 Words   |  6 PagesOn Langston Hughes’s The Weary Blues Kevin Young, a graduate of Harvard University and one of the winners of the Guggenheim Fellowship, writes the historical perspective of Langston Hughes. He discusses the flowering of the African American literature and culture and how it is actually just the extension of the New Negro movement. From the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes is able to represent â€Å"different things† for â€Å"different men.† The uprising of Hughes’s poems are the result of their hardshipsRead MoreLangston Hughes : A Modernist1222 Words   |  5 PagesSappington 13 Apr. 2017 Langston Hughes: A Modernist Credited as being the most recognizable figure of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes played a vital role in the Modernist literary movement and the movement to revitalize African American culture in the early 20th century. Hughes’s poems reflect his personal struggle and the collective struggle of African Americans during this cultural revival. Langston Hughes’s life contained key influences on his work. As a child, Hughes witnessed a divorceRead MoreAnalysis and Interpretation of I, Too Sing America by Langston Hughes1148 Words   |  5 PagesPoem I, Too Sing America is considered to be very characteristic for radical poetry of Langston Hughes. The majority of literary critiques and historians refer to Hughes as one of the first American poets, who set the standards and examples how to challenge the post-World War I ethnic nationalism. His poetry contributed and shaped to some extent the politics of the Harlem Renaissance. In analysis of Black poetry Charles S. Johnson wrote that the new racial poetry of the Negro is the expressionRead MoreLiterary Analysis Of The Ideology And Reality Of Equality987 Words   |  4 PagesLiterary Analysis of the Ideology and reality of equality in the works of Langston Hughes Langston Hughes was an African American writer and poet. Langston Hughes wrote about what it was like living as a Negro, as a black man, as any person of color in America. He wanted to portray the dignity, soulfulness, and resilience of his people. In his writings, he tends to believe that people aren’t wholly good and they are not wholly evil or bad either. He writes with such a conviction and an almostRead MorePoem Analysis On I, Too, Sing America 1611 Words   |  7 PagesDai Yueh Cheng Dr. Smedley English 1B 9 March 2015 Poem analysis on â€Å"I, Too, Sing America† In the poem â€Å"I, Too, Sing America† by Langston Hughes, he envisions a greater America, a more inclusive America where all the races can proudly represent themselves as American citizens. Hughes was a leader of Harlem Renaissance, and had tremendous pride of his race as an African American. However, during that time period, African Americans were being considered as second-class race, and they were being segregatedRead MoreThe Negro Speaks Of Rivers1548 Words   |  7 PagesLangston Hughes was an American poet, novelist, and playwright whose African-American themes names him a primary contributor to the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. After moving from several cities, Hughes and his mother finally settled in Cleveland, Ohio. During this time, Hughes began to write poetry. One of his teachers introduced him to the poetry of Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman, both whom Hughes would later cite as primary influences. By the time Hughes was enrolled at Columbia UniversityRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Dream By Langston Hughes1909 Words   |  8 Pagesof each poem are very similar, but yet are different in their own unique way as well. The two pomes are about dreams, the first poem, Dream is about what could possibly happen if we let go of our dreams and don t purse them. The second poem, Harlem is about the possibilities of what could happen when we postpone our dreams. Both poems do not exactly end with a happy ending, for they show the regret that we will be left with, possibly even death. The poem Dream by Langston Hughes is aboutRead MoreLangston Hughes: A Poet Supreme Essay1879 Words   |  8 PagesLangston Hughes: A Poet Supreme Black poetry is poetry that (1) is grounded in the black experience; (2) utilizes black music as a structural or emulative model; and (3) consciously transforms the prevailing standards of poetry through and inconoclastic and innovative use of language. No poet better carries the mantle of model and innovator the Langston Hughes, the prolific Duke Ellington of black poetry. Hughess output alone is staggering. During his lifetime, he published over eightRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of Langston Hughes s The American Dream 3454 Words   |  14 Pagesdeeply embedded construct of race comes into play. As a black man born into a time of overt racial prejudice, Langston Hughes was all too familiar with the double consciousness that came with life as an American minority. This roller coaster is the subject of the vast majority of his literary work and has continued to be a major presence and inspiration for literary work everywhere today. Hughes shows a deep loyalty to the ideals that brought the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights into