A Comparison Of Langston Hughes I Hear America Singing

Langston Hughes wrote I, Too, Sing America as an addition to Walt Whitman's I Hear America Singing. Except he wrote it to include black men in the definition of America. Not only does this change the theme of America's so-called song, but also the view of the metaphorical lyrics. Hughes felt the need to make sure that he was included in the chorus of America and therefore inserted himself with the force of his poem, I,Too, Sing America. Hughes adds on to Whitman's poem I Hear America Singing in three crucial ways.
The first comparison that takes place between Whitman's I Hear America Singing and Hughes' I, Too, Sing America is the fact that Whitman wrote his poem generally about white men and women and their work. While Hughes' poem did include white people, his was mainly about the black man and woman, and how they would soon be more than just a background vision. One way the authout affects readers is in lines 1-3. Hughes illustrated this by writing "I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes." Here he is explaining that he is not allowed to eat with the rest of the white men, all of the people mentioned in I Hear America Singing.
Secondly, In I Hear America Sining by Walt …show more content…
Freedom from the whites would mean the ability to think, say, and do whatever was wanted for blacks, and Hughes explains this in his poem. In lines 11-14 of Hughes' poem he suggests, "Nobody'll dare say to me, "Eat in the kitchen," then." Here he is saying that when the time comes for black men and women to rise, they will have the freedom to eat and drink wherever they'd like. Although Whitman describes a lot of working men, Hughes uses examples of the freedom that black people will have to relax when tomorrow